Pay Per Click
What is PPC (pay-per-click) marketing? Pay-per-click marketing is a way of using search engine advertising to generate clicks to your website, rather than “earning” those clicks organically. You know those sponsored ads you often see at the top of Google’s search results page, marked with a yellow label? That’s pay-per-click advertising (specifically Google Ads PPC, which we’ll talk about below). Pay-per-click (PPC) is an internet advertising model you can use to send traffic to your small business website, to increase exposure and promote sales of your products and services. Employ it as part of an overall digital marketing strategy.
With PPC, you only pay when someone clicks an ad, so you’ll know the exact return on your investment — something you won’t get from offline advertising! The most popular types of PPC advertising are Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook Ads.
How we set PPC advertising campaign
If investing in PPC sounds like an approach you’d like to take, follow these steps to get started:
1. Determine your goals
Do you want to increase sales, sign-ups, or inquiries? Be certain about your goals before you start or you risk wasting money on a campaign that doesn’t provide a clear-cut path to ROI.
2. Set a budget
Deciding how much you can afford to spend is a vital initial step. There is no minimum investment so you can test the market with a small campaign and increase the amount as you see fit.
3. Make a keyword list
PPC ad platforms such as Google AdWords or Bing Ads rely on the use of keywords. Choosing the right keywords for your business is critical to your success. Tools like Google AdWords Keyword Planner or Wordtracker can help.
4. Bid on keywords
PPC advertising works like auctions in that you bid on the chosen keywords. That can be an expensive proposition depending on the competition for the same terms. Keyword Planner and another tool, SEMRush, can give you insights into what competitors are paying, enabling you to adjust your bid.
5. Set up different keyword campaigns
If you use a mix of keywords for different products or services, divide them into separate campaigns, to make your targeting efforts more effective.
6. Write keyword-optimized headlines and ad copy
Prospective customers utilize keywords in their search for the types of products and services you sell, so don’t get too creative when writing headlines and body copy — opt for keywords instead. Next, focus on one or more distinct benefits and include a relevant call to action.
7. Create unique landing pages
Whatever you do, don’t send people to the homepage of your website. Rather, create a unique landing page that uses the same keywords as your ad.
If you sell products, send visitors to the product page associated with the ad. If you offer a service, create a page that outlines the benefits with a form where prospects can request more information or another call to action. (That’s also a good way to get them into your sales funnel for follow-up marketing.)
This landing page, from Vistaprint, is a useful example. It’s focused on a particular product, business cards, describes the benefits, and has a clear call to action (“Get started”).
