Make Your Advertising Dollars Go Farther with Smart PPC Practices
When it comes to advertising, small businesses can be a little tight fisted. It makes sense. Capital is tough to acquire in the modern banking and investment world. If you blow your funds on a campaign that doesn’t pan out, you may not get another shot. PPC (pay per click) campaigns can be particularly scary since there are many more stories of failed campaigns than successful ones. Done properly, however, a PPC campaign can bring in a lot of business. Let’s talk about how to target the right audience with a PPC campaign so that your precious business capital gets spent on a high conversion rate with a great ROI.
First of all, remember that a pay per click ad doesn’t cost you a cent if no one clicks, so from that standpoint it’s a safe bet. On the other hand, if no one clicks, you don’t make any money either. The real failing with PPC, though, is when you get a ton of clicks that don’t convert into sales. Then it just eats into the campaign’s bottom line. So what you really need is the right set of keywords that will not just attract a certain audience, but those who are willing to make a purchase during this visit.
Fortunately, Google has keyword tools that can help you to find keywords related to your business. You can see how often the keywords are searched during the month, how competitive the keyword is, and they even provide a suggested bidding price for the ad. The latest update to the Google algorithm (Pigeon) is all about location, so be sure to include some geo-tags, especially if you rely on a lot of local business.
Don’t forget, you can put a PPC campaign on hold at any time to do a little tweaking. Don’t be afraid to change the wording every so often to figure out what attracts the most attention. Once you’ve got a PPC ad bringing in the business, you know you’ve found the right combination. Make sure you give each ad its fair amount of time. If you change the ad every 5-10 clicks, you won’t get an accurate picture. Even if an ad is creating a lot of traffic, be sure you are getting conversions, otherwise it is time for a change.
Once someone clicks on the ad, it’s up to your landing page to close the sale. Make sure the customer receives a smooth user experience that guides them from the ad click, to the products they want, to the shopping cart.
