Pay Per Click Campaigns (PPC) are paid for by an organization that would like to rank on a SERP. For example, if I wanted to rank first when a user would search “marketing student blog” on Google, I would pay them a certain amount of money per click that I receive on my page. Whoever bids the most amount of money will rank first or at the top of the page. Google, Yahoo, and Bing are the major players in this PPC business. In class we have set up Google AdWords accounts. We have learned how to use the Keyword Planner tool to optimize our page. Google AdWords determines your rank by taking your CTR (Click through rate) and multiplying it by your CPC (Cost per click). This is not the same as other small search engines that will rank you based solely on the amount you bid. Not to worry though, unpaid listings rank as well.
Using SEO only will take about 3-6 months to draw traffic. If you use the PPC services you can set up your campaign within 5 minutes and start ranking right away. Using PPC services is very cost effective.
How to Set Up a PPC Campaign
Keywords
First step is to perform a market analysis. This also includes a competition analysis. What are your competitors doing? What keywords are they using? What is their strategy? Set a clear objective, and the plan making will become easier. Determine what your goals are? Do you want more exposure, traffic, clicks, or conversion? Just remember that you thinking of the customers first!
Use the tools available to you. Do not guess which keywords you think will work best. Google, Yahoo, and Wordtracker are your best resources, use them! The phrase “You have to spend money to make money” is true! Yes these campaigns will cost money, but they will also make you money in the long-run.
Bidding Strategies
The higher you bid, the higher you will rank. Monitor and optimize your campaign very closely. Are your ads region, audience, or time specific? The example given in the reading is about targeting professionals. Set your campaign to run while these people are at work rather than the weekends and evenings when they are home. Bidding tools available are Atlas One Point, BidRank, and PPC Pro.
Advertising Text
Advertising text, also known as the copy is the text that will persuade someone to buy a product, or influence their beliefs. The ad copy should be created so that your company stands out. There are two parts to the advertising text; the first part is the title, and the second is the actual ad text. Use at least 3-4 different advertisements and then figure out which are working best.
Develop a Proper Landing Page
The PPC advertisement should be linked to a landing page where the product or service is being promoted. Today, landing pages usually consist of a promotion and place to enter information about yourself. The information company’s would like you to provide can range from just an email address, to your name, birthdate, etc. A landing page is an opportunity to learn about your customer while being able to communicate with them by taking some general information. A landing page should not be flashy. Keep it simple and easy to navigate. This will ensure they are able to find what they want in the shortest time possible. A landing page also links the ad page to a point of purchase, this is why a proper landing page is key.
Here is a great example of a proper landing page.
Tracking
Tracking is important because you want to understand what is working and leading to conversion and what isn’t working. This will save time and money in the long run. You will need to collect data regarding campaign performance. Google and Yahoo both offer free tools that track click to conversion, but there are others that do a better job. Hitbox Enterprise is an example of a better tool. This tool allows for you to track everything all in one place: PPC, SEO organic, email campaigns, affiliate marketing campaigns, banner ad media, buys, direct mail, etc. The main elements that need to be remembered when creating a successful PPC campaign are keyword selection, bidding, landing page, ad copy and optimizing.
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