Improve Your PPC Campaigns

 

Pay-per-click advertising (PPC) is one of the most effective marketing strategies in digital marketing.

In comparison to other strategies like social media, search engine optimization, and content marketing, PPC is unique in its capacity to gain instant results. 

However, PPC is still complicated due to its multifaceted nature. If you’re looking for ways to build a strong PPC campaign, here are several approaches that can help you achieve pay per click success.

Put Value First

This is a tactic that works beyond PPC and digital marketing. Every business has a value proposition. A unique answer to the question; What do my customers love most about working with me? Help your ads stand out by sharing the value of your offerings.

While important keywords should be neatly incorporated into your search ad descriptions and headlines, the value of your product or service should be highlighted too. 

For example,an online language service ad could use the headline: “E-Learning Tutorial” or instead it could be described with a more engaging language like “learn from anywhere in the world”.

Focus on highlighting what you can do for your customers and what separates you from your competitors.

Research Your Keywords Thoroughly

PPC requires a deep understanding of how people use keywords in a search query. An effective campaign depends on a solid understanding of the best keywords for your business. 

 The Google Keyword Planner can help provide useful keyword suggestions that can aid you in your search.

Remember that your competitors are using this as well. It’s important that you can identify a unique strategy or value proposition that can keep you ahead of the pack.

Look for long tail keywords or unique low competition keywords that fit your strategy. These offer an opportunity to connect with people that your competition may have missed. 

The best way to end every ad is with a call to action (CTA). This will help readers understand the next step of the process.Ensure that the CTA is written so that the ad-copy is enticing for the reader.

An effective CTA  exudes a sense of urgency for the reader. You can mention a promo redeemable only for a certain amount of time, or service offerings are limited to a certain number of clients.

Here are some traits a good CTA should have:

• Compelling message
• Clearly conveyed benefits for the reader
• Conversational
• Activate sense of urgency to the reader

Even simple CTAs such as “download now”, “start my free trial” are effective.

Focus on the Funnel

A marketing funnel is a visual representation of conversion levels that potential customers go through. The five levels include Awareness, Interest, Evaluation, Commitment, and Sale.

Many PPC campaigns aim for the first stage of this process which is to pique the interest of the potential client or buyer.

However, using PPC campaigns to speak to potential clients in various stages of the funnel is a successful approach if you have a deep understanding of your business funnel. 

Include the seasoned clients or buyers by incorporating keywords specifically handpicked for them. Using long tail keywords or phrases geared toward readers in the lower part of your marketing funnel, like the evaluation or commitment phase can increase your qualified leads. For example, a virtual assistant service may use long-tail keywords such as “hire accounting virtual assistant”,  to address people who may have an awareness of the company but are still evaluating services. 

Bid on Brands

Bidding on brand names is somewhat controversial among PPC experts. 

Some experts claim that you shouldn’t bid on your own brand name because people who already know your brand can search for you directly, there is no need to pay for that click.

However, there are opportunities to use brand names strategically to drive qualified traffic to your site.

For example, If you own a Toyota Car dealership, you can include  keyword phrases such as “Toyota car for sale”, “Toyota car deals”. These keywords use a brand name but also connect the buyer’s intent, to find a Toyota car, with your dealership offering exactly what the buyer is looking for. 

Look for Long-Tail Keywords

Short-tail keywords are composed of one to three long words or phrases such as “Buy Chanel bags”, “Sale Leather”. It’s easy to focus on short keyword phrases when building a keyword list. They generate more traffic, and are common phrases that searchers tend to use when typing in a search query. 

While short-tail keywords can lead to a wider range of reach, you could risk competing with too many other companies or stores that offer the same services. Which increases the likelihood of competition and increased cost for that traffic.

Long-tail keywords can help you narrow down the audience and drive better qualified traffic to your site that are more likely to purchase. More specific phrases such as “buy used leather bags” or “buy vintage Chanel bag” could generate more traffic and sales in the long run.

A great way to get your long-tail keywords is by looking into your website’s organic search results. Often, you can find unique long-tail keyword ideas here that translate well in a PPC campaign. 

Look for Long-Tail Keywords

Short-tail keywords are composed of one to three long words or phrases such as “Buy Chanel bags”, “Sale Leather”. It’s easy to focus on short keyword phrases when building a keyword list. They generate more traffic, and are common phrases that searchers tend to use when typing in a search query. 

