7 Steps To An Effective Pay Per Click Campaign
I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while now. First, I wanted to pool together all of the top resources and tips for running a Pay Per Click campaign. I think I’ve done that…and now it’s time to share them with you. Regardless of what some think; Pay Per Click is not dead. In fact, it’s growing.
Aaron Wall on SEO Book ran a post the other day about Google’s shrinking display of organic ads. This is due to their push for product based results…allowing the advertiser to run on a CPA basis. Why? Well, they run a business. The goal is to make money.
If you’re still boosting up your SEO campaign and want to drive some quality traffic without breaking the budget, allow me to show you how:
# 1 – Look At Your Competitors: Whatever it is your selling, I’m sure there’s someone else in the market…as long as it’s not TOO niche of an item. For instance, since Google rank’s PPC ads on multiple factors (quality of ad, ad > landing page relevance, ad copy quality,) it’s not a bad idea to take a look at what the other guy is doing. There are even tools you can use to do this. However, without spending a bunch of money on what you can do for free…go the search engine you’re advertising on and simply look at the ads. Most SE’s won’t allow you to get away with straight up copying other advertisers, but you can get a pretty good idea of what works.
# 2 – It’s All In The Keywords: Ads are important…and we’ll explore that later, but let’s talk about keyword research for a while. For example, you’re advertising “coffee cups.” Chances are, the general keyword phrase “coffee cups” will not be your only choice to bid on. Using keyword variations does two things:
* Saves The Budget: One and two word phrases will always be what everyone wants to bid on. However, these will be the most expensive. Stop trying to take over the world and learn to get creative. Again, there’s a tool for everything. Use the Adwords Keyword Tool, or, Google Wonder Wheel to create keyword variations. Both tools expand your original keyword or phrase to see what others are searching.
* Increases Market Share: Not only do you save money using multiple keywords, but your brand exposure also increases. You’ll find as you increase the “long tail” of search (which means 80% of your traffic comes from 3-5 word phrases), there will be times you’re the only one bidding on a specific keyword. This is a GOOD thing. The more research you do on lesser known keywords..the effectiveness of your campaigns will grow stronger.
# 3 – Run Multiple Ads: A problem a lot of SEM’s run into is writing (and sticking with) only one ad. The pure definition of marketing is: testing. You have to continually optimize your campaigns. Don’t get so caught up in your favorite ad and run the risk of driving your campaign into the ground. You never really know what works until you’ve tried…and failed. I recommend writing between 3-5 ads per ad group. Split your budget between all of them and run at different times.
# 4 – Write Money Saving Text: Save Now, Huge Savings, Get 20% OFF…if these concepts fit into your campaign, than use them! Especially during hard times, these kind of “calls to action,” will give your ads higher click through rates. When these phrases are used, your ad visibility will increase. Don’t forget, on Google CTR does factor into quality score. I’m not saying get clicks just for the heck of it…however, it’s like missing a put in golf – if you miss it short, it never had a CHANCE of going in.
# 5 – Ad Groups & Page Relevance: First off, I wouldn’t put more than 10-20 keywords inside each ad group…unless they are highly targeted and focused long tail keywords. Next, each ad group should point to a relevant page. Another problem SEM’s run into is driving traffic straight to the homepage. Please don’t do this. If you want to run an effective campaign, design separate splash pages for each ad group. You don’t have to have an entirely different page. Use unique calls to action, include some of the keywords on the page…make the customer feel welcome and connected. I guarantee conversions will increase.
# 6 – Weed Out Low Performers: When reviewing your campaign, most Pay Per Click platforms allow you to sort keyword results by several variables: CTR, Conversions, Clicks…etc. Take all of these into account and see which keywords should have bids lowered, or be outright deleted. Like I mentioned in a previous article, don’t throw money at the problem. Eventually, as your campaign matures you’ll want to stick with what works best…while continuing keyword exploration and creation.
# 7 – Is It Making Money? – Even though this is an article encouraging you to use Pay Per Click…you have to be willing to ask hard questions. If it’s not making money, than you need to a double take on what your options are. Just because conversions aren’t rolling in like they should, doesn’t mean your campaign was a failure. The problem could be a variety of issues…landing page design, keyword selection, ad variation…etc. Take a look at all of these variables and then make your decision. The point is, each of these should be optimized to their fullest potential.
There is probably at least 50 steps to dive into when it comes to managing a PPC campaign. But, if you’re new to the concept..take these, chew on, implement them and keep exploring.
