So, how does PPC work?

In a PPC campaign, you pay Google however much you wish to have them list ads for your site at the top and right of the organic search listings. When someone clicks on your ad, you pay the current Cost Per Click (CPC) from your budget. Once your entire budget has been depleted, Google ceases to run your ads until you replenish your fund.

While PPC is certainly easier to implement, rushing into the process can be a Segway to disaster if you don’t know the basics. By looking at the 3 helpful tips below, you should be able to launch an effective PPC campaign that will bring new visitors to your site.

1. Create Goals for your PPC Campaign

There are three questions that will be helpful:

• Who is targeted by this Campaign?Always remind yourself “who” you are aiming to reach through paid search. When choosing keywords and creating ad text, select terms your audience would search for and create ad text that speaks to their needs. Always be sure the content on your landing page logically aligns with these keywords/ad text to ensure a quality user experience and maximize your ROI. Put yourself in the visitor’s shoes.

• What outcome are you looking for? Identify what you would like your user to do once they click on your paid search ad. Include this goal as a call to action in your ad text. Drive visitors to a landing page that easily leads them toward this goal.
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• How will you know the PPC Campaign is a success? Ensure you have set up a way to measure success before launching your campaign. Ensure tracking URLs are set-up to analyze Paid Search traffic. Ongoing analysis of your campaign metrics will reveal keywords you may want to consider pausing and opportunities to grow.

2. Establish an Easy to Use Campaign Structure

The 2 words to keep in mind here are Relevant and Simple:

Relevant: Create tightly themed ad groups with small groups of keywords. Thumb through each keyword and ensure your ad text is relevant to each keyword contained within each ad group.

Simple: You will be managing your campaign on a daily basis. Ensuring your campaign structure is intuitive and manageable will make monitoring your campaign more effective and will allow you to better identify efficiencies and inefficiencies.

3. Check your PPC Settings in Google Adwords

Be Smart About the Google Neatwork. By default, Google Adwords opts all campaign into the full Google Network. This network of sites includes Google.com…, partner sites such as AOL.com.., & Ask.com.., and Display Network sites.

Opting out of the Google Display network is a best practice if you are just getting started. The Display Network will incur thousands of impressions by displaying your ads across thousands of sites. If you are working with a constrained budget, the Google Display network can deplete your budget quickly and compromise your visibility on Google.com…

The Display network can be effective with carefully selected keywords and ad text designed specifically for this type of ad placement. It is always best to revisit this tactic once you have garnered initial learnings from the Google Search network.

Use Local Searches to Your Advantage. By default, Google Adwords will set your campaign live nationally. If you are a local merchant, if you ship to a specific area, or provide service (only) to a specific geographic location, it is a best practice to customize your Location Targeting in Google Adwords. Get to Know Your Account Language. Google Adwords provides options specific to language targeting, ad scheduling, devices. As a best practice, always click into the Settings of each campaign to verify your campaign is set up properly.

Hope this helps.