
Pay Per Click
Clicking Your Way to Profitability
Online marketing methods vary greatly – they range from SEO optimization of your website to social media marketing and content marketing. However, there’s one element that must be utilized in order to effectively build your online presence in both the short and long term. Pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns are essential ingredients in building a robust online presence.
The Elements of PPC
Making Sense of It All
PPC campaigns seem simple enough on the surface. They’re similar enough to old-school advertising that they can be confused for the same. They’re not. Several essential ingredients go into creating an effective, successful campaign.
Keyword Research
No matter what your business offers, no matter what PPC platform you choose, keyword research is the cornerstone of your success. You must target keywords and phrases that your audience actually uses, while avoiding super-saturation and high competition. The higher the competition for a particular keyword or phrase, the more you’ll pay (without necessarily seeing a corresponding surge in website traffic).
Language
PPC ads must use the right language. They cannot sell directly. If you attempt this, you’ll find that you derive zero ROI, and see few if any click-throughs. Instead, the language of your ad must incite curiosity in your audience. It should address a pain point, amuse, or entice. Likewise, you cannot afford to make your ads too informative. There’s very little space for text, so your message must be created to deliver maximum impact and tailored to your specific audience. This applies not only to the body of the ad, but to the headline as well.
URL
Each PPC ad has a “display URL”. While this might not be exactly the same as the destination URL, it should deliver information to the consumer, giving them an idea of where they’ll end up after clicking the link. If expectations don’t match up, consumers opt out of clicking. It’s that simple.
Ad Extension
Ad extensions deliver more value to your audience, but they also increase the value of the campaign to your business. They increase the footprint of your ad, making it more attention grabbing, but also allow you to deliver more information to prospective customers. These can include information like seller rating, product image, location, links to other locations online (G+ for instance), and more.