Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC) is a popular online marketing solution that can effectively increase your online visibility and brand recognition, especially when combined with other online marketing techniques such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
However, certain PPC basic must be considered and utilized skillfully in order to maximize the potential of your PPC campaign. These 5 PPC ad basics may be common knowledge to those already well-versed in Internet Marketing, but to those who are relatively new to PPC, they are required reading.
- Keywords in the Ad
Keywords are going to be the most important aspect of your PPC ad campaign. When constructing your PPC ads, there are two places that keywords will come into play: the first is in the ad itself, and the second is related to what keywords might relate best to your ad and the products or services you offer, enabling your ad to align better with search engine queries. Keywords used in your ad should be the strongest possible. You won’t be able to overload your ad with keywords, as content of a PPC as is rather limited, so choose keywords that work best for what you are advertising. Keywords in the ad headline are essential, and should be repeated in the ad text as well if possible. - Keywords for Your Campaign
You will need to create a list of targeted keywords that relate to your ad. When Internet users enter a search engine query that uses these keywords, your ad may show alongside the search results.You can choose as many keywords as you want for this list, but it is always beneficial to utilize keywords that may only appeal to your specific target market. This will ensure that those who click on your ad are definitely interested in what you have to offer, and eliminate those who click on your ad merely out of curiosity or because of misinformation, which will cost you money unnecessarily. - Include a Call to Action
Integrating keywords into your PPC ad is a good first step, but you must also include a call to action in order to better entice your target market to click on your ad. Because actual content allowance is limited, it will have to be short and to the point.For example, suppose you are a moving company. Your PPC ad may contain a call to action that says “Get a free quote for your move,” or “Save 10% when you move with us,” or even “Learn more about why we’re the best choice.” Note that these call to actions all contain an element of enticement, letting the reader know what they will get in return for clicking on your ad. - Visual Appeal
PPC ads have very little visual appeal, and at a glance, they all appear to look the same. But there are subtle things you can do to make your ad stand out a little. You can bold specific words to emphasize importance, or use capitalization as well if you feel it suits the ad without making it appear sloppy and unreadable. - What is the Competition Doing?
Chances are you have a decent amount of online competition. Most businesses on the Internet do. See what their ads look like, and which ones come up most often in a search query that uses the same keywords you intend to use. There is nothing wrong with tailoring your ad to look like that of the competition. If it works for them, it should work for you. But be forewarned: your competitors may do the same to you! While Pay-Per-Click Advertising can be quick to implement and begin producing results immediately, is not a marketing technique that should be entered into lightly by a novice. You are paying every time someone clicks on your ad, and if the PPC campaign is not properly managed, you may incur expensive click charges that would diminish your return on investment (ROI).
Active Web Group’s PPC marketing and management specialists are experts at building successful campaigns. We begin with a few carefully selected key words or phrases and constantly analyze and test the results. Active Web Group can assemble a program that brings you the best results for your advertising dollar.
Contact Active Web Group for a Free Pay-per-Click Campaign Analysis!
You might also want to read Pay-Per-Click Management: Not All PPC Management Services Are Created Equal
For more information on Pay-Per-Click advertising, call us at 1-800-978-3417 or Contact Active Web Group and let us help you!
