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Pay-per-click advertising (PPC for short) has become a popular marketing strategy for small businesses. When done properly, it can be a great way to drive traffic to your website at a relatively low cost. But if you want to really reap the benefits of this type of advertising, you first need to optimize your PPC campaigns. Optimized PPC ads perform better in every aspect – improving the amount and quality of traffic you attract, increasing click-through rates, giving you a higher return on investment, and even raising brand awareness. Indeed, learning how to optimize your campaign for the best results is well worth the time.
What is PPC advertising?
Pay-per-click or PPC advertising is an online advertising model. Although other types of ads are used, people most commonly refer to so-called paid search ads when talking about PPC campaigns. These are ads that appear on the search results pages of popular search engines, usually at the top or as a part of the sidebar. Many people do not even realize they are ads and assume them to be search results, making them more effective. But the real reason why PPC advertising is one of the most popular ways to advertise your business is its high ROI or return on investment. As the name implies, you only pay for the clicks you get, not for the mere presence of your ad on the page, which makes PPC advertising very cost-effective.
4 tips to optimize your PPC campaigns
PPC ad campaigns can be very beneficial for your business. However, they only work if you set them up correctly and optimize them for the best performance. So, if you are not satisfied with the results you’re getting, consider the following actions:
Use the right keywords
PPC ads do not just appear randomly on the search engine results pages (SERPs); they’re triggered by specific keywords. Typically, Google will serve up ads when it assumes the intention of the search is to buy something. So, if you are, for example, selling antique furniture, you’ll want to set up your ads to appear when the user Googles something like “antique nightstand sale” and not when the user is searching for the latest iPhone. But not all keywords relating to your niche will perform equally well. Some will be more relevant to your business than others. This is where keyword research becomes relevant.
You want to focus on high-performing keywords. These are keywords that are relevant not just to your business but to the specific thing you are advertising. They should further have high click-through rates and attract quality traffic. Do not just settle for mid-level performance either – regularly analyze your PPC campaigns and focus on keywords that are performing outstandingly well.
Finally, it is just as important to avoid the wrong keywords as it is to use the right ones. So, create lists of negative keywords – keywords related to your industry and might trigger your ads but not your niche (if you are selling antique furniture as in the above example, negative keywords may be related to antiques in general). These might trigger your ads and cause clicks but will not lead to sales. You will end up paying for the clicks without getting anything out of them, so it’s best to blacklist those keywords.
Write a good ad copy
An engaging ad copy is crucial for any advertisement campaign. It is, after all, what attracts customers. So, you must write an attractive ad copy to which your target demographic will respond. Remember that you are limited to a certain number of characters, so be concise and to the point. Include a relevant keyword and a strong call to action. Finally, write an attention-grabbing headline to get people hooked from the start.
Optimize your landing pages
An ad will attract people to your website. But it is what they find on the landing page that ultimately converts them. So, it is not enough to optimize your ads; you must also optimize the pages to which they lead. Start by pairing the right ads with the right landing pages. The ad and the page should both be about the same product or service. Next, write a good page with engaging content that presents your business in the best possible light. Remember all the best practices of on-page SEO, including engaging headings, internal links, optimized images, and more. This is your opportunity to follow through on a quality ad.
Experiment with your ads
If you want to run successful PPC campaigns, you cannot just set them up and leave them be. Instead, you must track the performance of your ads and find out what is working for you and what isn’t. Then use these insights to improve on your existing campaigns and develop new ones. It is always possible to improve your marketing, so do not be afraid to try new things. If you are focusing on local SEO, add localized keywords to your ads. If you are targeting a younger demographic with a new launch, write ads that your new audience will appreciate. Bid manually sometimes, test different ad positions, try different combinations of ads and landing pages – experiment until you find a formula that works for you. No PPC campaign will work for every business, so you must discover what suits yours.
Why should you optimize your PPC campaigns?
Pay-per-click advertising can be a quick, easy, and cost-effective way to improve brand visibility, attract traffic, and increase sales. But if you take the time to optimize your PPC campaigns, you’ll maximize the profits from them. You can increase your click-through rate and get a better-quality score, further improving your campaigns. Perhaps more importantly, optimized campaigns come with a lower cost per click and bring in higher returns on investments. Overall, optimizing PPC campaigns will improve their performance and thus benefit your business.
Pay-per-click advertising can be a quick, easy, and cost-effective way to improve brand visibility, attract traffic, and increase sales. But if you take the time to optimize your PPC campaigns, you’ll maximize the profits from them. You can increase your click-through rate and get a better-quality score, further improving your campaigns. Perhaps more importantly, optimized campaigns come with a lower cost per click and bring in higher returns on investments. Overall, optimizing PPC campaigns will improve their performance and thus benefit your business.
Author bio
Kimberly Greene is a digital marketing expert with a special interest in content marketing and search engine optimization. For the last three years, she has worked at Digital Dot New York where she leads a team that is in charge of market research. She hopes that her work will help small business owners grow their companies and achieve their dreams with a little help from the world wide web.