Pay-per-click (PPC) marketing involves multiple moving parts. If you are not aware of all of the components and how they function, it can be tough to manage a successful campaign. When learning about pay-per-click, consider the following.
Understand how to navigate your platform
Platforms like Google AdWords, Bing Ads and WordStream
Google AdWords and Bing Ads are the most significant categories for PPC. WordStream is an important platform, but it is not as big as AdWords or Bing Ads. You can use WordStream as a supplemental tool because you can sync your accounts and manage ad content on Bing and AdWords through WordStream.
Related: How to Use Pay-Per-Click to Help Grow Your Startup
Learn about categories
Including conversions, impressions, clicks, CTR and more
- Conversions represent how many people bought the product or service you are offering
- Impressions are when an individual types in the name of your company on a website in a search query
- A click is when an individual clicks on a sponsored ad or webpage
- The CTR is the click-thru rate. It represents the number of clicks that are occurring on the website in a percentage
The CTR and conversion rate are represented in percentages. On average, a reasonable click-thru rate is between 2 to 3 percent, and you want your conversion rate to be on the rise, because the more people converting means you have more individuals buying your product or service.
Learn about keyword research
Tools like Moz.com offer keyword research tools that can help you pick strong keywords to use in your campaigns and ad copy.
They also allow you to track keywords since they, like ads and campaigns, are always changing.
In your free time, go to Moz’s Keyword Explorer. Type in basic search terms and analyze the data. You can look at things like the keyword difficulty (how hard it is to rank), the search volume (how many people search for it a month), the popularity and even questions relating back to it.
Looking at the keyword suggestions tab on the left side of the page allows you to see different keywords and their search volumes. This will enable you to find keywords you weren’t even looking for while giving you keyword inspiration if your search is getting a little dull.
The SERP analysis (search engine results page analysis) also allows you to see the type of organic searches that appear with the keyword you are researching. If you can invest time to practice with basic terms, you will be a keyword wizard in no time. In case you need further clarification, Moz.com offers bootcamp courses that can help you understand different SEO tactics including keyword research.
Learn about keyword selection
There are different types of keywords, so choose the type that is best for your campaign and audience (broad match, phrase match and exact match).
The broadest type of keyword is broad match. This keyword reaches the widest audience. Be careful with this, because it can drain the most amount of money, especially if you don’t watch it. This can drain money because it can be brought up if one (yes, ONE) word of your ad is being searched by the consumer. For example, if you look up “blue elephant mug,” you could find results for “grey elephant statue,” something completely different than what you want, but one of the words matched, running up your PPC bill quickly.
If you want to be a little more specific, try utilizing phrase match. This type of matching can still be broad, but you have more control. It will only bring up searches that contain the content you are looking for. It might add words before or after your phrase. If you want to look up “luxury cars,” it might pull up “red luxury cars,” or the exact phrase you entered. It is still a match, but has expanded on the phrase.
The last type of match that can be utilized within PPC campaigns is exact match. As you can guess, it only will pull results that EXACTLY match your phrases. It will not reword them because they must be identical. Since this type of match phrase is the most specific, it is not uncommon to have a smaller budget since people have to be so specific to find the ads and content you are producing.
Establish a pay-per-click budget
Pay-per-click campaigns can drain money if they are not watched with a financial mindset.
PPC budgets can drain your pockets if you are not careful. You determine the daily spend, and how much you are willing to pay for each keyword. Before saving and publishing your work, make sure to run some calculations. Until you master your budget and pay-per-click marketing, it is smart to triple check your work, as it is better to go over your work a few times before publishing than rushing through it quickly and draining your budget in one day.
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Understand the auction portion
The auction portion can be confusing.
Run through the auction a few times with a smaller budget before bringing out the big bucks. The auction takes practice. Like our parents always said, practice makes perfect. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or clarification, as the auction can be tough if you have never utilized it before.
There is so much to learn about pay-per-click marketing. Before you become a high roller in the world of marketing, it is crucial to understand the basic steps behind PPC. By understanding and educating yourself on the topic, you are setting yourself up for success. Feel free to come back and review these tips. Our minds are always refreshing and learning new concepts, and reiterating things you learned is a great way to keep your marketing skills sharp.
