PPC Strategies are widely used in google ads. We will walk through different PPC strategies to be deployed based on industry norms and what are the available PPC strategies we can fully utilize as a veteran PPC professional. PPC stands for Pay-Per-Click, a form of online advertising where advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked.
PPC allows advertisers to bid on certain keywords relevant to their business. When someone searches for one of those keywords, the advertiser’s ad may show up on the search engine results page. If the ad gets clicked, the advertiser pays the search engine a small fee.
Some key things to know about PPC advertising:
– Cost Per Click model – Advertisers only pay when their ad gets clicked, not just for it to show up. This makes it a cost-effective way to reach potential customers.
– Auction-based system – Advertisers bid on keywords to try and get their ads to show up for relevant searches. Higher bids generally result in better ad placement and more clicks.
– Pay per click networks – The most common PPC networks are Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising, which show PPC ads alongside search engine results. But PPC ads can also appear on social media and other sites.
– Targeted reach – Since ads are triggered by specific keywords, PPC provides a way to reach people who are already searching for related products or services.
– Measurable results – Detailed analytics show impressions, clicks, conversions, costs, and other metrics to evaluate performance.
So in summary, PPC advertising is a model where advertisers pay fees to show ads to targeted audiences, with costs based on actual clicks received. It’s one of the most common and effective forms of digital marketing.
How PPC Advertising Works
PPC stands for pay-per-click, a form of online advertising where advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked. PPC enables businesses to reach customers as they search for products or services online.
With PPC advertising, advertisers bid on certain keywords relevant to their business. When someone searches for one of these keywords, the PPC ads may show up alongside the search results. Where and when an ad appears depends on the advertiser’s bid price for that keyword as well as the quality and relevance of their ad.
The PPC advertising model is based on auctions. Multiple advertisers can bid on the same keyword. The advertiser willing to pay the most per click for that keyword will have their ad appear at the top of the search results. The minimum bid to show an ad is determined by the competition from other advertisers.
If a searcher clicks on a PPC ad, the advertiser pays the bid amount for that keyword to the search engine. So with PPC, you only pay when your ad actually drives a user to your site or landing page.
The two main PPC advertising platforms are Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising (formerly Bing Ads). These allow businesses to create and manage PPC campaigns to reach users on Google Search, YouTube, Gmail and the search engine Bing.
Benefits of PPC
PPC advertising provides numerous benefits that make it an effective online marketing strategy for many businesses. Some of the key benefits include:
- Generates leads and sales – One of the main goals of PPC is to drive conversions, whether that’s leads, sales, sign-ups, or other actions. PPC ads allow you to put your message in front of people who are actively searching for your products or services, making them more likely to convert.
- Targeted reach to interested users – PPC platforms allow you to target your ads to specific locations, demographics, interests, and more. This means you can reach users who are more likely to be interested in your offering.
- Control over budget and spending – With PPC, you only pay when someone clicks your ad. You can set daily budgets and caps so that you have control over how much you spend.
- Results can be measured and tracked – PPC platforms provide robust analytics and reporting. You can track metrics like impressions, clicks, conversions, ROI, and more. This makes it easy to optimize campaigns.
- Accounts can be optimized for better performance – Using the data and analytics, you can continuously refine targeting, bids, ads, landing pages, and other factors to improve results over time. PPC is very flexible.
Overall, PPC delivers a high level of control and measurable results, making it a very effective marketing method for lead generation and sales. The ability to reach motivated audiences in a targeted manner and only pay for clicks provides tremendous advantages.
Key PPC Strategies
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising can be a highly effective marketing strategy when executed properly. There are several key strategies to implement in order to maximize results and get the most out of your PPC campaigns:
Keyword Research
Conducting thorough keyword research is crucial for successful PPC campaigns. You want to identify keywords that are highly relevant to your products or services and are likely to convert. Look for keywords with good search volume and low competition to target. Organize keywords into ad groups around topics.
