Pay per click is a form of advertising that is primarily designed to attract search engine traffic, although it can also be used to draw traffic from virtually any website. As an advertiser, you only pay whenever someone actually clicks on your ad and is redirected to your website. Therefore, PPC can be one of the most cost-effective strategies to attract the attention of qualified, interested traffic, boosting your returns on your investment. PPC is deceptively easy, but you need to be market-savvy to manage these campaigns well. Here are some do’s and don’ts to keep in mind when managing your PPC campaign.
PPC Strategies to Avoid
Building an Undefined Keyword List – Some advertisers believe that a narrowly defined keyword list will exclude a lot of potential customers. However, even though a very broad or undefined keyword list may increase the total amount of traffic you receive, many of these visitors will not be particularly interested in the products or services you are offering. Sending untargeted traffic to your website often only significantly increases the total cost of your campaign and significantly reduces your profit margin on it. Only advertising to individuals who search on keywords from a defined list that you know is relevant to your business will help ensure that a majority of the visitors you attract are potential customers.
Relying on Unmanaged PPC – Some inexperienced PPC strategists simply create their campaign and wait for traffic. The internet, however, is constantly in a state of flux. The products and services customers want to see, and the search engine results they use to find them, are always changing. To stay ahead of the market, you should constantly monitor, test and alter your ads as necessary. For example, do not be afraid to experiment. Testing out two ads for the same keyword simultaneously will quickly show you which strategy is more effective.
PPC Strategies to Implement
Use Quality PPC Providers – You should always use a reputable PPC provider. Spending money on smaller, unknown PPC providers can not only result in poor traffic but could also result in you being the victim of “click fraud.” When choosing a PPC provider, you should rely on one or both of the big two – Google and Yahoo/Bing (who recently merged their advertising solutions).
Create Quality Ads – When creating ads, you should write copy that relates directly to your keywords and keyword phrases. The title needs to be short but still grab your potential customer’s attention. One way to accomplish this is through the use of action verbs, specials and limited time offers. Another effective strategy to encourage potential customers to click through to your website is to briefly and authentically describe the primary benefits of your product or service.
Create Landing Pages Specific to Ad Content – To increase the effectiveness of your ad campaign, you should consider creating landing pages on your website specific to the ad content. There are several ways to create an effective landing page. It needs a bold, eye-catching and easily understandable headline. It is also essential to have action oriented sub headings and taglines that explain how your products or services can solve your potential customer’s problem — the reason they searched in the first place. The body of your copy should be easy to scan and understand as well. Finally, link placement and navigational tools are also crucial and should be easily accessible to your visitors.