Should I Run PPC Ads?

Paying a website for each visitor they send you, known as Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising, can be very effective marketing.  Your advertisement is displayed on a host page such as Google, a visitor clicks on your ad, the ad brings them to your website, and you pay the host website a few cents in thanks.

However, there is more to an effective PPC campaign then setting keywords and paying the ad host.  That’s not to say you can’t do it or even figure it out, but if you don’t have the time to invest in the campaign and measure the results, you might consider hiring a pro.

But how do you know if PPC advertising is right for you?

The first thing to think about is whether your product or service generate enough search volume to warrant Pay-Per-Clicks.  If you have a very niche market like “Paper Mache Potted Plants”, you might want to take a closer look at how many people are searching for your product or a variation of it.  A nice tool to find out is the Google Adwords Keyword Tool.

Then do a Google Search for your keywords to see if anyone else shows up in the sponsored results section at the top and right panel of the results.  Usually, the presence of others indicates a high enough search volume to make a PPC campaign worthwhile.

If you’re less of a reactive marketer and tend to be more proactive, don’t worry about whether or not the competition is using PPC, think about other keywords that might draw qualified traffic instead.   “Potted plants” or “plant art” are likely to garner a higher search volume for example.

Next, determine if you can afford your keywords.  Use the Google Adwords Traffic Estimator to figure what you might expect to spend per click.  If you can’t afford the monthly budget needed to run a successful campaign, don’t even attempt a half-baked one. That’s a good way to lose what little budget you commit to it.

When you begin a Pay-Per-Click campaign, you’ll need to have the resources to develop relevant landing pages for your ads.  Landing pages are the pages on your website to which your PPC ads link.  These should be very specific to your ad, should tell you customer what you want them to do and enable them to contact you.  If you are running multiple campaigns, very often you will need multiple landing pages.

The next question to ask before running a PPC campaign – will you test different aspects of your campaign and will you measure the results?  Simply because you think your ad is the most compelling doesn’t mean your customer does.  Which are generating the most clicks?  If one is generating more clicks than the other, are they high quality clicks (low bounce rate, decent time on site, conversions etc…)?  Even the most seasoned marketers test their ads to see what delivers the best results.

And if you’re not measuring your Return of Investment (ROI), why bother?  You need to be able to determine your conversion rate, the amount you’ve paid to get those conversions and difference to determine your return.  If you’re paying a lot for a few if any conversions, you’re doing something wrong.  Remember PPC is about generating sales or leads, not just website traffic.

Now you’re primed to decide if Pay-Per-Click advertising is right for you.  There are many resources on the internet that offer advice on running successful Pay-Per-Click advertising and there are many other PPC platforms than Google.  You have to determine what works best for you, then test and measure the results.

If you need help with your PPC campaign, contact us and we’ll help you determine what works best for you.

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Tags: adwords, internet marketing, online marketing, Pay Per Click, PPC, search engine   Posted in Cool Tools, marketing strategy, online marketing