People seem to either love or hate pay per click (PPC) advertising. While some find it difficult to optimize, most businesses experience success. Today we’ll address the biggest concerns about PPC and how you can get past them.
Sticking to a Budget
The first concern people often have about PPC advertising is its cost. Pay per click means that you’ll pay for every single click, even if the clicker bounced, or left your website immediately after clicking.
But PPC platforms keep you in control of the budget. Once you’ve exceeded your specified budget limit, the platform stops showing your ad. Your next concern should be how to make the most of the clicks you do receive. And that requires effective targeting.
Finding Targeted Keywords
Effective PPC marketing requires wise keyword choices. Just blasting your ad all over the Internet is guaranteed to get you clicks, but they are less likely to be high-quality leads or paying customers.
To narrow down your audience, start with the keywords you already use for your website. If those haven’t been performing well recently, you might need to go back to your buyer personas.
- Who is buying your product or service?
- Where do they spend their time?
- What social media channels do they use?
By truly defining your target market, you can place your ads on the keywords they’re searching for and on relevant social media sites that offer PPC, like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Keyword Competition
Another challenge for those new to the PPC arena is stiff competition. Large corporations are already using popular keywords for their ads, which can throw you into a bidding war for words. This is no business’s ideal.
Instead, try getting even more specific. Long tail keywords usually work best for small businesses because they have less competition. The audiences using long tail keywords are smaller but more focused and often closer to making a purchase.
For example, the phrase “gardening center” yields an enormous audience with a wide array of motivations. However, “gardening center with succulents” reveals exactly what the customer is trying to purchase.
PPC advertising campaigns require some trial and error. Businesses working without an expert on their team might experience a low ROI at first, but this doesn’t mean PPC isn’t worth it. Instead, consider consulting with an expert, like our team at Empowered Pulse, to jumpstart a successful PPC campaign today.