A pay-per-click (PPC) campaign that is set up correctly can bring a huge amount of traffic to your website and expose your business to new customers. On the downside, if it’s not set up correctly, it can also present a host of problems you will have to deal with.
The C-Suite in your business needs to understand the unique challenges of using PPC, and what it takes to overcome those challenges to be successful in the long run. Here are some of the things that need to be done, and some warnings to avoid problems in the future.
Ensure an optimized user experience
When you develop an ad campaign, having control over the visitor’s path and what kind of experience they have is nothing short of crucial. This is the source of some of the biggest PPC problems out there today. You must make a good connection from your web site visitors to the resource pages they need.
If PPC is being used as the primary marketing technique, some business heads make the mistake of pointing all links to to the landing page of a web site, also known as a home page. While it should be true that every other part of your web site can be reached from the main landing, or home page, some visitors should be directed to specific product pages, or pages that answer their questions.
Make use of the keywords visitors enter into the search engine to make these specific landing pages relate to the interests of the visitors, and give them a more fulfilling experience. This will go a long way in ensuring visitors have an optimized experience. One chance may be the only chance you get with a large percentage of visitors to your web site.
Focus on a local audience
Some of the most successful PPC campaigns are done by people who focus on their own geographical area. This alone takes care of the problem of unqualified leads from people who do not live where your services or products are readily available. If you are running a bake shop in Dallas, Texas, chances are, you are not shipping many products to Boise, Idaho.
This can easily be done by your choice of PPC keywords. If, for example, you have a bakery in Dallas, Texas, instead of using the keyword “baker”, you could use the keywords “Dallas bakery”. This will bring in more qualified leads and result in more conversions. This keyword combination will also in most cases be less money than the generic keyword, in this case bakery.
Negative keywords and match types
While avoiding unqualified web site traffic is just one of the bigger challenges in PPC marketing, having the right keywords in no way completely eliminates this problem. The best and most successful PPC ad campaigns also have negative keywords. These are keywords that filter your web site from search engine results pages that are not profitable.
Once again, for our Dallas-based baker, the keywords “Dallas baker” will bring in valuable traffic, while a keyword combination such as “homemade bakery favorites” will bring in people with little intention of buying anything from your web site. This costs you clicks that have almost no chance of converting.
Since you are having to pay for each and every click, you want to have those negative keywords in place to filter out web site visitors that are not profitable. A broad reach in PPC is not always the best way to go. Using focused PPC techniques for specific uses, benefits, and applications of your products will get you the right traffic.
Get Better Results By Understanding Keywords and Keyword Match Types
If you are going to use a PPC system to drive traffic to your web site, you must have an understanding of how chosen keywords and phrases will have an effect in match types. Google and other search engines use four main match types that allow PPC ad customers to attribute their keywords to. Here are definitions of those four match types.
Broad match types are search engines results that are keyword based, and they display your web site for keywords that match up, and for certain variations on your web site. They can even match based on terms related to your keywords.
Modified broad match types are also search engine results, and they are modified with a “+” sign. With these types of matches, Google, or the other search engine used, must include the keywords that are attributed with a “+ sign listed in the results. This is done in order to better focus on your broad matches.
This may sound rather confusing, so for an example, Dallas bakery would require that bakery be a part of all search results. Dallas sweets bakery would require that “sweets bakery” be features in all of the search engine results.
Phrase match types are about the same as modified broad match types, but they give you more power over your internet marketing. These need an exact keyword match. However; they also allow for additional modified words. Say for example that the phrase typed into the search engine is “baked goods for Dallas.” This keyword and your page can be featured in searches for “chocolate baked goods” or “affordable Dallas baked goods.”
Exact match types are exactly what they appear to be. No modifiers, no additional terms, just an exact match. These search results allow for the most PPC control.
Having a mastery of of these terms can help your lead generation and get you where you want to be in business. This is the key to getting more visitors who can be converted into buyers. Having a better grasp of these four types of matches can go a long way in helping you get where you want to be.
