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Are you looking to create a pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaign? PPC campaigns can be an effective and efficient way to drive targeted traffic and generate sales. But creating a successful PPC campaign requires careful strategy, research, and execution.
This blog post will closely examine the steps needed to create an effective and profitable PPC campaign. From setting goals and researching keywords to creating ads and optimizing performance, we'll explore each step of the process and provide tips and resources to help you succeed.
Whether you're new to PPC or have some experience in digital marketing, this guide will give you all the tools you need to launch a successful campaign. So, if you're ready to get started with your PPC campaign, read on and discover how to create a profitable advertising campaign today.
PPC (Pay-per-click)
PPC stands for pay-per-click, a model of digital advertising where the advertiser pays a fee each time one of their ads is clicked.
Why Use PPC?
When weighing up whether PPC is the right marketing channel for your business, it's important to understand the benefits and why you should use this approach instead of other options.
The following are some reasons why PPC might be the best advertisement channel for you:
1. You can generate clicks quickly.
Generally, it won't take more than a few hours for the platform to approve your ad account and ad after they have been created.
Once your ads have gone live, provided you meet the eligibility criteria of the auction and have placed a sufficiently high bid, you can start receiving clicks almost immediately (if the user traffic is adequate).
Due to its ability to generate quick returns, PPC has become popular among marketers—an advantage it has over other channels like SEO.
2. PPC can easily be measured and tracked.
An advantage of PPC compared to more traditional advertising is its capacity for easy measurement and monitoring of results.
You can use platforms such as Google Ads or Bing Ads to track conversions, including order or lead values. You can also track the return on investment for entire accounts, as well as for individual ad groups and keywords.
By using data and insights, you can continually optimize your campaign's efficiency and performance, ultimately resulting in a higher return on investment (ROI) for the channel.
3. You are in full control of when ads run and how much you pay.
Need to temporarily pause advertising during a busy period? Want to only run ads when you need to generate fresh leads?
PPC is the perfect way to do this, as you are in full control of when your ads run (including the time of day and day of the week) and you can easily turn ads on and off as you wish; although a strong-performing campaign is always recommended to be used to drive wider business growth and not be used as a stop-start tactic.
You have also got full control over how much you spend each day (or month) and how much you pay per click, in comparison to other channels that don't give you this same level of ability to manage a channel cost and budget so fluidly.
4. You can precisely reach your target customers.
PPC marketing offers greater customization than traditional advertising, allowing you to target customers based on data and adjust bids based on devices, time of day, and location.
Gaining an understanding of your customer and how they search for products can help to minimize unnecessary advertising costs.
5. There are multiple ad formats available.
Are you running an online store? You can advertise your products on the SERPs by utilizing shopping ads to gain maximum visibility.
Are you looking to convert basket abandoners into customers? Remarketing with display ads can help you promote offers that encourage the desired action.
PPC marketing encompasses a wide range of ad formats and can be tailored to achieve success for various businesses and scenarios.
How to Build a PPC Campaign
Now that you know the advantages of using PPC and have your keywords ready, let's move forward with creating a high-quality PPC campaign through Google AdWords or a similar platform.
Although you don't have to complete each task in a particular order, it is important to address all elements for an effective marketing campaign.
1. Define your goals
When it comes to creating an effective PPC campaign, the first step is to define your goals. This will help you determine which platforms and ad types are best suited for your marketing needs. Common PPC goals include increasing site traffic and generating leads.
Consider these common PPC goals:
- Increase site traffic
- Generate leads
- Drive sales
- Raise brand awareness
For brand awareness, social media and display ads should be the primary focus. If driving sales is the priority, search or Product Listing Ads should be the go-to choice. To capture leads, consider using Facebook's lead capture ads.
Once you identify your primary objectives, prioritize them, and use this information to decide which advertising types and platforms you should be investing in.
2. Audience targeting
This is an overview of how to use AdWords PPC and social media to reach your target audience. The kind of audience you target, and where they are in the sales funnel, will guide your decision on which advertising methods are best to invest in.
