How to Improve your PPC Campaign

Pay Per Click, or PPC as it is better known, has grown and developed the way in which businesses conduct their marketing. PPC is increasingly more popular with those companies who are able to dedicate specific funding to ad campaigns across a variety of channels. However setting up a PPC campaign is easy, it’s how you get the results you want which is the hard bit. This article therefore is going to focus heavily on how to improve your PPC campaign.

Choosing a Platform

When choosing to start a PPC campaign and even looking to improve your PPC campaign, deciding what platform you are going to run it on is the first big decision you need to make. Google Ads are the most popular and are most probably the market leader. However, some of the other platforms to consider are:-

Facebook Ads

Facebook Ads allows you to place what they call a ‘sponsored post’. A sponsored post allows you to boost by paying money to be able to reach a wider audience. This is particularly useful if you are looking to widen your reach. 

When placing a sponsored post you are able to select location, audience and also how the ad will be displayed to viewers. Most important you can decide your budget upfront, then adjust depending on how the advert is performing.

Twitter Ads

Twitter Ads, is probably one of the forgotten fruits after the rise in users of Instagram and Facebook. However, Twitter offer a very similar platform of sponsorship as Facebook giving you the option to select locations, audience and also budgets. 

Twitter Ads will allow you to also focus on three key areas as well which include new followers, tweet engagements and website traffic. All very useful when looking to boost your brand and potential Lead Generation.

Google Ads

Now to the market leader. Most users of PPC will use Google Ads due to it diverse range of products it can offer. As Google is so vast it allows you to utilise many web properties to really drill down on what sort of ad you want to utilise. 

Display Ad, Search Ad, App Ad or an Video Ad are the selections you have available. Which is definitely a wider range then others on offer. Where all the ad platforms are similar however, is that they give you an option to set a budget, set locations as well as audience. 

Take a look at the Google ads web page for more information as well on their valuable offering. Getting Started on Google Ads.

What types of Ads are you going to use 

Once you have decided what platform you are going to launch your campaign on, you will also have to decide what type of advert you are going to want to use. If you already utilising one type of ad, then try out some of the others available. This could help with how to improve your PPC campaign as well.

As mentioned before Twitter and Facebook are very limited in their options, however Google have a varied range offering the following:-

Display Ads

Potentially the most basic of all the adverts available from Google. They utilise banners anywhere on Google to help people identify your brand.

App Ads

More and more companies are venturing into building apps. Apps are a great way to engage people due to most having access to a smartphone or tablet. Google utilises the artwork from your application to build an advert. This helps when looking to build a recognised branding.

Search Ads

Search Ads are the most likely what you would associate with PPC. A search ad utilises search engine marketing and shows a hyperlink to your website to entice people to click. Your links are also determined by the keywords you choose which your target audience are most likely to search for.

Video Ads

Video ads are becoming more and more popular now due the rise in video content. Google has a direct link to YouTube as well, and with over 2 billion active users a month you are going to expand the net a lot. 

Determine your budget

Defining and determining your budget is one of the key things when looking to build a PPC campaign. Your budget will determine which ads you are able to run and also across what platforms. Without a budget you will also not be able to formulate a concise plan.

Google Ads as one of the market leaders allows you to set a daily limit. This is particularly useful if you have identified most of your audience become active on a certain day, or to coincide with an event. 

The thing to be careful of is that some elements of your search will cost more than others.This could be determined by interests, audience segments or even key search criteria. Google operates an auction system in this case. This will help you to decide how much each criteria will cost, and how you want to cost effectively speared your budget.

What is your target audience, location and also search terms

As with all marketing, not knowing what your target audience, location and also search terms looks like, means you are on a road to nothing. PPC being no different. PPC platforms give you the choice which ads you want to run, where you want to run them, and also how you are going to appear when your audience chooses your search word.

Choosing your keywords, or SERP’s as they are known is very important. Your keywords will form a large part of your campaign and are integral to attracting the right audience. However, be aware that the more words you choose the higher the chance you will appear in front of the wrong audience. This is because too many keywords take away the specific search nature of your PPC.

To Conclude

PPC is a great way to generate more interest and traffic to your various destinations. The inclusion of many ad types also means you are able to tailor your adverts to the specific audience you are looking to attract. PPC does come with some risk in terms of an initial outlay, but budget controls, as well as proper planning will always help the process.