Writing Compelling Ads
Well-written, engaging ads are essential for getting clicks and driving traffic. Include strong, attention-grabbing headlines that speak to what the user is searching for. Write clear, concise ad copy that highlights the key benefits of your offering. Include a strong call-to-action.
Setting Bid Prices
Set informed bids based on the value each keyword brings to your business. Bid higher on keywords likely to result in conversions and revenue. Use bid modifiers to optimize for conversions. Adjust bids regularly based on performance.
Landing Page Optimization
Send traffic to a dedicated, customized landing page that continues the messaging from your ads. Clearly highlight the offer and include a prominent call-to-action. Keep pages clutter-free and easy to navigate.
Split Testing
Test different versions of ad creative, landing pages, bids, and targeting to determine what resonates best with your audience. Evaluate performance metrics to identify winning variants. Apply learnings to scale up efforts that work.
Remarketing
Use remarketing ads to engage visitors who previously interacted with your site or ads. Tailor ads based on pages visited to deliver a more targeted, customized message. Remarketing helps drive conversions.
Keyword Research
Keyword research is the process of identifying high-potential keywords that are relevant to your products, services, or content. Proper keyword research is crucial for creating effective PPC campaigns, as your ad groups and ads should be optimized around targeted keyword phrases.
When conducting keyword research, you want to identify keywords that have high search volume and low competition. This indicates there is significant demand for that keyword, but not a lot of paid ads competing for it. There are a few key things to analyze when researching keywords:
- Search Volume – The monthly or annual search volume indicates how often a keyword is searched. High volume keywords have more search traffic potential. However, extremely high volume keywords are often super competitive.
- Competition – This refers to how many advertisers are bidding on a keyword. Low competition keywords are easier to rank for. You can gauge competition based on suggested bid prices or by analyzing existing ads and landing pages.
- Trends – Look at historical search data to identify rising or falling keyword trends. Rising trends may present opportunities to get in early before competition increases.
- User Intent – The words used in a keyword phrase indicate what the searcher is looking for. Identifying user intent helps you better target keywords and craft relevant ads. For example, a broad phrase like “women’s shoes” indicates a different intent than “buy black heels online.”
Once you’ve researched relevant keywords, you can organize them into ad groups around specific product lines, categories, or themes. Effective PPC campaigns typically have tightly themed ad groups with closely related keywords. This allows you to create targeted ads and landing pages tailored to each keyword theme.
Writing Effective Ads
Crafting compelling PPC ads is crucial for getting clicks and conversions. Follow these best practices when writing ads:
Catchy, Compelling Ad Headlines
The ad headline is the first thing users see, so make it irresistible. Use emotional triggers like humor, curiosity, or exclusivity. Ask questions or highlight benefits. Include your most important keywords. Keep headlines under 30 characters so they don’t get cut off.
Detailed Ad Copy
Elaborate on your headline in the description text. Focus on your unique value proposition and explain how you solve customers’ problems. Use conversational language and highlight benefits. Use dynamic keyword insertion to automatically include keywords in the ad copy.
Dynamic Keyword Insertion
This feature inserts the keyword that triggered the ad into the ad text itself. This results in highly relevant, tailored ads. Just enable dynamic keyword insertion in your PPC platform.
Unique Selling Proposition
Clearly explain what makes your offer, product or service better than competitors. Don’t just describe, focus on your competitive advantage. This convinces searchers to click your ad instead of others.
Clear Call-to-Action
Every ad needs a CTA telling searchers what to do – “Sign up now”, “Start your free trial”, etc. Use action verbs that convey urgency. Make sure your CTA matches your landing page so users aren’t confused when they click.
Setting Optimal Bids
One of the most important parts of a successful PPC campaign is setting the right bid amounts for keywords and ads. Here are some tips for optimizing bids:
- Start with auto-bidding to gather data.
Most PPC platforms like Google Ads have automatic bidding strategies you can use as a starting point. These use your campaign data to automatically adjust bids to help get conversions at the lowest cost. - Move to manual bidding based on goals.
