Ten Tips to a Successful Pay-Per-Click Campaign
1. Keyword Selection
The most important requirement for the success of your Pay Per Click campaign is selecting the right keywords. Make a list or use your existing list and divide them into targeted ad campaigns. For example, we would not run one campaign that focused on our PPC services and design services - they would be two separate campaigns.
2. Understand the Math
Define a budget - as with any advertising expense, you should start with and define your budget. With PPC, you set your daily ad spend then pay based on the bid per click and the number of clicks you receive. Make sure what you spend can generate enough revenue to justify the expense. It doesn't matter how much traffic you generate if you loose money.
3. Keyword Bidding
Don't try and be everything to everyone - stay targeted. Bid on keywords that focus on your business, products or services to maximize conversions and generate a good ROI. Track what you are paying per click for a variety of keywords and track which ones work best. Compare conversions with costs and bid only on keywords that work for you.
4. Targeted Copy
Attention grabbing headings work, but keep them targeted by using your best keywords for that specific PPC campaign. Your ad copy must be appealing enough to encourage viewers to visit your website and buy what you are selling.
5. Targeted Audience
Again, don't try to be everything to everyone. There are a number of tools that enable you to create an audience that is closest to your target audience. Choose broad or narrow matching options that match exactly. Eliminate keywords by choosing negative keywords. Target your PPC ad geographically especially if you only want local customers. Finally, only run your ads during times that you feel your potential clients and customers are on the web searching.
6. Landing Pages
Once your PPC ad is clicked on, you need to convert your visitor into a customer. Keep your landing page, the web page the ad takes visitors to, specific to your ad. The PPC money you spent could be wasted if you do not provide an appropriate on-site experience and call to action. The destination or landing page must meet the expectations that were set by the ad.
7. Be Honest
Don't get clever with your visitors. If you run a PPC campaign for a specific item, don't deliver something different or unexpected once your visitor arrives on your web page. If they don't find what you promised in your ad copy you will loose a potential customer forever and it could lead to negative publicity and could increase your costs and lower conversions.
8. Monitor Metrics
Pay Per Click analytics provides intelligence that allows you to immediately monitor your results. This allows you to be dynamic with your ads, performing A/B multi-variant testing of your advertisements, keywords and landing pages. It allows you to shift your budget and remove poorly performing ad campaigns.
9. Optimize PPC Campaigns
Your goal should be higher conversion rates rather than higher click-through-rates (CTR). Optimize your PPC ad copy and landing pages on a regular basis to achieve the highest conversion rate. Monitor your campaigns regularly and use what you learn to maximize your PPC ROI. Experiment and continually improve.
10. Don't Underestimate Experience
It's your money, but the larger your budget the more errors are going to cost you. An experienced PPC agency will maximize effectiveness, lower costs, increase conversions, reduce the time it takes to see results, and give you the best chance to succeed.
