How To Improve Pay Per Click Campaigns (PPC) Using These 7 Tips

Pay Per Click Advertising (a.k.a. PPC, CPC, Adwords or Paid Search) is a great way to boost your page views and revenues while organic SEO is taking root.

But how can you make sure you’re making the most of your Adwords campaign?

Google is constantly refining its algorithm and requirements in order to ensure that only the best search results are put in front of their users, and when it comes to advertisements, they are extremely strict about what is shown and what isn’t.

This means that constructing a Pay Per Click campaign is essential to not only making sure that your advertisement seen at all, but to making sure it is seen by the right people.

Here are seven tips to make sure have the best possible Pay-Per-Click copy, placement, and strategy.

1. Make sure your ad is relevant to search results.

It may be tempting to add keywords to your advertisement that are likely to get you page views, but which do not really correspond to what you are selling.

This is a great way to make sure that no one ever sees your advertisement.

If you sell tennis shoes, make sure that your headline and ad content both include that word.

That way, when someone searches tennis shoes, your advertisement is more likely to appear.

Do not, for example, try to edge your advertisement into a search for Nike shoes if you do not sell Nike shoes.

2. Prove your worth.

You have very little space to convince someone to click on your link.

Use it wisely!!

Use this space to show your customer how you can fulfill their needs.

If they are searching for a new car, explain why your website is the best one to help them find that new car.

This isn’t the time to beat around the bush or to be clever.  This is the time to be clear and concise.

Make sure your language targets the customer. If they are looking for a new dentist for their entire family, make sure that the little content that Adwords allows makes it clear that you are that dentist.

3. Don’t forget the call to action.

You still need a call to action, even if you only have a few characters to fit it into.

It will encourage users to click through to your website.

Good words to use are “call”, “order”, “buy”, “get”, and “browse.” You can also punch up your copy by using it to display any sale you might be having.

Everyone loves a sale. Sales are a great way to encourage consumers to make a purchase, and including it in your Adwords ad copy is sure to increase clicks.

You also need to be sure that your website includes the appropriate calls to action, so that it funnels users towards making a purchase.

4. Use Ad Extensions.

This is a feature of Adwords that provides you with more copy and more room to display your company info.

The ad itself is extended, drawing the eye and allowing you to insert more links or simply just more information.

Google also sometimes favors these kinds of ads, giving them a better spot than competitors who are vying for the same spot.

This gives you more room to prove your worth and include a call to action.

You can even include phone numbers and other contact information so that your advertisement is more focused to your particular customer.

Again, your landing page should reflect the same kind of copy used in your Adwords campaign, so that it will improve your chances of conversion.

5. Utilize Dynamic Keyword Insertion.

There are actually pieces of code that you can use in order to improve your position in the Adwords results.

It allows you to use the search query in the copy itself.

This code changes the words of your copy to an exact match of the query, which not only makes your advertisement more likely to be seen, but which also encourage users to click, as users prefer exact-match results, especially when they are looking for something extremely specific.

This is an advanced feature and may not be for every business, but it can be especially useful for those looking to improve a local campaign or for someone who has lots of competitors trying to get Adwords advertisements into the same slot.

6. Build and maintain a high quality score.

Much of how well Google ranks your site is determined by your quality score.

That means that if you want a great ranking, you need to have a high quality score.

But how do you achieve this?

Much of the score depends on the relevancy of your advertisements, copy, and optimization of your landing page to users and the keyword being targeted.

This means that in order to get your page in front of the right people, you need to carefully construct your content and landing page, so that it reflects the keywords you are optimizing your campaign for.

When everything is in sync, you get a higher quality score.

If anything is even slightly off, your score can suffer.

7. Utilize split testing.

Split testing always has been and still is the best way to find what copy and strategies generate the most clicks and turn the most conversions.

You will need at least two (probably more) versions of your advertisement, which you run at the same time.

Then you can compare the two and determine what works and what doesn’t.

This makes it extremely easy to create a streamlined, effective campaign, drawing what works from each side of the test.

Adjust variables throughout the test so you can truly determine what generates more clicks and what downgrades your advertisement on the whole.