Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising can be a highly effective way to reach new customers and increase website traffic. However, there are several key strategies you should employ to get the most out of your PPC investment. Follow these tips to optimize your next PPC campaign for better results.
Conduct Keyword Research
The foundation of any effective PPC campaign is proper keyword research. You want to identify high-traffic keywords that relate to what you are advertising while avoiding overly broad terms that will lead to irrelevant clicks. Use Google’s Keyword Planner tool and monitor your search terms report to refine your targeting over time. Focus on 3-5 ad groups per campaign centered around keyword themes.
Create Targeted Ad Copy
With a list of relevant keywords in hand, write targeted ad copy that speaks directly to searcher intent in your niche. Include your important keywords in the headline and description, highlight customer benefits, and clearly explain what you offer. As any good SaaS PPC agency will tell you, for example, well-written PPC ads can achieve higher clickthrough and conversion rates compared to generic advertisements for SaaS software.
Set Up Conversion Tracking
You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Make sure you implement conversion tracking to monitor sign-ups, sales, page visits, or whatever matters most. This may require adding a small snippet of code to your website. Conversion tracking allows you to identify which keywords and ads are driving the most valuable actions to optimize performance.
Segment and Test Ad Groups
Group similar keywords and create 2-3 ads per ad group as starting points. Test different headlines, descriptions, landing pages, bids, and more across ad groups to determine what resonates best with your target audience. You may find certain messaging works better for branded versus non-branded terms, for example. Testing allows you to double down on what works.
Use Negative Keywords
One of the biggest PPC mistakes is showing ads to the wrong searches. Identify irrelevant terms people may search and add these as negative keywords to avoid unwanted clicks and costs. As a campaign progresses, mine your search term report for additional negative keywords opportunities.
Set Realistic Bids
Bidding too high can overspend your budget quickly, while bidding too low leads to limited impressions. Leverage bid strategies or frequently check auction insights to set bids based on their actual potential. Increase bids incrementally on terms converting well below targets, and lower bids on poor performers. Bid adjustments keep campaigns on budget and performing optimally.
Check the Campaign Daily
It only takes a few hours for a PPC campaign to veer drastically off-track if unchecked. Set aside 15 minutes a day to review metrics like clicks, conversions, cost per conversion, impression share, relevancy scores, top-performing keywords, etc. Identify opportunities or issues on an ongoing basis.
Following these best practices requires continuous refinement, but doing so ensures your ads show for the right searches, drive relevant traffic to your site, convert visitors into customers, and deliver the best return on ad spend. Check-in on your campaign’s performance frequently for maximum pay-per-click effectiveness.
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