Once you have enough conversion data, switch to manual bidding so you can tailor bids based on your campaign goals. For example, bid higher to get more conversions or clicks, or lower to reduce costs. - Bid higher for keywords that convert.
Analyze your keyword performance data and identify which keywords are driving conversions. Increase bids on those high-converting keywords so you can get more of them within your budget. - Adjust bids regularly based on performance.
Check your keyword bids frequently and tweak them based on the latest performance data. For example, increase bids on keywords that could use more traffic, or decrease bids that are getting lots of clicks but not conversions. Small bid adjustments can have a big impact.
The key is to continually test different bidding strategies and use the performance data to optimize bids so you maximize conversions and ROI. With the right bid amounts, you’ll get the best bang for your PPC buck.
Landing Page Optimization
A well-optimized landing page is crucial for getting the most out of your PPC campaigns. The landing page is where you send traffic from your PPC ads, so it needs to align with your ad messaging and motivate users to convert.
Some key tips for optimizing PPC landing pages include:
- Simple, uncluttered design – Avoid clutter and keep the layout clean and simple. Too many images, videos, or other distractions can detract from your call-to-action.
- Clear headline and value proposition – State your offer or key message clearly at the top of the page. Help users quickly understand why they should stay on your page.
- Relevant page content – Make sure the content on your landing page matches your ad copy. Don’t confuse users by diverging too far from your ad messaging.
- Strong call-to-action – Use clear CTAs like “Sign Up Now” or “Start Free Trial” to prompt users to convert. Make the CTA button or link prominent on the page.
By focusing on simplicity, clarity, relevance, and action, you can optimize PPC landing pages to convert more traffic into leads and customers. Test different versions of landing pages to determine which design and copy resonates best with your target audience. Landing page optimization is crucial for maximizing the ROI of pay-per-click advertising.
Split Testing Ads
Split testing, also known as A/B testing, is a key strategy to optimize PPC campaigns and maximize ad performance. This involves creating multiple versions of ads, landing pages, bids, keywords, or other campaign elements and rotating them to see which performs better.
Testing Ad Variations
Create 2-3 versions of your ad copy and headlines while keeping the rest of the ad the same. Run the different versions simultaneously and analyze which ad receives more clicks and conversions at a better cost per click (CPC). This can help identify which creative resonates best with your target audience.
A/B Testing Landing Pages
Test different landing page layouts, calls-to-action, headlines, images, and copy. Send traffic to the two pages and track conversions to determine which page is more effective at converting visitors. Refine your landing page over time to increase conversion rates.
Experiment with Bids, Keywords, Match Types
Test different bid amounts and match types (broad, phrase, exact) for your keywords to find the optimal balance of traffic volume and cost per conversion. Expand your keyword list and identify new terms that drive conversions cost-effectively. Remove low-performing keywords that are not generating results.
Analyze Results to Double Down on What Works
Dig into campaign analytics to identify the top-performing variations. Allocate more budget toward the better-performing ads, keywords, landing pages, etc. to maximize your PPC investment. Continually test and analyze to refine your PPC strategy over time.
Remarketing
Remarketing is a powerful PPC strategy that targets users who have already visited your website. This allows you to re-engage potential leads who may have left your site without converting.
Remarketing works by using tracking cookies to identify users who have visited your site. You can then display ads to those users as they browse other sites across the web. This helps tap into your existing pool of potential leads.
Some key benefits of remarketing include:
– Keeps your brand and offerings top of mind with potential customers
– Increases the chance of converting visitors into leads and customers
– Helps reduce bounce rates by bringing visitors back to your site
– Allows you to tailor messaging to different visitor segments
– Is highly cost-efficient since you are targeting interested users
With remarketing, you can choose to target all website visitors or be more selective by only reaching those who visited specific pages. This allows you to further refine your targeting and messaging.
Overall, remarketing is a smart PPC strategy that leverages your existing website traffic. Instead of allowing visitors to leave and never return, remarketing gives you the ability to keep your brand in front of them across the web. When done effectively, remarketing can generate more conversions at a lower cost.