Why, why are PPC ads everywhere?
Asides from other ads like native, video and social ads – PPC ads just work.
But truthfully, they need to be done right. Otherwise, PPC ads just result in money wasted in advertising dollars that don’t generate impressions, engagement and brand/service awareness!
PPC stands for “Pay Per Click,” which is exactly as it sounds – you only pay per click on the ad that links back to your web page, product or service.
Google, Bing and other search engines allow you to buy ads that appear along the side bar or top panels of a page.
Essentially, Google lets you bid on an ad – you bid the amount that you would like to pay if a viewer clicks on that ad. The higher your bid, the higher your chance of your PPC ad being ranked as a “Sponsored Post” in search pages, coming up first. But again, it’s just a chance – you’d have to outbid everyone else! And that doesn’t guarantee that people will click on it.
However, no one can doubt that PPC advertising is a great way of significantly boosting page traffic quickly – and targeted traffic at that!
Truthfully, you get results out of PPC advertising based on what you put into it. If you neglect your campaign and don’t take advantage of dynamic remarketing, the power of Google Analytics, and more – it’s just dollars wasted on an otherwise powerful advertising tool.
One of the biggest keys to successful PPC advertising is using the power of analytics to segment your ads by the days they are performing well, to what audience, and the specific conditions. That way you can readjust your budgeting to the times and dates that your ads are effective, to make the most of your dollar with the best results in terms of click-through rating.
In turn, that’ll help improve your quality score!
Like any advertising format, there are good and bad to PPC advertising; display ads can be obtrusive on occasion and deter you from clicking on them, but they also have the highest reach compared to any other ad type. Think of it as putting all your eggs in one basket that is the Internet.
This raises the question: What are the essentials of a GOOD PPC campaign?
Photo by Alberto Tolentino on Unsplash
Be $ensible
Set a sensible budget! Don’t be that “we have to be #1” guy, otherwise you’ll end up with a bruised ego, not to mention breaking bank from spending ad dollars on a PPC ad that doesn’t have a high ROI.
Know where your overall ad campaign and services have room for improvement. For example, say you have a PPC ad that is regarding “picture frames” being sold on your website – but imagine that the landing page was slow, unresponsive and had pop-ups! You’d be taking an engaged customer and moving them farther away from their point of purchase.
Basically, ensure that your landing pages are optimized and that your budgeting is sensible. Target the areas of your product and ad campaign that could use work, and make them more efficient to increase the success of your PPC ads!
Analyze This
Conversions, yo. Use the power of Google Analytics to understand what ad is performing best, where – so that you can adjust your ad budgeting to reflect ads that perform well at specific times, and pull back on the ones that don’t! And on that topic – have a sensible ad budget.
The Right Words: Find Your Niche
Thinking in terms of long-tail and short-tail keywords, be sure to specify the words that hit home in search terms instead of using generic target words that are too broad. Narrow, focused keywords will not only cost less than the vague, general terms – but also have a higher ROI.
ALWAYS test your ad copy. Ensure that every word has a purpose, and is chosen carefully. I mean, it might not be a bad idea to hire a copywriter, either.
Which brings us to the next point:
Quality > Quantity
How high is your Quality Score? If your ad performs well and points to a quality page, then the price for you to bid on that particular ad actually goes down with a higher quality score! You can reduce costs by 20-30%, actually. And who doesn’t like paying less for great ad results?
Adapt, Evolve, Adjust
In 2015, the world of advertising is congruent to the Wild West. The market is constantly changing, and with that so is ad types, campaign initiatives and viewership.
The best practice with PPC advertising is constant market and keyword research, but being able to adapt to the ever changing conditions of the advertising world. If you have been outbid on an ad or search parameters change, being able to adapt and adjust your budget/keyword research is fundamental towards PPC advertising success!
