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Pay-Per-Click Advertising Tips
Introduction: Pay-Per-What?
When you are searching online for a product, service, or information, where do you start? If you are like the other 10 jillion web users out there, you probably fire up Google or Yahoo, type in the information or product that you are looking for, and voila! You are presented with a well-organized list of relevant web sites. You may quickly glance through the first page of options, but quite often your search starts and ends there. Most search engines have an uncanny ability to give you the results you are looking for. And a company that is consistently able to get their information in front of their target audience is likely to succeed.
That's where Pay-Per-Click advertising, or PPC, comes in. What is PPC? The two largest PPC networks, Google Adwords and Yahoo! Search Marketing allow PPC customers to "bid" on search engine result placement. The top bidders for certain combinations of keywords will have their web site listed in a prominent location on search results pages. In general, the higher your listing, the more likely potential customers are to click on your link, go to your site, and buy your widget (or sign up for your WidgetsInfo newsletter, or learn about your WidgetsWorld brand).
Set SMART Goals
So what do you want from your marketing campaign? Do you want to increase sales on specific products you offer? Do you want more people signing up for your newsletter? Do you want to build brand awareness and credibility? Maybe you just want to get the word out about your 2008 presidential campaign. PPC ads can help you do all of these things - but the most important thing to know is which specific actions you want users to take. If you want people to sign up for your newsletter, you can easily tailor your keywords and landing pages for that purpose. On the other hand, if you are trying to get users to buy a specific product or service that you offer, your keywords, landing pages, and target users would certainly be different. Both Adwords and Yahoo! Search Marketing have some built-in tools to help you make sure your goals are being achieved within your budget, but it is essential to have Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-limited (SMART) goals or you may end up throwing your money into a black hole.
Keywords: "Car" or "2006 Lamborghini Murcielago Dealer San Diego"?
The keywords in your PPC portfolio (we call it your PPC Quiver, but that's just us), and your bids on those keywords (discussed in next month's newsletter) help to define when and where a link to your landing page will show up. Different levels of precision in your keywords should match your intended goals. Your PPC portfolio can contain dozens, hundreds, or thousands of keywords. A keyword can be a single word or a very specific phrase. Keep your target customer in mind here. It's tough to tell the intent of someone who types in "lawyer" into a search engine. They might be looking for open job positions in law firms, or they might be searching from a Tijuana safe house for someone who will keep them out of Sing-Sing for the next 20 years to life. On the other hand, when someone searches for "wiped out on wet big box retailer floor need Irvine California accident attorney", it is pretty obvious what is going through the mind of that person. Tailor your keywords and associated landing pages to match customer expectations and your PPC goals. We have found that our PPC clients do very well with a three month test period at a low monthly budget to determine which keywords, phrases, and ads work best for them. We then tweak the PPC campaign to achieve the highest possible return on investment. We generally see a 400% - 2000% ROI for our clients.
In Next Month's Newsletter:
- Budget: Don't pay $100 to sell a $50 service
- Maintenance, or Don't Fall Asleep at The Wheel
- Top PPC Mistakes