A pay-per-click campaign sounds like a great deal.
You just choose your keywords, set how much you want to spend, and Google puts you at the top of the search results, right?
Anyone who has ever actually done a PPC campaign knows that’s not exactly how it works.
Running a successful PPC campaign is actually a little bit harder and little bit more labor intensive than it sounds.
If you’re having trouble getting clicks on your ads or even getting any visibility at all, hiring an expert can be a great way to get the most out of your campaign.
In general, here are the elements of a successful PPC campaign:
1. Knowing what your goal is
Why are you even thinking about running a PPC campaign?
Is it because you heard that they are a good stop gap for search engine optimization?
Or is it because you actually want to get more visibility. Knowing why you want to have a pay-per-click campaign will give it direction.
You should also know what you are actually trying to get site visitors to do when they click on your ad.
Are you trying to get them to trade their information for a coupon code or downloadable report?
Do you want them to call and make an appointment?
To make a purchase?
Understanding this goal will also be helpful when it comes to crafting a successful campaign.
2. Knowing who your audience is
Too many businesses attempt to kick off marketing campaigns without really understanding who they are marketing to.
This can fatally wound any marketing campaign before it starts, but it can especially hobble a PPC campaign.
If you don’t know who you are trying to reach out to, the content of your PPC ads will never be as directed or as targeted as they need to be.
This is a serious problem and one that will make any money you dump into a PPC campaign a waste.
You need to know who your audience is, what they want, and why they want it.
This will allow you to position your ad so that it is what they want and is presented in a manner they are likely to respond to.
3. Excellent keywords
Far too many business launch a PPC campaign without really taking the time to do keyword research.
They pick a keyword that they believe their target audience is likely to search and then they implement it without really knowing if their target audience is actually looking for that search term or if it is really the best search term for their business.
What you need to do is extensive keyword research that tells you not only what keywords are being searched, but which keywords are most likely to bring your ideal customer/clients/patients to your ad.
These are the keywords you will want to spend the most money on and the ones that are likely to have the best ROI.
4. Effective ad copy
What constitutes effective ad copy?
In short, this is copy that your target audience is likely to respond to and which also matches the “personality” of your business.
If you run a serious law firm, for example, an ad that is silly and humorous is not likely to go over well.
On the other end of the spectrum, if you have a fun and upbeat shoe company, a very serious ad is not going to draw the right kind of clicks to your website.
You usually have about 100 characters in your PPC ad.
That means you have less than text message or Tweet to get your point across.
A great way to see what ads are currently effective is to search your keyword and see what shows up at the top of the paid search results.
In general, you will want to use action words, focus on benefits, and emphasize some sort of scarcity or immediacy.
For each keyword, write at least two different ads, so you can test them against one another.
5. An awesome landing page
The landing is page is where people who click on your ad are going to end up.
It is this page that they will judge and decide whether to stay or whether to click away and find a different business.
Your landing page needs to be impressive if you want visitors to stay.
A good landing page will communicate what your product or service is all about.
It will also make it possible for that visitor to convert into a customer, client, or subscriber within just a few clicks.
The content should be original and engaging so the reader feels that they are gleaning important and desired information.
Last, but not least, it should load quickly. A landing page that loads slowly is more likely to be abandoned.
6. Constant refinement
It is nearly impossible to find the winning formula the very first time you set up your campaign.
The real key to a successful PPC campaign is tracking your campaign, identifying what works, and eliminating what absolutely does not work.
Every campaign is going to have some elements that work perfectly and others that actually drag it down.
Paying attention to your analytics, trimming the fat, and capitalizing on what works well will only make your PPC campaign better and better.
With every change that you make, be sure to split test it so you can be sure that the change is actually improving your response rate, and only hold on to the changes that actually help your campaign, and you’ll see it become more and more successful!