Other Problems With PPC To Be Aware Of – And How To Deal With Them
Like most advertising campaigns, PPC ads and Google AdWords campaigns just may not work out so well at first. It takes a great deal of work in tweaking, reworking, and more. Here are three very common problems you may, or already have run into, and ways to deal with them in an effective manner.
Low click through rates
Search engine ads only work if people are willing to actually click on them. So what is one to do if a very small percentage (say 1% or less) is following through to get to your web site? Perhaps you should scale back what were once grand expectations a bit at this point. Regroup, and start to work on ads that target your market more precisely. It might be a good idea to raise your bid process in order to earn a better position. Perhaps you need to rework your PPC keyword phrases to be more geographically specific? Do try and do some experimenting until you find an ad copy idea that starts to bRing in the traffic you need to be successful.
Low quality score (QS)
If you are a novice to online advertising, you may be rather surprised to learn that AdWords does not work on a straight auctions system. The more relevance your ads have, and the more potential customers there are to click on them, all adds to up to a higher quality score for you. The reverse also holds true. The higher your QS is, the less you pay per click, or to hang on to a top position.
Once again, the reverse holds true as well. With a low QS, you will be penalized by Google and other search engines with high keyword costs, and poor ad positions. If you find yourself in this unenviable position, your best bet is to take some of the same steps you would for a poor click-through rate – use more targeted ads and more focused ad groups. While it may take some time, over the long run this should fix the problem.
Too few conversions
This is a problem, but also can be a solution from the two previous problems. You’re getting more click through and traffic, but you’re paying for those without the benefit of customers purchasing your products or services.
When stuck in a situation of lots of clicks, and few purchases, it is very likely the problem does not rest with your PPC ads. The problem is most likely with your landing page(s). If you are indeed looking for buyers in the right places, some changes may be in order for your product photos, your marketing copy, and other details that help to encourage people to buy. Any or all of these factors may be lacking.
Perhaps your potential customers are hesitant to buy a product right away? In this case, it might serve you well to have a downloadable report on your goods and services, or an email newsletter that gives them more information. This is an excellent way to help build trust, and over time, trust can translate into sales.
PPC takes up too much time
It’s no big secret that it can take a good deal of time to get the right PPC combination. If at the same time, you are consumed with the everyday tasks of running your business, it can get to be too much. This is where it is important to delegate this task to a tech-savvy employee. The other solution is to hire someone from the outside, but it is best to avoid this if at all possible.
Unknown costs
If you are at a complete loss for how much to budget for a PPC campaign, you are not alone. Not only it is tough to budget for, it is tough to know just when to use that budget, as there are a number of variables that affect this. It comes down to a number of tough questions really. Should you go all in up front and get as much exposure in the beginning for quick results? Are you better off to pace your ads and keep those leads coming in over time? Just how much will it cost you to get the results you are looking for?
The solution in many cases can be getting expert help. There are a number of firms today that specialize in PPC campaigns, and they can give you a realistic estimate of what you can expect to pay for the results you want. Make sure and shop around and get as many proposals as you can before you make a final decision.
PPC as an industry is only two decades old, and there are few experts in the field. While trial and error in most businesses is not the way to find out what is best, it may be the way you have to go, to get the your final destination of solid sales and income.
But, if you use these tips of the trade to avoid the pitfalls experienced by others, you have a better chance of success. But above all, temper your expectations. Do not get discouraged by poor performance initially, it has happened to the best of entrepreneurs, and the mistakes outlined here are repeated on a daily basis somewhere.
Above all, do not lose focus on your web site. Keep it up to date, with new information, better displays, pictures, and if possible, testimonials from customers who have had a positive experience with your products or services. When your ad campaign does get into gear, and starts directing traffic your way you’ll already have something great for them to look at, and good reasons to give your business a try.
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