PPC, also known as pay-per-click, is an economical advertising approach that has flourished on the Internet. You solely incur charges for these advertisements when someone clicks on them, ensuring that you do not squander funds on individuals who merely read them without any genuine interest in your business. Furthermore, you have the ability to determine the rate for each click, granting you significant authority over your budget allocation.
For those who are unfamiliar, PPC advertising can be perplexing. In this article, we will address several frequently asked questions about PPC and provide some effective strategies to maximize the success of your business campaigns.
1. Start Small
If you don’t have experience with PPC, it’s advisable to begin with small campaigns. Handling numerous ads and budgets may be perplexing, and it is possible to unintentionally spend a significant amount of money within a short timeframe.
We suggest beginning with a single campaign on Google Ads, which is renowned for its wide reach as the biggest search engine. Additionally, having just one campaign enables easier tracking of your analytics. Once you become more familiar with the dynamics of PPC marketing, you can gradually introduce more campaigns.
2. Be Specific
Small businesses often create PPC campaigns without any experience and use broad keywords in the hope of reaching more customers. However, this approach not only wastes time but also results in a poor return on investment (ROI).
When creating PPC campaigns, it is important to think in a step-by-step manner and rephrase the text using specific keywords for targeting purposes. Avoid adding or removing any information while still maintaining the same meaning.
Instead of aiming for your ads to be shown to individuals searching for “restaurants in Pennsylvania” (which typically incurs high cost per click), focus on targeting individuals searching for “Italian restaurants in Harrisburg.” Not only will this result in lower costs, but it will also ensure that the viewers of your ads are genuinely seeking businesses similar to yours.
3. Use Strong Language
Rest assured, we are not referring to profane or disrespectful language. Rather, we are discussing language that captures people’s attention.
If you’re unsure if your headline is effective, seek feedback from trusted colleagues, friends, family members, or mentors. Additionally, consider conducting an A/B split test to compare the performance of two headlines and choose the better one. Weak headlines result in weak returns on investment, while powerful and engaging headlines yield impressive outcomes.
4. Use Geographic Keywords
To make the most of your small business PPC budget, an effective strategy is to target your ads geographically by using specific neighborhoods instead of just mentioning the city you are based in. This ensures that the language used in your ads matches the local area. It is important to consider that individuals from out of town may not be familiar with these specific neighborhoods. However, in terms of targeting your desired customer base, they may not be significant.
5. Include Clear Calls to Action
When it comes to your PPC prospects, be direct in telling them what you want them to do. Often, PPC ads lack a distinct call to action, rendering them ineffective. By specifying one action and possibly repeating it, you simplify the decision-making process for your prospects.
6. Focus on Mobile PPC
Mobile search is a highly popular search choice, with over half of all searches in 2015 being conducted on mobile devices, according to Google. Furthermore, the trend of using mobile devices for voice search is on the rise. For small business owners, it is wise to embrace mobile platforms.
When using mobile PPC advertising, you have the opportunity to engage with customers during their “micro-moments,” which occur when individuals use their phones to seek instant information, such as the meaning of a word or the closest and finest pizza restaurant.
When optimizing your campaign for mobile, consider the ways in which individuals utilize their phones. Begin with these tips as initial steps.
- First, make sure your PPC landing page is mobile-friendly. Of course, your entire website should be mobile responsive since so many people browse the internet on their phone and some access the internet exclusively through their phone.
- Next, activate the “click to call” option on all PPC ads. This may be your most powerful call to action when your ad appears on a consumer’s phone.
- Include location and directions to make it easy for mobile users to find you.
- Top load your mobile Google ad since the second line doesn’t show in mobile ads. Instead, Google opted to feature an ad extension.
- Consider user intent and which actions mobile users are likely to take. Your call to action may be different for mobile ads compared to ads viewed on a desktop computer.
- Don’t overlook social media as people frequently browse their favorite social channels on their phone.
- Double check your geolocation settings to make the most of this opportunity.
Neil Patel, a bestselling author and expert in internet marketing, warns that those who ignore the importance of mobile devices may risk being left behind.
7. Use Remarketing To Save Money
The advertising technique of remarketing is very cost-effective. Its concept is straightforward: instead of reaching out to a new audience, you focus on consumers who have already visited your website.
If a consumer looks through your e-commerce store, then they might be shown a remarketing ad for the exact product they were interested in. It is usually necessary for consumers to view your brand’s message multiple times before they can recall it.
Thanks to the internet and marketing automation, remarketing has become more convenient than ever. It not only simplifies the process, but also proves to be cost-effective by allowing you to target individuals who have already shown interest in your products or services.
By incorporating Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest into your campaigns, social media PPC provides enhanced targeted remarketing opportunities, enabling you to effectively reach your desired audience.
8. Improve Your Quality Score
Improving your Quality Score also improves the effectiveness of your Google PPC campaigns. Yet so many small business managers do not understand their Quality Score. So let’s begin with a quick review of the Quality Score metric. Google rates the user experience of your campaign on a scale of 1 – 10. They may factor in things like:
- Does your landing page reflects the keywords targeted?
- How likely are users to click on your ad, in other words, your expected click-through rate? Great copy improves the odds that consumers choose to visit your website.
- Does your ad make sense and is it relevant?
- Is your ad copy effective and engaging?
Google states that to enhance your Quality Score, you may need to make improvements and modifications to your advertisements, targeted keywords, or even your website.
By including the words or phrases you want to rank for in your ad copy, you have the potential to increase your expected click-through rate. It is important to note that despite being seemingly obvious, these keywords are frequently neglected in the actual ad copy.
To improve the relevance of your advertisements, it is important to think in a step-by-step manner. Rephrase the given text by keeping the same meaning without adding or removing any information. Ensure that the keywords you choose are relevant to the product or service you are advertising. Use these relevant phrases in both your landing page copy and ad copy. Lastly, pitch your promotion to your targeted customer. By following these guidelines, you will enhance the relevance of your advertisements.
To enhance your ad quality, it is important for small businesses to resist using bait and switch tactics on both their landing page and website. This is an apparent PPC tip for achieving success.
To prevent disappointment, ensure that the landing page directly matches the promise made in your ad by sending the user to a personalized and targeted page that offers the same product or service.
9. Monitor your Results
It is important to regularly monitor your PPC campaign even though it will continue to run as long as you make payments. This is necessary to ensure its effectiveness for you and your small business.
By keeping an eye on analytics, you can also improve and adjust your ads. As you continue to revise, your campaigns will become more effective and produce more results for your business.
