Every company, from the smallest startup to the biggest global brand, must make the most of online advertising to maximize their business. Alongside an organic search campaign, PPC is a major promotional tool, allowing you to to reach a wider audience through paid ads.
Like the latter field, PPC has continued to evolve in various ways (not least with the recent introduction of more space in Google’s AdWords ads). If you are just entering the world of paid ads, you may well feel daunted, and have concerns about making mistakes.
To help you get the best start, we have compiled four common PPC mistakes you should avoid if you want to achieve the best results.
Neglecting Your Landing Page
Whenever a user clicks on one of your paid ads, they expect to find themselves on a page matching their expectations. If your ad promises ‘cheap men’s running shoes’ but they find themselves on your homepage, with dozens of other categories above sneakers, they will understandably be frustrated.
As tempting as it is, never rely on one overall landing page for every paid ad. Instead, build a specific page for every ad: if visitors have to spend time searching for the very products or services they were looking for, they may lose interest altogether and look elsewhere.
Not Focusing Your Keywords
Avoid too many broad match keywords, or you may well end up losing out to those competitors with more authority or a higher number of ads. For example, if you specialize in men’s hats only, spending money on ads that target ‘hats’ is not the best option.
Instead, you should be more specific. ‘Men’s black fedoras’ and ‘men’s velvet trilbies’ might be a better place to start. Refine your keywords and target a wide variety of concrete terms.
Overlooking Geo-Targeting
While the internet’s global reach is especially helpful if you ship products around the world, you still need to target your local prospects. After all, ordering goods from an online-only business close by generally means a shorter wait for delivery.
Geo-targeting is critical for restaurants, bars, salons, and any other business depending on bringing people through their doors. For 2016’s Black Friday event, Google revealed 76 percent of users searching for local products or services (on their phones) end up visiting a company related to these within one day.
Geographical targeting allows you to target prospects in your area, boosting your paid ads’ relevancy. Take full advantage of this to reduce the number of ads you have to pay for when people outside your service-range click through.
Failing to Include CTAs
A call to action (CTA) is vital in paid ads. These encourage potential customers to click through and perform a specific action (sign-up, claim a discount etc.).
When used tactically (without too much aggression), a CTA is an incredibly powerful tool in your PPC campaign. Be sure to use these in each ad to increase your chances of converting users and driving sales.
Want to learn more about how effective a PPC campaign could be for your business? Our leading Orange County digital marketing agency will create a bespoke plan for your exact needs.