Ten Top Tips for PPC starters

1. Read this site

For companies planning a DIY approach to Pay Per Click (PPC), reading the information on this site is time well spent. Even for companies that decide to outsource, this site can help managers learn a bit about the basics It is important to acquire enough knowledge of PPC to effectively manage outsourced experts; without PPC knowledge, it will be difficult to contribute to the crucial planning stage. 
 

2. Get external help

Pay Per Click is an immature marketplace, with a limited pool of experienced, knowledgeable experts. Getting external help is often necessary, especially at the early stages when managers are still learning. Many companies already outsource their entire advertising and marketing operations, with PPC campaigns becoming a new project within these activities. 
 

3. Plan properly

As with all projects, it’s the planning that will lead the project down the path to success. Without an understanding of what needs to be done, together with the ‘when’ and ‘why’ of PPC, many project managers instead have a ‘we can buy traffic’ mindset which only leads to project failure. Conversely, success can be experienced when planning is based on an understanding of the marketplace, the target audience and what needs to be done on the website.

4. Plan for more effort than you expect

PPC is not a ‘set and forget’ activity. As with all marketing activities, effort needs to be constantly expended. You need to consider PPC not as an isolated exercise, but as a longer term ‘channel to market’ exercise with all the associated time, personnel and financial investment issues.

5. Update your site (add pages) to make it work

The PPC campaign must not link visitors to your website’s home page. The links need to be to specific pages that address the search terms used. Website architecture changes and additional pages may also be required as the campaign progresses and traffic flow and visitor behaviour is monitored and analysed. 

6. Know your audience

It is crucial to know who the campaign is ‘talking to.’ If not, you will not know what your audience is asking. If you do not know what they are asking, you will not know what to tell them. This may involve segmentation and then targeting a specific segment first with the PPC campaign.
 

7. Research your keywords

Once the target audience is known, it is helpful both to brainstorm, and to ask customers how they describe the products or services they are searching for. Research will then be required to determine which keywords are viable, which are affordable, and which are too specific or niche.

8. Use Adgroups wisely

A nuance of Google’s (and now also being used by Yahoo) Adgroups is the way that keywords are segmented into groups to be relevant to the people searching. The ad copy is placed by Adgroup – not keywords – so wise use of Adgroups is a key success factor in PPC campaigns.

9. Test, Test, Test

Because no one gets it right the first time, with Pay Per Click it is imperative to try something, see what happens and look at the results – it is a ‘do-test-change’ cyclical activity. Continual modifications will be required to ensure success.
 

10. Don’t give up!

From one perspective PPC is very easy to get started, yet it is very difficult in other ways. For this reason, many companies try, fail and then decide to give up. But it is worth persevering, because when done correctly, PPC is cost-effective compared to traditional advertising. This is why it has become an essential new element in the marketing mix for many companies.