There are many options businesses can promote their product or service, but due to the global pandemic restricting consumers’ movements, the demand for digital marketing and advertising is higher than ever.
Hootsuite reported in 2019 that the global average for daily online browsing was about 6 hours and 42 minutes, with some countries even going as high as 10 hours a day on the internet. This number is only expected to have increased this year, so boosting your digital advertising budget is definitely the way to go.
PPC as a marketing tool
For most businesses, pay-per-click (PPC) is their preferred digital marketing strategy. 70% of businesses prefer running PPC campaigns instead of SEO even though SEO is cheaper, mainly because of how fast PPC gets results. With SEO, you won’t notice any tangible change until a few months after launching your campaign. With a Seattle PPC Agency, you can immediately see if your ads are generating new traffic.
You may be reading this article because you’re interested in developing a PPC strategy for your business, or you want to improve on a previous campaign. A PPC agency has the expertise and personnel who can develop, run, and refine your business’ PPC campaign, but for small businesses and independent shops who can’t afford to hire an agency, the good news is that you can still run a successful PPC campaign on your own.
Effective PPC practices
When used properly, PPC can give you a great return on ad spend (ROAS), but if you’re not careful, you could end up sinking thousands of dollars into an ineffective PPC strategy. Here’s how to make a PPC strategy that’s guaranteed to get you those desired conversions.
- Target the right keywords
Search engine ads are prime real estate for marketers, considering Google alone receives 75,000 searches per second. The key to generating the best quality traffic is to place your ads on keyword searches relevant to your business. You can’t expect good conversions if you put your cleaning service in a “women’s clothing” keyword search. You need to target the people who are specifically looking for your products or services. It may be counterintuitive to limit the number of people who see your ad, but targeting unnecessary keywords will lead to poor ROAS and low conversion rates. Remember that besides spreading brand awareness, the ultimate goal of your ads should be to generate revenue. The best way to achieve that is to target users who are already expressing interest in your business.
The challenge with keyword targeting is that your competitors will most likely use the same keywords in the PPC campaign. You can expect general terms like “men’s shoes” and “baby clothes” to have high bidding rates because many companies are competing to get their ads on the search results pages for these terms.
However, there’s hope. Online keyword tools can help you determine uncompetitive yet high-value keywords. These keywords may have lower search volumes than general keywords, but it’s been proven that users who search using precise search terms are much more likely to convert than those who use generic terms. The phrase “Fila women’s running shoes” has a higher purchase intent than “running shoes”. What’s better is that low-volume keywords are cheaper, so you’ll spend less but get more relevant site traffic.
- Make eye-catching and well-designed ads
Users have a lower attention span than you think. If your ad is boring or isn’t unique enough, users will scroll right past it. Use different ad formats like videos, banners, or animations to see which generate the most clicks. Ads should contain essential information to reel in your potential customers, but keep texts to a minimum. For search engine ads, use headlines that utilize the keywords the ad is placed under. In both cases, use words that generate a sense of excitement and urgency like flash sale or today only to push them to click.
- Prime your landing pages and website for maximum conversion
Succeeding in getting users to click is only the first step. The most crucial step in bagging a paying customer is by ensuring your websites and ad landing pages are optimized to encourage conversion. This includes a short loading time, an easy checkout process, and a stylish and seamless overall site design. For landing pages, use appropriate calls to action like buy now or call now. Ensure that the information is consistent with the ad the user clicked on. If your ad is advertising a certain price for a product, ensure that the landing page matches that price. If you advertise $19.99 for a pair of headphones, but the landing page shows $24.99, it will put off the user not just from your product but your entire brand.
- Use ad extensions
On search engine ads, ad extensions are additional site links that can lead users to other relevant parts of your website. This can include your “about us” page, your “contact us” page, or even additional information like your service’s starting price, your branch locations, and your phone number.
On third-party website ads, some ad extensions have features that allow businesses to gather information on users without the user having to leave the site they’re currently browsing. This is preferable since nobody likes the additional time it takes for a whole new website to load. You can have users input their email addresses right then and continue the conversion process through supplementary means like email marketing.
These are just a few basic strategies you can use for your PPC campaigns, but a successful PPC campaign goes beyond cherry-picking a few tips and leaving your campaign to run its course unmonitored. PPC agencies like Seattle PPC Agency recommend tracking your metrics to determine if your strategy is working. Identifying and eliminating dead keywords or poorly performing ads early can save you money in the long run. Collecting data on your current PPC campaign is also helpful as a basis for any changes you make to future campaigns.
