In an ideal world, your company would be getting organic traffic constantly flowing to your website. But with the overwhelming amount of competition out there in the digital landscape, that’s not a realistic strategy to be relying on.
So, what now?
One great option that more and more companies are utilizing is PPC advertising.
But you don’t want to just throw money at advertising without some careful strategizing. What are the best pay per click advertising strategies out there?
And will they work for you?
In this post, we’ll go over what PPC (pay per click) advertising is, and the best strategies for using it.
Sound interesting? Keep reading for more information!
It’s All About the Keywords
PPC begins when you match your ad with specific keywords and then bid on them.
The tricky thing is that your competitors are also doing their keyword research, and then bidding on those same keywords.
One method to increase the effectiveness of your bid is to simply outspend your competition. And obviously, you’re aware that this is an advertising campaign, meaning you’ll need to be spending some money.
But you also don’t want to bid on keywords that aren’t going to be the most helpful for you. So use the Google Keyword Planner.
It gives you keyword suggestions, which you can then choose from to land on ones more effective for your business.
And be brainstorming while you do it because if you are prompted to think of a keyword that Keyword Planner isn’t suggesting, you might have hit on a word combination or phrase that your competitors aren’t bidding on yet!
Focus on Customer Value
Imagine you were shopping around for the best PPC methods. Would you respond to a link that simply said “PPC Methods Help”? Maybe.
But if you saw a link that immediately made you think it would add value to your business, like “Increase Your Conversions” wouldn’t you be more likely to click that one?
The same is true for your PPC campaign. Instead of just using keywords that highlight you and your business, choose ones that people will see and associate with adding value to them and their business.
It’s not about what they get, per se. It’s about how your business will make their life better.
Long-Tail Keywords
What are the organic search results that have led people to your website previously?
Sure, some of them were short keyword phrases. But odds are decent that some were more specific, longer phrases.
Think, for example, of the difference between someone searching for ‘plumbing help’ versus searching for ‘leaky faucet help in Topeka, KS’.
If you own a plumbing company in Topeka, you’re much more likely to rank highly on the search results with the latter search.
So, reverse that thinking when it comes to your PPC keywords. Don’t settle for only short phrases and word combinations.
Test out long-tail keywords in Gooogle Keyword Planner. You might have a better chance of finding a keyword phrase that your competitors aren’t using nearly as much!
Calls To Action
A call to action, often referred to as a CTA, is one of the most important elements of modern day advertising. This is certainly true in the case of Internet ads and PPC.
And the point of showing how your product or service will add value to their lives is to get them to convert into your customer. So, take advantage of the groundwork you’ve laid and ask customers directly to do something.
Maybe it’s to sign up for something, or to download something, or to start a 30-day trial of your product. Whatever the ask is, be clear and concise about it.
A CTA should be compelling and it should highlight its value for the customer. And it should also add to the momentum that was created by all the copy leading up to it.
And it should be a phrase or sentence that actually leads people to take action.
Often that comes in the form of creating urgency. If the CTA implies that they will only get a certain product or deal if they click through at that moment, it’s much more likely to work.
Use All Parts of the Funnel
Those familiar with the concept of a sales funnel know that there’s an accepted set of steps that lead to the conversion of a customer.
Since PPC campaigns usually target people who aren’t aware of a product, that’s usually where they are applied. Which makes sense.
And at that stage, it’s a good idea to use keywords aimed to reach people who aren’t at all aware of your business.
But a good method of PPC is to also target people in the later stages of the sales funnel too.
For example, you can bid on keywords that are aimed for people in the ‘commitment’ stage. It might be exactly what they need to convince them to take the final step and become a customer.
Weekly Maintenance
Once your PPC campaign is in full swing, it’s important to check in with it to see if it’s working and if anything needs tweaking.
If you are having success with your current keywords, for example, you could choose to add new ones to the mix. In that same vein, you can take any terms that aren’t converting for you, and switch them to negative keywords.
You can also take this time to improve your CTR (and your Quality Score). One good way to achieve this is to split up ad groups into smaller pieces. And each one will be more relevant than they previously were.
And finally, you can take any under-performing keywords out altogether, especially if they are more expensive ones.
The Best Pay Per Click Advertising Strategies
Hopefully, this post has given you a sense of the strategies available for the best pay per click advertising possible.
If you take the time to utilize them, you’ll be getting the most out of your PPC campaigns, and converting more customers than ever before!
If you have questions or want to know more, contact us today!