Pay-Per-Click Marketing – The Keys to a Winning Campaign
The world of marketing has changed dramatically with the ever-increasing use of the internet and social media platforms. Pay-per-click marketing is a big reason for some of these changes.
Why Is Pay-Per-Click Marketing So Important?
No longer can businesses rely on traditional advertising like direct mail, phone calls, television commercials and newspaper ads to reach customers. Businesses that have effective, search engine optimized websites position themselves ahead of the competition for ranking in search engines. But, what happens if your website is not ranking within the first five results in Google or even on the first page for your most important keywords? Ranking high in search engines is not easy as competition on the web continues to grow.
Even if you rank at the top of the Google results page organically, pay-per-click marketing is important because it gives you at least 2 key positions at the top of the search results page.
Implementing an effective Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising plan is an important way to draw potential customers to your website. Pay-Per-Click, also referred to as PPC, can help your business develop brand recognition, a consistent online presence, and increase your website traffic. When you use PPC, you are reaching people who are actively searching for the services or products you offer.
How Does PPC Work?
Google AdWords is a form of Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising which means you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. Ad clicks result in phone calls and visits your website. In a PPC campaign, you pay Google to have them list ads for your site at the top and bottom of the organic search listings. When someone clicks on your advertisement, you pay the current Cost Per Click (CPC) from your budget. Once your entire budget has been depleted, Google stops your ads until you replenish your fund so setting the right budget is important.
Pay-Per-Click advertising works because it engages people with relevant information when they are actually searching for it. Users are searching for specific products, services, and information when they go online. Businesses have the ability to show a targeted ad at the exact moment a search is occurring. For example, if a user searches for “plumbing supplies in Colorado Springs,” your ad for plumbing supplies in Colorado Springs will appear. Immediacy and relevance are important to busy consumers. They won’t spend time looking, especially when they have an urgent problem or need a product or service nearby.
Google AdWords and Bing Ads are very effective when the keyword phrase that is searched implies intent to make a purchase (bottom of the funnel), or during key research and education phases (middle of the funnel). When PPC is integrated with a strong overall sales funnel strategy where there is know, like and trust being built throughout the customer journey, can deliver very powerful results.
While PPC is easy to implement, rushing into the process can be a costly mistake. Because it is so easy to create an ad, we find that many business owners often become frustrated because their ad campaigns don’t yield the results they expected and they wasted money on low performing ads. An effective ad campaign takes planning and research as well as frequent monitoring to optimize each ad you place. This includes proper budgeting and effective targeting such as what to exclude, and when and where to run your ads.
It’s important to understand that a “click” doesn’t guarantee sales – it simply means that someone clicked on your advertisement and will be routed to the web page you specified when you created your advertisement. Not all pay-per-click campaigns result in a purchase. Many businesses use pay-per-click campaigns to sell products but PPC can also be used to promote services, promotional materials, news releases, and other content – all intended to build a brand or share content.
Making PPC Advertising Work For Your Business
How do you plan and execute a successful pay per click advertising campaign? There are four things to keep in mind when planning an effective campaign:
1. Track Conversions
If you want to stay on budget, you have to track conversions. A conversion is anytime a visitor to your website takes a desired action. Examples of conversions might be:
- Visitor makes a purchase
- Visitor completes a contact form
- Visitor downloads a white paper and provides their email address
- Visitor calls the business (call tracking)
A conversion doesn’t have to be a sale. But a conversion has to be worth something to you. If you can’t think of any measurable outcome of a visit to your site, you shouldn’t spend money on pay per click advertising.
2. Manage Your PPC Dollars: Set a Reasonable Budget
A lot of people ask us how much we typically spend on clients’ PPC campaigns. There is no ‘right’ amount – it depends on your unique circumstances and goals, and the competition for the keyword phases you want to advertise for. We can help you clarify your campaign goals and set a budget that works for your individual needs.
3. Find the Right Keywords
Some people want to aim their ads at the broadest possible terms, such as “dresses,” “restaurants,” or “plumbing.” Since the broader terms get far more searches, it’s a strong temptation but with a big disadvantage. Since everyone bids on the broad terms, the cost per click is generally quite high. And the chances of a conversion, even if someone clicks on your ad, are much lower. Focus instead on narrow, more specific keywords: “Wedding dresses,” “New Mexican restaurants in Colorado Springs” or “Colorado Springs plumbing parts.” These terms will cost less and potential customers who search using these terms will be far more likely to buy from you.
4. Good Writing Matters
Most pay per click advertising requires that you write a couple of short, descriptive phrases about your service. Don’t underestimate the importance of this – make sure that your grammar, spelling, and overall language is correct and appropriate for your target audience. Also, verify that your language adheres to the rules enforced by the pay per click platform – Google, for example, won’t allow ads with superlatives (“the best,” “the greatest,” etc.), with repeated keywords, or with excessive capitalization.
5. Drive Traffic to Landing Pages Designed to Convert
Pay-per-click advertising works best when the traffic that is generated by the clicks on the ads drive the traffic to landing pages that are highly relevant to the content that was promised in the ad, and that has a clear call to action – what do you want the page visitor to do. If page visitors driven by ads bounce quickly once they land on the page, that is a signal to the PPC solution that either the ad or the landing page may not have been relevant to what the searcher was looking for. This is usually reflected in the quality score for the ad, which has a big impact on placement and cost of the ad.
In summary
A lot of work goes into building a winning PPC campaign: researching and selecting the right keywords, organizing those keywords into well-organized campaigns and ad groups, setting up PPC landing pages that are optimized for conversions, and continuing to manage and optimize the ad performance. You may not have the time, staffing or advanced marketing knowledge to do this work without professional support.
Many businesses owners depend on marketing professionals to create and maintain their Pay Per Click campaigns. Colorado Springs SEO for Growth will work with you on all aspects of a successful PPC campaign. We have the resources and expertise to develop a winning PPC strategy that gets the results you want.
Colorado Springs SEO for Growth provides pay-per-click and pay-per-impression advertising services for Google AdWords, Bing Ads, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other sites. We will work with you to develop a plan that works with your specific needs and budget.
Let’s Get Started!
Implementing a marketing strategy that includes Pay-Per-Click advertising is an important part of a comprehensive business plan. When you postpone PPC marketing, you are leaving money on the table for your competitors. We can help you develop Pay-Per-Click campaigns customized for your business. Contact Colorado Springs for Growth today to learn what we can do for you.