Even though many people have tried pay per click advertising with Google AdWords, many advertisers find it unproductive and ineffectual. Frequently, though, advertisers’ campaigns fail not because PPC advertising doesn’t work, but because their pay per click approach is flawed.
In this article, we will identify three methods that will increase the click-through rate, the conversion rate, and the overall effectiveness of pay per click advertising. By implementing these approaches, an unsuccessful campaign can suddenly become the most valuable component of a company’s marketing program. Of course, missteps can lead to failure, so be certain to engage professional PPC management assistance – if necessary – to ensure your company’s pay per click program really clicks.
1) Get Organized
As an example, consider a surgeon who wants to promote her bariatric surgery program. She knows that prospective patients use a variety of terms to refer to the type of surgeries she performs: “gastric bypass,” “lap band,” “weight loss surgery,” etc. However, creating a campaign that bundles these search terms with the same ad is likely to fall flat. Why? Because, successful PPC advertising needs to precisely target a user’s search terms. Therefore, if a prospective patient enters the term “bariatric surgery,” and an ad appears with the headline “Gastric Bypass,” the user is more likely to skip the ad until he or she finds an ad with the words “bariatric surgery” in the headline.
To address this issue, advertisers need to create multiple ad groups. For instance, it makes sense to have a bariatric surgery ad group, a weight loss surgery ad group, a lap band ad group, a gastric bypass ad group, and so on. And for each ad group, the advertiser will need an appropriate set of keywords to trigger the ads to serve. Yes, this kind of specificity is labor-intensive. Yes, it requires a great deal of time, effort, and thought. However, this kind of specificity is an essential ingredient in developing an effective PPC advertising program, and it’s the kind of advice that a knowledgeable provider will prescribe as part of its pay per click services.
2) Take Advantage of Banner Advertising
While most of us think of pay per click advertising as Google AdWords, paid search includes a wide range of advertising options, including banner ads. These are the graphically-designed advertisements that appear on the top of websites or nestled within the content of certain sites. They usually include imagery, graphics, and can even include animation.
Many people assume these ads are sold by the owners or proprietors of the websites in which they appear. Sometimes, that is the case. However, more often than not, these ads appear in space that is “rented” by Google and other pay per click advertising placement companies. In these instances, the ads serve to users based on the keywords the advertiser has identified as relevant to their product or service. For example – returning to the bariatric surgery example – an ad for weight loss surgery may serve to users who are visiting a site dedicated to diet, nutrition, and weight loss.
Typically, banner ads generate far fewer clicks than their text counterparts. However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing because banner ads can reach many more internet users without incurring any cost. Remember, pay per click advertisers only pay when an internet user clicks on their ads. So, if an ad serves to thousands of users and no one clicks on it, the advertiser pays nothing. Still, thousands of prospective customers see the ad. In this regard, banner advertising can be an effective way to build brand awareness at a very affordable price.
3) Monitor, Modify, and Maintain Your Campaign
A pay per click advertising program that is effective today can easily become ineffective tomorrow. That’s because the competitive environment is constantly changing. New advertisers enter the arena. Existing advertisers change their bids. And website content changes which can influence the relevance and quality scores of ads. To implement an effective PPC program, be prepared to closely monitor, frequently modify, and diligently maintain your campaign. In particular, pay attention to which ads generate the greatest number of clicks and the highest click-through rate. Evaluate which keywords are most productive, and be prepared to increase the necessary bid for these terms.
Also pay attention to irrelevant keywords that are generating clicks on your ads. In these instances you can specify “negative keywords” that will not trigger your ads to serve. As a result, you won’t pay for clicks from users who are unlikely to purchase your products and services. Bottom line, a pay per click advertising campaign is a dynamic thing that requires constant attention. For this reason, many advertisers rely on a professional pay per click advertising agency. Of course, if you elect to utilize a PPC management service, make certain your agency monitors, modifies, and maintains your campaign with the necessary level of attention.
If you have tried pay per click advertising, e.g. Google AdWords, and been unimpressed with the results, perhaps you need to consider the quality of your effort in addition to the media itself. Pay per click advertising can be a highly efficient, extraordinarily effective advertising option. Just be certain to remember the three “secrets” described in this article. And you PPC advertising will start to click