How to Maximize Your PPC Advertising

Category: PPC Advertising

Many businesses Use PPC advertising to target customers who are searching for the products and services they offer. If you are venturing into online marketing, here are some guidelines for how to make the most of Pay-Per-Click programs.

Many Businesses Are Leaving Money on the Table

Want to know how to throw away money with PPC advertising?

  • Use a short list of general keywords for your business
  • Write one ad to appeal to all varieties of prospects
  • Point prospects to your home page and cross your fingers that they figure it out
  • Only check your ads once a month

We’ve heard the marketing people who give up saying “It just doesn’t work.”

Instead, we recommend

  • Think broadly about how real people search for your product or service
  • Target categories of prospects with specific ad copy
  • Show the prospect to a page that speaks to their specific need
  • Stay vigilant and active with managing your campaigns

Choosing Keywords is the Key

With Pay-Per-Click advertising, you place ads to show up next to the search results for specific keywords. People who search on some keywords will come right on through and buy exactly what you have to offer. Others will click, costing you money, then kick the tires and go away never to return. You don’t just want “a lot” of people visiting your website. When you are spending money for every click, you want qualified prospects: You want people who have their wallets out, ready to spend some cash. The rest of them, well, there are other ways to get attract them and turn them into a customer, eventually.

Make up a list of the keywords that describe your product or service. At this point, you’re probably missing AT LEAST HALF of the terms that people ACTUALLY type into that little search engine box.

If you have a website, find out from the webmaster, technical support, or “the IT guys”:

  • when users visited the website, what keywords did they use in their search?
  • when someone was browsing the website itself, and they used the search function, what did they type in?
  • and most of the time, you’ll end up asking, “How come we don’t have this data?”

You’ll certainly find some very interesting variations or specific searches you had not thought of. Add these to your keyword list.

  • look deeper alternative ways to say the same thing
  • add modifiers such as types or colors

Writing Ads

Catchy ad copy is the way to stand out above your compeitors in the ad space. But beyond that, think if it as a way to mirror the searcher’s desires, connect, and satisfy their need.

You’re strictly limited in how many characters you can use to “make your case.” Choose them wisely. Some say it is like writing a haiku: Get to the point. For example, “we have pool supplies” is not going to get someone to click. There are lots of websites for pool supplies. Instead, consider each keyword group and make it specific. Better examples are:

  • “Dirty pool?”
  • “We fix stinky pools”
  • “Solar Pool Covers in Stock”
  • “Save Energy – Solar Pool Covers”

Use the keywords people are searching with to generate different ad copy.

Where Am I?

The number one mistake businesses make is to direct a person to their home page. They’re lost. They were looking to book a room with a Jacuzzi, but now they have a puzzle to figure out. “Did I get to the right place? I have no idea if they have what I searched for.”

Instead, have a specific page that matches the ad campaign, even down to the keyword level, that talks about that solution. There are two benefits:

1) The prospect is more comfortable, won’t click away, and is more likely to convert to a buyer
2) Tracking the effectiveness of your campaign spend is easier and more precise when you can see exactly where someone landed and follow them through their action path.

Maximize Your PPC ROI

Last but not least, it’s a mistake to set a hard, fixed budget of $100, $100, or $10,000 for your Pay-Per-Click advertising budget.

Find out how much you pay to acquire a paying customer. As well as how much they will spend, not just today, but in your future marketing efforts. When you know that spending $1,000 to get 1000 leads that also ends up with a few customers that gain you $2,000, you can decide. Would you spend an additional $1,000 to get $2,000? Any business would, given the means. Keep the budgets dynamic and you will make the most of your Pay-Per-Click advertising.