Is SEO proving to be too difficult for you? While organic traffic is beneficial in the longer run, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising can be a great way to start.
PPC is a form of online advertising that places your site/business to appear at the top of SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages). Basically, you pay search engines according to the number of clicks you get for the ad. But there’s more to this than it looks on the surface level.
In this blog, we’ll dive into the fundamentals of PPC advertising and help you polish your marketing strategy. Starting fresh or a seasoned professional, this blog will help you brush up on your knowledge.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- PPC is a great way to increase online visibility, generate sales and expand target reach.
- Visitors are 50% more likely to buy a product/service from a PPC advertisement.
- List your goals for your PPC campaign with a proper emphasis on keyword research and landing pages.
- Keep track of Click through and conversion rates to optimize your approach.
- Avoid keyword stuffing in your advertisement
What is PPC?
We did the basic introductions, let’s dive in deeper. With Pay-Per-Click advertising, clients can bid on specific keywords and have their businesses hoisted at the top of search engines or other sites. The rates per click can depend on the value and relevancy of the keywords. More on that later.
Is PPC Good?
This method of digital marketing can prove to be beneficial for businesses depending on their budget, goals, and industry. Since users can bid on specific keywords, they can bring in the target audience for a certain product or business.
Below is an example of PPC targeted ad.
By placing their keywords, users are shown Booking.com’s site at the top of the result page. PPC and organic results can be identified by a sponsored tag, usually above the site.
Visitors are also 50% more likely to buy a product from a PPC-advertised site. According to Google Economic Impact Report, advertisers make an average of 2$ in revenue for every 1$ they spend on google ads. So, advertisers can see up to 200% return on investment from PPC advertisements alone.
Keeping track of and producing analytics from organic users is comparatively more difficult than keeping track of PPC users. Advertisers can track every click on their ads, deduce keyword popularity, track user behaviors on the site and so much more. Users from PPC ads have better data to make data-driven decisions and optimize accordingly.
Types of PPC Ads
While ads on SERPs are the core of pay-per-click ads, it isn’t the only form of advertisement around. Here are the most common types of pay-per-click ads that you find in your daily lives.
- Search Engine Ads
SE ads are the most common type of PPC ads that appear at the top of SERPs. Advertisers can bid on certain keywords so that their businesses are shown at the top of the result pages if users search for those keywords. They’re mostly text-based clickable links.
- Display Ads
Display ads use visual elements like images or videos to make more engaging and interactive advertisements for the users. They’re more expensive than text-based ads and can be more specific. They can be in the form of pop-ups in apps or websites and are shown algorithmically.
- Shopping Ads
Ever search for something on google and have been displayed pictorial results to buy products? These ads appear at the top of the search engine results pages when users search for specific products. These ads also include prices and links to the website that showcases the product.
- App Installs/Social Ads
Ads on social media or mobile applications generally have ads that encourage you to download certain apps or games. These ads can also end up in your SERPs but generally are displayed on applications or socials.
How to Make Your Own PPC Campaign?
Starting your own ad campaign can take various steps. You will be spending money on these advertisements, but it should be worth it.
- Take time in determining your advertisement goals first. List out your goals for your PPC campaign. Is it for boosting sales? Traffic creation? Generating leads? Whatever it is, make sure it’s all well thought out. Make sure you know what type of ads you want to display. A PPC ad can be optimized to target very specific locations too. Your local PPC ad can target users to zip code level, ensuring that an ad is shown only in desired locations.
- As we’ve discussed before, PPC advertisement is about bidding for keywords. This is why proper research should be done on your target keywords for your product or site. Research keywords that your target audiences are likely to search for. There are various online tools that can help you in your keyword research such as Google Keyword Planner or Ahrefs.
- It’s time to set up your PPC account. Wherever you plan to advertise your product/site, it definitely has an advertiser portal. Signup for a PPC account with search engines or social media platforms that you want to advertise on. The most common choice for anyone is Google Ads.
- Set up a budget for your Ads. Understand how much you want to spend on ads and how much return you are hoping for. It should be realistic.
- Ad creation! Make sure to write compelling advertisements that include your target keywords and clear calls to action. Encourage clicks with headlines and highlights.
- Do not forget your landing pages! Users are directed to a landing page after clicking on your ad. Landing pages are standalone webpage that is designed for conversions. If your PPC landing page is not well optimized, it can lead to a negative customer experience. Make sure your landing page is responsive, loads fast, and has clear calls to action. Advertising one thing and redirecting users to a different product leads to negative impressions.
Ads cannot contain excessive capitalization, punctuation, and misleading information is strictly forbidden. Launch your campaign and monitor results.
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Analyzing your Ad Campaign
Analyzing and adjusting your ad campaign according to the analytics is very important. You can create your own strategy by observing data from the users. Use tracking tools like google analytics to see how many clicks and conversions you are getting from your PPC ads. If there are multiple ads, monitor how well each of your keywords does so you can adjust your bids accordingly.
If by any chance your ads do not do well, it can be a great opportunity to improve. Conduct tests and consult people to make changes to your ad copy for the best results.
Here are some important analytics to observe to help strengthen your ad campaign.
- Click-through rate (CTR)
If your ad can successfully bring a click from users, it’s a positive CTR. If your CTR is high, it indicates that your ad is relevant and engaging. A realistic CTR for any business should be around 2-3%.
- Conversion Rate
While conversion rates are generally for product sales, conversions can also mean users performing desired actions. These can include gaining subscriptions, followers, engagement, or newsletters. The higher your conversion rate, the more successful you are. A higher conversion rate and CTR are also good for your organic growth.
- Budget Worth
You’re spending money on your ad, so it’s important to know the revenue you are generating for every dollar you spend on your ad. The lower you pay for an Ad for higher gains, the better. It’s also called cost per click.
Mistakes to Avoid On Your PPC Campaign
No task can go smoothly without avoiding mistakes. There are many common mistakes advertisers make that hampers the success of your ad campaign. Below are some of the important mistakes to avoid.
- Keyword Stuffing
Make sure your keywords are well researched that is relevant as well as competitive. Do not stuff many keywords in your ad in hopes of targeting multiple genres. Trying to manipulate search engines or platforms that way results in poor audience targets.
- Lack of testing and optimization
If you release a defective product in the market, it won’t be received well. Make sure proper research and optimization are done on your ad campaign. This holds true, especially for your landing page. If your ad landing page is not responsive, or without clear calls to action, users will bounce off your site immediately.
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PPC is a great way to increase online visibility, generate sales and expand target reach. But an ordinary ad won’t do well if you’re opting for PPC advertising. Sure it’s a powerful tool but it requires careful planning, testing, and optimization to be successful. Make sure you know your target audience and set up clear strategies to approach.
Just make sure to steer away from false advertising practices. Avoid keyword stuffing, false advertisements, and bad landing page creation, and stick with simplicity. Do not forget to analyze and look back on your mistakes so that your next ad campaign is a solid one.
