There is some controversy around pay per click advertising. Some people believe it to be a waste of money and too expensive, while others swear by it and have used pay per click to make their website a success. The key difference is learning how to use this kind of advertising properly. As a result, you can bring a lot more customers to your website. This walkthrough will guide you through what PPC is, the benefits and the right way to utilize it.
What is PPC Advertising?
The principle of PPC advertising is pretty simple. You will bid for an ad that will be displayed in the sponsored results when a keyword is searched, alongside natural results. The entire system is based on an auction principle, where the highest bidder has the most chance of getting a number 1 ranking. The more popular a word is, the more in-demand the ad is and the higher the bids will go.
There is another aspect that can influence your ranking, as search engines will also take into account your quality score, which we will cover below. The best, and riskiest, part is that only when someone clicks on your advertisement and ends up on your website, will you have to pay the bid you placed.
Risks
Even though PPC advertising might be a good way to get more traffic to your website, it can be extremely expensive. Some keywords can cost you a lot of money, and generate a lot of click-throughs, which gets expensive.
Then there is also the fact that every person clicking on your advertisement, does not necessarily mean a sale. Sometimes the cost of your campaign can even outweigh your revenue, so using PPC wisely and taking into account your yield is necessary for a substantial return on your investment.
Benefits
PPC is a quick way to acquire traffic. People immediately end up on your website, so you do not have to wait months until your website climbs into the search rankings.
Your advertising campaign can also be adjusted quickly through PPC, because you will get all types of tools at your disposal. One of such tools is Google AdWords, where you can discover the most effective keywords for your target audience.
People who have a niche market can definitely benefit from PPC advertising as well, because they will not have to make big bids for their advertisements to be effective.
The success of every websites now depends on search engine optimisation and digital marketing strategy. If you are on first page of all major search engines then you are ahead among your competitors in terms of online sales.
So, how do you make sure your PPC efforts fall into the first category?
The truth is that, in most cases, the success of your PPC campaign doesn’t have to do with your specific ads as much as it ties to where you’re driving the people who click on your ads.
One of the biggest mistakes a business can make with PPC advertising is not having an intentional strategy behind the landing page they’re actually driving people to.
Here are three ways you can optimize your chance for turning PPC visitors into customers by driving them to a landing page that converts.
1. Don’t drive customers to a generic homepage
People click on your PPC ad for a reason: to find an answer to their specific problem. This is why driving people to your website homepage without considering the specific challenge they’re trying to solve is PPC malpractice.
Unless your website homepage is incredibly detailed about how you solve their specific problem, driving traffic to your homepage is one of the easiest ways to waste money on PPC advertising — which leads to our next tip.
2. Provide personal, relevant and timely information.
In order to maximize the potential ROI of your PPC advertising, consider the journey your potential customer is taking from the keyword they search to the questions they’re asking as they scroll through your landing page. Make sure the message you’re sharing matches the intent of their search and the message they need to hear. And, in an increasingly mobile world, consider the device they’re using.
3. Refine your overall marketing strategy
You can also use your PPC results to direct your other marketing activities. For example, you can find out which keywords are most effective for your business and generate the most conversions, and you can then use these same keywords to direct your SEO. You could even utilize your findings in your email marketing. An effective PPC headline could improve your email subject line, receiving more opens.
4. Make it easy for customers to take a next step
You’ve gotten customers to click on your PPC ad; that’s great. But that alone won’t generate new business unless they actually take a next step. Making it easy for them to know what to do next is critical. And remember, they just searched a few seconds ago … so don’t ask for too much in the first interaction.
If you want to throw your marketing dollars down the drain, invest in PPC advertising without thinking through the customer experience once they actually click through on the ad.
Ready to start a PPC campaign?
The great thing about PPC is that there are very few barriers to entry, and you can be up and running with your first campaign in hours.
Before you begin, ensure that you absorb as much free information and learning resources as possible. Diving into a PPC campaign head first without this basic knowledge can lead to costly mistakes, so it is not a step to be missed!
Once you have a good foundation of PPC knowledge, start a PPC campaign with Google Adwords. Research your keywords in-depth and select intelligent keywords, create your advert and set a low budget and see what happens. This is the best way to learn the ropes without spending a fortune and allows for experimentation.
Then, either improve your skills over time or hire in a PPC specialist to give your results a boost – and enjoy the benefits that PPC can bring to your startup.
