Are you looking for a more effective way to market a new product? Or perhaps you are searching for ways to increase brand awareness? Then maybe it’s time you considered a pay-per-click (PPC) strategy.

PPC is one of the most popular marketing and advertising strategies. It is an online model wherein advertisers pay every time a user clicks on their ads. Survey shows that 45% of small businesses use PPC campaigns. 

How do you launch a successful PPC strategy? How should you prepare for one? Where do you even start?

Continue reading below as we attempt to break down the secrets to a successful PPC campaign.

The Essentials

When launching a PPC strategy, there are essentials that you need to consider. The essentials start from the planning stage to the execution of the campaign. Let’s take a look at the non-negotiable items in PPC.

1. Kick-Off with Brainstorming

Like in every campaign, you should kick things off with brainstorming. This is the stage where you conduct your extensive research. Your goal is to research your target market. 

PPC involves using Google Ads. It is Google’s online platform where advertisers display short advertisements, product listings, and other types of content. Before you launch this, you need to know what your customers want.

You need to find out how they search for stuff that they want.

Use customer data to draw some keywords. From there, you can create your initial list of keywords. These are the words that you want your ads to appear with. 

You should also use keywords tools like the Keyword Planner. These tools will help you identify which keywords are in demand. They will also provide suggestions that will help you expand your list.

Additionally, these tools can help you group the keywords based on your market’s age, location, demographics, and date range, among others.

2. Organize and Structure Your PPC Keywords

After arranging your keywords, you need to organize and structure them accordingly. This means structuring them into groups that are more targeted. 

You can further group your keywords into the following: brand terms, competitor terms, generic terms, and related terms. For example, you put the words “Samsung phones,” “Samsung.com,” “Samsung store,” and “Samsung products” under brand terms.

For competitor terms, you may have “Apple phones,” “Huawei phones,” and “Lenovo phones.” For generic terms, you can put “smartphones,” “camera phones,” “cellphones.” For related terms, you can have “tablets,” “mobile devices,” and “telephones.”

The more specific the keywords are, the better for your ads.

3. Negative Keywords Count

You also need to watch out for negative keywords. These are the keywords related to your product but may attract the wrong audience. 

For example, if you are selling low top basketball sneakers, your groupings may include keywords like “high-cut sneakers.” Using these keywords may result in a bounce. This means it will not lead to a conversion.

It may also result in an ad impression. Either way, they both affect the quality of your ad score adversely.

4. Determine Your Budget

No project will fly without setting the right budget. To determine your budget, you need to find out if your target audience does search for your keywords. You also need to find what their intent is when searching for these keywords.

From there, you can trim down your list of keywords. Thereafter, you can decide if you can afford to advertise for the keywords.

In PPC, there is what we call the cost for conversion or CPC. There is a maximum amount that you should follow. You determine this through your conversion rates, the amount you make per conversion, and your estimated profit margins.

For example, your previous ad campaign costs you $100 for every 100 views. By the end of your PPC campaign, it yielded a total of five conversions. The formula for this is $100/5 = $20 for every conversion.

From there, you should work on a budget to see if you can avoid such an amount.

5. Know the Competition

For a PPC strategy to work, you need to look beyond your backyard. This means analyzing the competition. This means knowing who your competitors are and what they are doing.

Analyze their PPC campaigns. You need to take note of how they position their ads. Using your Google AdWords account, head on to “Auction Insights” on your dashboard. From there, you can see there are irrelevant businesses that are also bidding for your keywords.

Focus on the impression share. Thereafter, you can see who your stiffest competitors are. You can get a glimpse of the keywords that make them money.

6. Formulate Some Ads

After finalizing your keywords, you can start creating those winning ads. Your goal is to make your ads compelling. You need to connect a solid hit into your audience’s interests and emotions. 

You want to come up with a personalized ad. You want something that gives value to your target market. They want relevance in connection to their interests. 

Keep in mind that you can only work on a limited space. Thus, make sure your ad comes with the three essential parts. You should have a headline, your description lines, and your display URL.

Determine your unique selling proposition (USP) and incorporate it in your ads. 

7. Make a Lasting CTA

To cap off your ads, you need to have a strong call-to-action “CTA.” You CTA prompts your customers to act. It dictates the tone as to what they should do next. 

You can use the words “get” and “now” to spur action and create urgency. You can also personalize by using the words “your” and “you.” You may also focus on value and cost through the words “best” and “save,” respectively.

8. Extensions Go a Long Way

Last but not least, use ad extensions toward the end of your ads. Extensions give people more reasons to buy your product. 

If you have an app, you can put “Download the app here” at the end. You can also insert links to your other products too.

Let’s Get Your PPC Strategy Right

Launching a PCC campaign is one of the most effective ways to create more conversions. But a successful PPC strategy requires doing the right things. It requires starting right and finishing strong.

If you are too busy with other areas of your business, let us help you with your PPC needs. Send us a message as well as your requirements. Let our competent marketing team discuss your options.

We will create a customized strategy that will help you reach your targets faster.