What is PPC?
When PPC is mentioned, it’s usually Google Adwords that’s being referenced, as Google is the dominant search engine in the UK. By using Google Adwords you can acquire traffic to your website by targeting people with ads that are searching for your product or service on Google. Not only this, but Adwords provides performance statistics so you can accurately measure your ROI.
Where to Begin with Google Adwords?
It’s important to build a strong keyword list for your PPC account, and a good way to identify what keywords to use is by analysing the website you want to advertise. Look for common themes on the site and identify words and phrases that someone should search for in order to find your website useful. When you’ve done this, run your keyword ideas on the Google Keyword Research Tool which will allow you to see how much traffic those keywords get and how competitive they are.
Organising your Account Structure
How your account is structured will make a big impact on the performance of your PPC account.
The two key things you should segment your campaigns by are:
· the products and services you offer
· whether the keywords are brand terms or a generic term
Further segment your themes into adgroups within the campaign. This allows you to create ads that are as targeted and relevant to each of the keywords you’re bidding on, which in term will make it more likely for the customer to click on your ad (increasing your click through rate).
When writing ads, keep in mind the rules; you only have a certain amount of characters to play with on your headline, description and display URL. Use as many characters as you can and use correct punctuation, spelling and grammar - although you should capitalise the first letter of every word you write in the headline and description, as this has been known to increase click through rates.
Make sure all the settings for each campaign are correct for the objectives you’re trying to achieve. Things like the location, languages, devices and networks you specifically want to target will differ for each campaign you create, depending on your objectives.
Set your bids and budgets for your campaigns and adgroups. Start small; you can always increase your bids or budget later on if you’re not spending enough!
Tracking Conversions
Once you’re happy with your setup, and have implemented it all into your Google Adwords account, the last thing to do before putting your campaigns live is to set up conversion tracking. Conversion tracking is a piece of code you need to place on the ‘thank you/confirmation’ web page of your website (for your designated purchase/sign-up/lead), so that Adwords can report to you every time someone has converted to your desired outcome after clicking on your Google ad.
For information about advanced PPC advertising techniques, feel free to contact us.
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