In the world of digital marketing, PPC or Pay-Per-Click advertising is gold. Advertisers pay a fee every time their ad is clicked in exchange for it appearing higher on search engines. Being one of the first links someone sees in a search can be a great way to generate more traffic and revenue. But where do you start?
Apply the following methods to create a successful PPC strategy that fits your company’s needs.
1. Identify Your Goals
What do you want to achieve by using PPC? What are your goals for your business? Having a clear objective is crucial to your PPC strategy and knowing what direction to take. This could be anything from elevating brand awareness, to driving more traffic to your website, to increasing sales, or all three. Knowing what your business needs to thrive will determine the focus and location of your ads.
2. Know Your Audience
Just like knowing what your company needs to grow, you also need to know your target audience to create the perfect ads. What kind of ad is your audience going to interact with? Is your audience more likely to use a search engine or will they respond better to ads on social media? Your goals determine the focus of your ads, but your target audience determines the kind of ads you’ll use and where you’ll post them.
You don’t have to limit yourself to one audience though. You may discover two different audiences who could help you achieve the goal you discovered above. You don’t have to pick one over the other. Use different campaigns in your PPC strategy to target different audiences and watch the clicks roll in.
3. Set a Budget
To maximize ROI (return-on-investment) it’s important to set a budget for your PPC campaign. To determine your ad budget, you will need to consider the cost of the keywords you want to bid on, the acceptable cost per lead for your target audience, and a reasonable cost per new customer acquisition. The good news is that PPC allows for a flexible budget which can be adjusted as necessary. And most ad platforms allow you to set a maximum daily spend limit so you can control your budget.
PPC strategy should be catered to the business’ marketing and financial needs. Businesses with smaller budgets can narrow the scope of their campaign and audiences to save money. By only focusing on what they know already works, businesses can increase their revenue before expanding their PPC campaign even more.
4. Research Keywords
To make your ads easier for people to find you must first find the right keywords. Use research tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or SE Ranking to discover what keywords are ranking the best. Then use these words in your own ad copy to make your business more discoverable.
Popular keywords aren’t enough though. Your keywords must also result in conversion. If individuals see your ad but don’t click on it, then you may need to change your wording. Think back to your target audience and research your competition to figure out what keywords will be most appealing.
5. Build a Landing Page
A PPC strategy is only as good as its landing page. Once someone clicks on your ad, they are taken to the landing page or the place where their question will be answered. This can be the home page, but only if it is story branded and has a good call to action. However, most home pages don’t have these, annoying visitors who were promised an end to their search only to be met with a generic welcome page. Create a page that is relevant to the audience’s interest using the research you’ve already done. Answering their initial question will build an individual’s trust in your site and encourage them to look further into your services.
6. Create Your Ads
After all that research and preparation, it’s time to create your ads. Make the ad copy compelling and appealing to your target audience. Include features, benefits, calls to action, price comparisons, brand promises, and competitor comparisons in the ad copy. Use the right keywords and create an ad that looks inviting. Write an ad that will persuade individuals to view your page.
Not sure where to start? Google Ads is a great place to create ads and keep track of their progress. For more tips on how to use this PPC campaign, check out our blog post on how Google Ads can help increase web traffic.
Need Help with Your PPC Strategy?
A PPC campaign is only as good as its PPC strategy. Luckily there are plenty of resources to help you on your way.
Start with identifying your goals and understanding how your audience thinks. Next, set a budget to ensure you are spending enough on advertising to get results without going overboard. Start researching keywords and find the best ones to rank high on search engines and social media. Now that you’ve done the preparation, it’s time to build your landing page and make the ads. All that’s left is to watch the leads roll in.
For help creating or managing your pay per click campaign, schedule a free consultation with Strategy today.
