If you have a new business or just want to generate more web traffic to your existing business, PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns can get the job done. The goal of a PPC campaign is to take a prospect that doesn’t even know your business exists and turn them into a customer. Almost half of small businesses use paid ads, so it should be super easy to do, right? Not exactly. A lot goes into PPC campaigns, and there’s a lot to know about how to make a PPC campaign successful. So let’s get down to business!
The first thing you need to know is how does PPC work? This paid advertising model falls under search engine marketing (SEM). Your business posts an ad, and you only pay when people interact with your ad through clicks or impressions. When you run a PPC campaign, your site is one of the first to show up when someone searches using the specific keywords you choose. This is a great way to get leads and has many benefits, but it does take some work to set it up correctly. Before we talk about the next part of launching your campaign, let’s go over some terms you should know.
- SEM – Search Engine Marketing covers paid and non-paid digital marketing through a search engine. So when people search for “mechanics near me,” even if you don’t have a PPC going, but you’re a mechanic with that keyword on your website, you should still show up in the list of results. If you had a PPC ad, you would show up at the top of the results page.
- CPC – Cost-per-click; this is how much you would pay for each click on your ad. Your CPC is like an auction. The more you “bid” or pay per click, the higher your ad will show in the results.
- Keywords – This is probably the most important word you need to know. The keywords tell search engines when to show your ad. For instance, a plumber might use keywords like; plumber, plumbing, water heater, leak, water leak, etc. If they used keywords like framing, roofing, or building, they wouldn’t show up in relevant search results.
- Ad Text – Your keywords need to inform your ad text. This means the text in your ad and on the landing page should match the keywords you’re targeting.
- Landing page – This is the most essential piece of your PPC campaign. This is where your prospects will land when they click on your ad. It can be the homepage to your website, a landing page dedicated to your ad, your social media pages, or anything else you want. However, you need to make sure it matches your ad and keywords so people that click on your ad find the information they are looking for. You should optimize your landing page for turning the lead into a customer quickly.
Next, we’re going to look at where you should have your ad. Just like looking for a storefront for your business, the most important thing is location, location, location. The same goes for your PPC campaign. How do you know the best social media or search platform to use? Well, you should look at your target audience and your potential ROI on each platform. Just because a platform is popular and easy to use doesn’t mean that’s where you should spend your budget. Look at some lesser-known platforms to start. Once you know what you’re doing and you’re ready to go big, then you can jump into the more popular search engines. Here are some of the top PPC platforms:
- Google Ads
- Facebook Ads
- Bing Ads
- AdRoll
Ok! You know what PPC is and where to post your campaign. You’re ready to go, right? Not quite yet. You still need to understand what your goals and expectations from your ad will be. When you’re setting up your ad, you want to make sure your ads reflect your brand. If you’re using an image, does it match your brand style? Does your ad copy use the same voice/tone that your website and social media use? Do your keywords fit what your target audience is searching for? You also want to think about the following:
- Who you want to target
- What the theme for your campaign will be
- What you want the outcome to be
- How will you measure your success
- What platform will you use
- What is your budget (don’t forget you have to bid on your keywords)
Now, off you go into the world of PPC ads! Just remember to look at analytics, measure your results, and look at KPIs, so you know which ads worked the best. You also want to follow some of the best practices for PPC campaigns. (Stay tuned for that blog!) If this all just seems overwhelming, we get it. It definitely can be. Which is why you should look at hiring a team like Pareto PPC to set up, run, and monitor your needs! We can help you set up and continually manage your campaigns. Contact us to get started!
