Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads are a great supplement to any natural SEO campaign as long as you map out a strategy before you begin. Without the right gameplan, you stand to lose a lot of revenue due to a lack of PPC campaign optimization. Here are 5 tips to keep your head in the game and keep your campaign on track and on budget.
1. Pick the right search terms: If you start diving after broad phrases and terms, especially in competitive industries, you’re going to pay top dollar for a lot of your clicks. Aim for keywords and search terms that are descriptive, longtail and are a bit more specific. Those specific terms should somehow reference your products and services so that those click you do get will be more likely to convert.
2. Setup a strategy: The last thing you want to do is start dumping money into every possible keyword and search phrase. Make your ads target specific priorities and solutions suich as seasonal purchases, your most profitable services, etc.
3. Manage Bids with software: There is bid management software available that help you manage your bids and turn keywords on and off. Better management of your campaign can give you more control over the money you invest. For example, you might only want clicks to take place during business hours instead of at midnight (since a conversion is less likely in the middle of the night for professional services)
4. Write powerful ad copy: Google, Yahoo! And other search marketing services apply limits to their ad sizes, often in a character limit per line. It’s hard to avoid pushing the limits in Google because the space is so narrow. It’s best to try to get your message across in as few words as possible without consuming every character. Long ads can turn people off. Make sure that do use at least one of your primary targeted keywords in the ad, this will help your adcopy stand out.
5. Continue to test and refine your keywords and PPC campaign strategy: Put your budget to the best use possible without wasting ad dollars. Every PPC campaign needs to be refined repeatedly in order to make the campaign profitable and maximize conversions. The PPC marketing industry is slated to reach over 20 billion dollars by the end of 2010, the last thing you want to do is be a large percentage of that!
If you want to build a solid PPC campaign strategy, spend some time reviewing the PPC ads of your competitors and examine their landing pages. How are they utilizing keywords within their ads? You can get a jumpstart on the competition by using their own tactics then improving on them.
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Joerg Weishaupt is a 48 year old entrepreneur, software architect, search engine optimization and social media expert. Joerg has been building a lot of profitable Internet businesses since he put his first website online in 1995. He is also one of the founders and partners of Social Media Science LLC, where he launched a content syndication network called SYNND.
Joerg resides in a small, quiet community about 100 miles outside of Munich, Germany. If you ever seek to find him, look for where the cows gather.
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