A new decade is upon us, and if you’re yet to get to grips with PPC, now is the time to capitalise on the search engine traffic that your competitors have been stealing from you this whole time.
What, you say? Well, by running targeted PPC ads on search engines or social media, you can market your products or services directly to your target customer, so they land on your website instead of your rival’s. After all, if your business doesn’t appear when users search for the products or services you provide, how do you expect them to be able to find you?
PPC is a tactic that has worked successfully for many years now, however many businesses are still unaware it even exists. It allows you to set a budget that will ensure your ad appears prominently when people search for a particular term. Instead of sliding way down the Google rankings, you can ensure your ad is placed firmly at the top for your customer to clearly see above your competitors.
While you may have already looked at your SEO and social media marketing, PPC remains an excellent tool for bringing in traffic and ultimately sales to your business. If you’re ready to truly broaden your marketing strategy with PPC but don’t know where to start, here’s everything you need to know.
A brief overview
PPC stands for pay per click. How PPC works is that you create targeted ads through a platform such as Google Ads, which appear when someone types in a particular keyword on a search engine. For example, “hairdressers in Nottingham” would give that user a generic list of results determined by location and SEO, but at the top would be a select number of prominent adverts that stand out more to encourage the user to click through to their website.
Each time someone does click on the link and are taken to that website, the business who created the ad will be charged a pre-agreed amount, hence the term pay per click. So essentially, you are paying the platform for people to land on your website.
PPC platforms
While Google Ads has been dubbed the ‘king’ of PPC, it’s not the only PPC platform out there. Other PPC platforms include Bidvertiser, RevContent, AdRoll, Bing Ads, BuySellAds and Advertise.com. Social media giants; Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn also have their own PPC platforms.
There’s no right or wrong platform to choose, but each have their own advantages and disadvantages. Generally speaking, Google Ads and Facebook Ads are the easiest to get to grips with, as their large market presence means there are more tutorials and guides out there compared to smaller platforms.
Creating your ad
Depending on the platform you choose, there will be a specific way of creating your ad that will be unique that platform. What remains the same however, is the need to create targeted content that will actually deliver leads.
PPC ads normally require you to enter certain phrases or keywords to create your ad. At the side, a preview will be generated so you can see how it will appear to your customer before you make it live. You’ll need to think carefully about what you enter, as this will be make or break whether it actually reaches your target customer or not.
A top tip when writing your ad, is to avoid broad search terms that are not relevant to what people are clicking through to. For example, say your business offers home renovations. If someone searches for ‘plasterers in Nottingham’, but they are lead through to a generic page on your website that doesn’t list plastering on that specific page, it’s unlikely to lead to a sale.
It’s really important you spend some time researching what search terms and keywords will best reflect what you have to offer. Otherwise, your budget will not deliver a healthy ROI. In essence, your PPC ad should be a direct reflection of the site the user is being linked to.
Setting a budget
The average spend for a PPC campaign is between 66p and £1.32 per click. On the surface, that sounds quite reasonable however if the campaign isn’t generating actual leads then your monthly budget will soon be eaten up.
It’s a good idea to constantly review your budget, to ensure the adverts you have running are hitting the right audience. Another tip is you can select the time of day your advert runs at and even the location of people you want to target, so that you can maximise your budget even further.
There are companies who spend just a few pounds per day, and others that spend thousands. There’s really no right or wrong amount, but it makes sense to ensure your ad is targeted and relevant to avoid paying for clicks that don’t generate leads.
Don’t disappoint
Once your ad has been set up and is live, it’s really important that when people click on your ad they are lead to a relevant, user-friendly landing page. After all, the goal of PPC is to encourage sales on your website, so don’t make this into a challenge for your user!
Ensure the landing page linked from your PPC ad is directly relevant, and has all the tools and information the user needs to actually make a sale. For example, an online store or even a booking form if your business is service rather than product-based. Nobody likes clickbait or irrelevant content!
Don’t do it alone!
We get that PPC is overwhelming when you’re new to it. If 2020 is the year your business is finally getting to grips with PPC campaigns, then why not call in the experts? After all, PPC campaigns cost money to run which can easily be wasted if the ads are not optimised correctly, or if they aren’t hitting your key demographics.
Here at Imaginaire Digital, we can make your PPC as easy as 123. Give us a call today on 0115 971 8908 and let us turn those clicks into actual leads, without any of the fuss or hassle of trying to figure it all out yourself!
