For many years now, PPC advertising has remained one of the most effective and economic strategies marketers use to reach more customers. It is pretty easy to learn but can be quite tricky to master. Regardless of your marketing budget, you want to be sure that you are making the most of your paid advertising campaign.
Marketers and business owners often run into errors and losses with PPC campaigns. Still, with the right guide, you can minimize the number of people who are just clicking away at your ad without showing any business interest. Instead of paying for clicks that aren’t generating you any income, here are 9 tips that can help you maximize ROI (return on investment) for PPC campaigns.
1. Identify the Right Prospects and Create Optimized Ads
It’s either you’re not targeting the right audience, or you’re leaving your campaign wide open. This often leads to a waste of ad budgets. To correct this, you should first identify the right audience for your business — people who are more likely to become qualifying leads — and then target them. Thankfully, Google ads allows you to create highly targeted ads. This will help you minimize clicks that yield nothing.
But it doesn’t end there. It is best to ensure the copies and landing pages for every campaign are speaking the language your audience understands best. People respond best to campaigns that directly address their needs/pain points.
2. Create Custom Landing Pages for Each Ad
Now that you have a well-written ad copy and a sizzling campaign to launch, you don't want to send your prospects to a generic landing page. One problem with that is that the landing page may not contain targeted information. Most landing pages offer clients multiple options to select from.
The most significant benefit of using custom landing pages for each new ad is that they present only one thing to the customer — the offer in your ad. You may not realize it, but custom landing pages make it easier to convert your leads.
3. Use Compelling CTAs
Do not underestimate the power of a solid call to action. This is one thing you need to pay extra attention to. Try different wordings. Hire a copywriter if it seems nerve-wracking to create one. Ideally, the copywriter helping with your ad copy will also be responsible for creating a compelling CTA. You’ve done an excellent job thus far by keeping the prospect hooked to the very end. A CTA can sometimes be the reason they flip or the factor that strengthens their resolve to proceed with the purchase.
4. Use High-Performing Keywords
Keywords! Keywords!! Keywords!!!
The best way to reach people who need what you’re offering is by taking the 'user intent route’. What are they searching for? Which keywords appear the most? The success of your PPC ads depends on how precise your keyword targeting is. High-performing keywords are a giveaway at any time.
Thinking like the user is thinking will help you create optimized ads and landing pages for each campaign. To get your business in front of the people who are ready to buy, you need to start by identifying the right keywords.
5. Run Your Ads at the Right Time
It is one thing to have an irresistible ad, but it is a different kettle of fish to reach your audience at the right time. Your ads will not always perform optimally at all times. This means that you need to target with time in mind. Some products are seasonal, while others are not so seasonal. MBA shoe stores will likely make more sales during MBA games, and skiboards sellers might make more sales during outdoor winter activities.
On the other hand, running shoes and skateboards may show very little fluctuations in sales year-round. Some ad networks even allow users to schedule their ads at specific times of the year to ensure better sales.
6. Review Your Change History Report
Your change history report can help you understand what changes bumped up your sales and conversions and those that negatively impacted you. Make it a regular practice to review your change history. Over time, you will be able to identify the changes that improve your campaign and then build on those. Also, you will be able to do away with those that diminish your ROI. By maintaining the best practices, you will be able to improve your ROI gradually.
7. Use Optimized Ad Copies
Google's text ads allow only so many characters. You want to make sure that every line, every word, and paragraph is punchy, salesy, and action-oriented. With the limited characters and texts that you have, you can tap into your audience's emotions, compelling them to make a purchase.
Again, this is another place where keywords matter. Aside from the landing page, the keywords should also reflect well in your ad copies.
8. Test and Test Over and Over Again
When it comes to running PPC ads campaigns, different factors make for a high-performing ad. Test different price points, different CTAs, different copies, and use custom landing pages. What results do you get by dropping or raising the price? One of the keys to maximizing ROI for your PPC campaign is testing. Try different parameters that you think might change the results you get and stick to those that yield the best results.
9. Use Negative Keywords
The benefit of using negative keywords is that it keeps your ads away from the views and clicks of people who will not buy. In fact, this is critical to the success of your PPC ad campaigns. For instance, if you sell high-end products, using negative keywords like ‘cheap’, ‘affordable’, and ‘budget’ in your ads will ensure the ads do not appear to people looking for low-end, cheap, or imitation products.
For each PPC campaign, you should build out your negative keyword list and integrate them into the ad. Just as the right keywords help to get your ads in front of those willing to buy, negative keywords also help you avoid those that are not willing to buy. Building both types of keywords is essentially the same process.
Final Thoughts
Maximizing ROI for your PPC campaigns is possible if you use these tips. However, these strategies are not exhaustive on the subject. Depending on the type of business you run and your industry, there could be specific best practices to help you make the most of your PPC campaigns. If you need further assistance with your PPC ads, give us a call at the Mission HR. We are a team of experienced growth strategists, sales, and digital marketing experts, and we’d love to take through every step to creating smart digital marketing strategies for your business.
We also provide result-oriented services for small and medium-sized organizations and government contractors, serving as a trusted partner in integrated human resource compliance, risk management, employee benefits, employment practices liability insurance (EPLI), and payroll processing. If in doubt or still unsure of what next steps to take, contact us today at The Mission HR to schedule a consultation.