Pay-Per-Click (PPC) marketing is a targeted online advertising modality wherein an advertiser registers with a PPC service (such as Google’s AdWords) and creates an advertisement that contains a link to a product or service on their website. When a searcher types a keyword query related to the advertiser’s chosen keyphrases the advertiser’s ad can be shown. PPC ads are also called “sponsored ads” and appear on the top of the page and/or to the right side of the organic results on search engine results pages.
PPC is one of the most effective ways ever to advertise and presents unique opportunities to track your advertising ROI (Return On Investment). A prospect is searching for your product or service, and BOOM: your ad appears! This technique has obvious appeal for both the advertiser as well as the consumer. But as with any new advertising modality, you must educate yourself to help insure you are not throwing your money into a black hole. You do not want to be like the vast majority of PPC advertisers who are wasting precious marketing dollars mis-managing their own PPC campaigns.
For those willing to spend a bit more time learning the fundamentals of good PPC marketing, here are five things you need to know to save money and be competitive.
1. You Must Constantly Test Your PPC Ads – Running two or more different PPC ads for the same product or service is known as “split testing”. Split testing will show which of your ads is the most effective. After a statistically-valid number of clicks you can eliminate the weaker ad and create a new ad to challenge your champion. Many PPC services do not charge for these additional “test” ads and they can make a huge difference in the success of your campaign.
2. Your PPC Ad Should Not Link To Your Home Page – This may sound counterintuitive, but with PPC advertising you are trying to micro-target your potential customer with precisely the services, information or products in which they are interested. Most websites try to be all things to all people on their home page but your PPC ad should point the searcher to a specific page on your website that relates directly to the reason they clicked your ad in the first place. If you are touting your pedicure services in your PPC ad, when they click your ad they should be taken directly to your pedicure services page, not your home page. By helping to eliminate the clutter in your potential client’s lives you make it easy to do business with your company!
3. It’s Conversion, Not Click-Through – Most people think that the click-through-rate (CTR, or the percentage of users who clicked your PPC ad after viewing it) is the best statistic to measure a PPC advertisement’s effectiveness. In fact, the conversion rate is a much better indicator. You must set up conversion tracking yourself…the PPC systems do not do this for you. Until you track conversions for your PPC campaign, you will never know your true ROI!
4. Chase Away The Chumps – Many PPC systems include a method for specifically denying impressions for searches that contain specific “negative keywords”. For example, if you’re in business to sell something, you probably don’t want anyone who is searching on the word “free” displaying your PPC ad. Of course, many products and services that are sold contain the word “free” (wrinkle free, paraben free, etc.) so you must analyze the specific product or service you are attempting to sell before you can settle on your negative keywords.
5. Anyone Can Do It, But Not Everyone Should Do It – Statistics show an overwhelming majority of PPC campaigns are poorly-managed and return negative ROI. There are a tremendous variety of reasons for this alarming statistic, but the #1 reason is that effective PPC campaign management is a skill that requires education and experience to execute effectively.
PPC marketing is one of the most revolutionary and exciting ways to reach your ideal clients. In some respects, the lure is so intriguing and the promise so bright that it has the potential to blind advertisers to the perils and expenses incurred by a lack of PPC marketing savvy. A little education will help you prevent the mistakes that your competitors are making this very minute!