While short-tail keywords can lead to a wider range of reach, you could risk competing with too many other companies or stores that offer the same services. Which increases the likelihood of competition and increased cost for that traffic.

Long-tail keywords can help you narrow down the audience and drive better qualified traffic to your site that are more likely to purchase. More specific phrases such as “buy used leather bags” or “buy vintage Chanel bag” could generate more traffic and sales in the long run.

A great way to get your long-tail keywords is by looking into your website’s organic search results. Often, you can find unique long-tail keyword ideas here that translate well in a PPC campaign. 

 

Focus on Quality

PPC platforms have their own standards for  quality ad content. PPC is not just about the amount of money you’re willing to spend in a campaign but rather it’s about connecting the best content that meets the searcher’s needs. It is critical that the ad text be well written and relevant to the keywords. To assess this metric, take a look at the  “quality” of your ads.

For example, Google Ads measures the quality of your ad through a “Quality Score”. It accounts for more than just your ads’ click-through rate but also its relevance to the landing page  content, your  keywords and ad copy.

To Increase your Quality Score,eliminate irrelevant keywords and ad groups from your ad campaigns. Refine your keywords and review your ad copy often. 

Narrow Down Your Ad Groups

For a better Quality Score and better converting ad campaign, pay attention to your ad groups. Each ad group for your ad campaign should serve a particular, unique purpose. Group like keywords together. Keep your ad groups focused on 20 to 30 keywords. It’s easier to optimize ad groups that are narrow in focus.

For example, if an accounting firm offers bookkeeping and tax preparation services, they may want to build a campaign with two ad groups: one for “bookkeeping” and one for “tax prep” instead of just one ad group for “accounting services”. The narrow focus of the ad groups in this example will lead to better qualified traffic and make optimizing each ad group easier. 

Edit out Clicks That Don’t Convert

Once a campaign is designed and built, the campaign needs to be optimized. you may receive a lot of traffic from people who are not in your target market. 

Let’s go back to our Toyota Dealership example.  Your ads are now being served to anyone looking for a car in your region, with a focus on searchers looking for a Toyota vehicle. you surely don’t intend for your ads to appear to people looking for Honda cars.

To avoid situations like this, use negative keywords like the brand name of your competitor to keep your ads from showing to the wrong audience.

In our example, the Toyota Dealer may also decide to exclude other terms to optimize the traffic coming to the site. Other keywords that he may consider  to add to the negative keyword list are “hiring”, “job”, “employment” since his company doesn’t have any job openings currently.

Optimizing a PPC ad campaign is an ongoing process. Consider altering the list as your business needs change. Or as searcher intent changes. This way, you can ensure that your money won’t be wasted on clicks that will not lead to conversions or sales.

Embrace Your Locality

When it comes to PPC with Google Ads, local businesses have a lot to gain. 

Any campaign can include location parameters. Local businesses can select a location radius that they would like their ads to appear. There are even opportunities to show ads within certain cities, states and countries. This unique targeting feature helps to keep ads relevant to searchers as well as advertisers.

Bide Your Time

Timing matters for an  effective PPC campaign.

Another feature available on all campaigns is time and day settings. To test the best time for your ad to run, allow it to appear for a couple of weeks online with no restrictions .Often , you can clearly see a pattern of engagement with your ad. Do more searchers find you during daytime hours or late at night? Use this insight to help you make adjustments to your settings.

This allows you to ensure that your audience can see and interact with your ad campaign while using the ad budget effectively.

Check Your Landing Pages 

Think through your user experience. Are the landing pages providing the information they are looking for? Do you make it easy for users to navigate your site? Make an enticing landing page that is convenient and easy to navigate. Abad user experience can lead to frustration, lower quality scores or the loss of a sale. 

To make it easier for your customers or clients, make individual landing pages for your ad groups that provide the content they are looking for and a solid call to action.

Ads Should Reflect the Landing Page

Your ad campaigns should clearly reflect the information provided on the landing page. The best way to give the user a cohesive experience is by  using the same tone of language on both the ad and landing page.

Consider incorporating words from the landing page to the ad text. This subtle tactic will use familiarity and cohesiveness to ensure the user feels like they are in the right place.

Using constant language on landing pages and in ad text also improves the  Quality Score, click through rate and quality lead generation. .

Pay-Per-Click Marketing can be a valuable and critical lead generator when it’s done properly. A successful PPC campaign takes a lot of effort to create and maintain. With these tips, you can ensure your ad campaign improves website traffic, the number of quality leads while using the ad budget wisely.