It’s not that difficult to figure out how pay per click works, especially since paid search advertising has become so popular these days. But if you’re considering PPC search ads, you need to learn a bit more than how to do some PPC keyword research and bid on search terms. It would be easy to pick out hundreds of details for a list like this, but to keep it simple, here are five things you should know about PPC search ads to maximize your return on investment:
- Google Is Dominant, but Not the Only Game in Town
If you’re looking to get as many eyes on your ads as possible, then Google is the obvious choice. But you shouldn’t write off Bing pay per click advertising, either. Bing Ads also supplies some ads to Yahoo (that arrangement is changing this summer, but is still partially intact), and together those search engines make up about 30% of the U.S. market. Plus, you can often get some good deals on competitive search terms on Bing.
- You Need Great Ad Copy If You Want More Clicks
Ad copy really matters when it comes to PPC success, especially since you need to capture searchers’ attention in just a split second if you’re hoping to get more traffic. A/B testing can be incredibly helpful when it comes to pinpointing the perfect ad copy.
- Negative Keywords Can Save Your Money
Whoever is managing your campaigns will waste a lot of your money if they don’t understand negative keywords. Negative keywords allow you to prevent your ad from showing up when searchers type in certain keywords. So for example, using “free” as a negative keyword could make sure your pizzeria doesn’t show up when a user types in “free pizza near me.”
- Relevance Is the Key to a High Conversion Rate
Obviously, you’ll want to pick keywords that have a fairly high search volume in order to get as many eyes as possible on your ad. But don’t stretch too far and choose keywords that don’t actually match up with what your business offers. In that case, you’re likely to have a low conversion rate; users will click on your ad (costing you money), but then immediately bounce back when they don’t see what they want on your site.
- You Need PPC Advertising Management, Period
If you want a great ROI, investing in professional PPC advertising management is probably the smartest move you can make. PPC management fees are an additional upfront cost, of course, but you’ll quickly find that PPC management is a highly technical process that can waste a lot of your money if handled incorrectly.
Do you have anything to add regarding PPC advertising or PPC advertising management? Join the discussion in the comments.