AdWords audience targeting
For successful results with AdWords' audience targeting, it's not enough to target with the most relevant keywords related to your business - you also need to consider intent. To be successful in your advertising campaign, it's important to ensure that the keywords you bid on, the ads shown, and the landing page visitors have directed to all match their position in your sales funnel.
informational, navigational, and transactional. PPC industry wisdom indicates that there are three primary types of keywords based on user intent: informational, navigational, and transactional.
- Informational — searchers want to learn more about something
- Navigational — searchers want to get to a certain page or resource
- Transactional — searchers want to make a purchase
3. Start by Optimizing Your Website
Before launching any PPC campaign, it is essential to review the landing pages that will be paired with your ads. The reason why PPC is so important is that when people click on it, they must have been interested in the ad's content and they're looking for more information. If the prospect clicks a link to go to your website and lands on an unrelated or general page, such as your homepage, they are likely to leave immediately.
Clicking on a PPC ad indicates a visitor's interest in the ad's content, so it's essential to create tailored landing pages that match the ad's message. For example, if you created a PPC ad that advertises pizzas at your restaurant, the landing page should include additional information about the promotion, such as a coupon for the free pizza or something else that's related to the ad.
4. Create your ads
After completing your landing page, setting a budget and bidding strategy, and selecting the right keywords, it's time to start creating your ad. Remember to keep your message concise, as you don't have much space or time to capture the attention of potential customers.
Having a goal in mind is essential when writing copy, as it helps to work towards that end. For example, when advertising a Father's Day sale to boost sales, your ad should emphasize the fact that customers can get great deals on Father's Day. It's not necessary to be extremely creative, but you should captivate your audience, maintain their interest, and arouse their curiosity.
Formulating a distinguishing value proposition that sets your offer apart from the competition and conveying its benefit to customers in one sentence can be an effective way to draw attention. To make your Father's Day advertisement stand out, consider promoting something special such as a tool that only your store and dads would love.
5. Analyze and optimize your PPC campaign strategy
As mentioned previously, integrating optimization into your ad creation process is much easier when you have access to the right tools. Your analysis should focus on understanding which keywords and targeting strategies will help you reach your campaign goals.
For search, display, and/or social ads, here are the essential metrics to consider on a basic level (depending on your campaign goals):
Click-through rate (CTR): By checking the click-through rate (CTR) of your ads, you can measure how relevant they are to the keywords or target audience for social media and display advertising.
Conversion rate: A low conversion rate could indicate that your ad spending should be focused on keywords with better ROI.
Cost per click (CPC): What is your maximum bid for each click, in order to capture the attention of your target audience? That would be your ideal CPC.
Cost per Acquisition (CPA): CPA can give you an indication of how competitive a keyword is and whether it would be worth investing in for the profit potential from conversions.
Quality Score (For Adwords): Google Adwords' Quality Score is an aggregated measure of certain factors, including ad factor relevance, landing page relevance, and click-through rate.
Return on ad spend (ROAS): ROAS is a metric which measures how efficiently your ad spending generates revenue towards your goals.
If lead nurturing is your objective, consider examining on-site engagement metrics such as page views, new and returning visitors, etc.
Constantly monitoring essential metrics can help you determine the impact of your ads (messaging, audience, landing pages, etc.). Understanding the keywords and audience relevant to your business can be instrumental in developing an effective strategy.
Data science can be used to help you optimize your PPC ads for the best conversions. Once you have identified the best keywords and understand your target audience, you can take advantage of advanced targeting strategies to enhance your return on advertising spend even further. Implementing manual bid optimization strategies, such as query segmentation to focus on high-value keywords, is an example of an advanced technique.
Grow with PPC
In conclusion, creating a successful PPC campaign is a smart way to funnel more potential customers to your website. Once you have created an effective campaign, the money you spend on PPC will be well worth it in the long run when your website sees consistent and targeted traffic.
Additionally, keeping track of crucial metrics such as click-through rates (CTR) and maximizing those beyond industry standards will ensure that your campaigns remain profitable. With these tips in mind, you'll be able to get a head start on successful PPC advertising!
