Although Google has bought up plenty of other online platforms over the years, its famous search engine remains its biggest asset. It has been the world’s most visited website for years, and the heavy visitor numbers also make it one of the most influential advertising platforms. As more companies have grown aware of this and demand for ad space on the site has increased, so have the fees. Google Ads are also known as pay-per-click or PPC ads, because instead of paying an upfront fee like in television advertising, companies pay a smaller fee each time someone clicks on their ad. If the ads are effective and convert clicks into sales and signups, this can be a very cost-effective marketing method. If not, it can deplete its budget very quickly.
This means that while Google Ads campaigns gain businesses a lot of exposure and drive a lot of traffic to their websites, the ads need to be thoughtfully planned out and designed in order for companies to make a decent return on their investment. This article outlines the essential ingredients of a successful Google Ads campaign, but first it explores the advantages of PPC advertising in general.
PPC advertising: The Pros
Paying to be one of the first websites people see on search results pages doesn’t guarantee success, but there’s a lot for businesses to like about this marketing method.
Cost-effective
When you advertise in traditional media, you pay the same regardless of how many people actually investigate your business further as a result of that ad. PPC advertising is more cost-effective because you only pay for people who actually click onto your website.
Highly targeted
Your website will show up at the top of the results page for specific search terms, which you can use to target your ads to customers who are already looking for what you sell. Again, this makes it more cost-effective.
Measurable
The number of searches, click-throughs and purchases are all recorded digitally, so it’s easy to measure your ad’s performance.
Customisable
You can tweak active campaigns if things aren’t working, and Google can show different variations of your ads to different customers so you can work out which is most effective.
Quick results
The effects of a good PPC campaign can even be felt within the space of a single day or week. Great things can happen fast if you target the right search terms with the right ads.
Tips for an Effective Google Ads Campaign
Careful research and planning is essential for a successful PPC advertising campaign. Most successful campaigns spend considerable time profiling their target consumers, finding out what web searches they are making, and writing copy that appeals to them. Here are some tips to help your campaign succeed.
1. Decide on your goals
It may sound obvious, but an effective campaign has got to be clear about what it is trying to achieve. Otherwise, how can you measure its effectiveness? This goal is usually sales, but it doesn’t have to be. Click-throughs, newsletter signups, and contact details left are also common.
Knowing your goal will shape your campaign’s strategy. Your ad copy and approach will be different if you’re aiming to get people to follow your newsletter rather than buy your items.
2. Profile your audience
Traditional print and TV advertising worked by getting ads in front of as many people as possible and hoping that a small percentage of those would buy enough to make it worthwhile. Google Ads works best by doing the opposite. Targeting a smaller audience where a large percentage of them will buy the product. This costs less money but should achieve similar sales.
For this to work, you need to understand your target audience well. That includes things like their background, age, job, hobbies, how they think, what websites they use, and more. The aim is to target people who are very likely to buy from your business.
3. Research keywords
Just as important as knowing your audience is knowing what they are searching for online. Specifically, you want to know what people are searching for just before they buy from a business like yours. The phrases they use will become your ‘keywords’ – the search terms that will trigger your ads to appear in the search results. You can use several keywords, and each may consist of one word or several.
There are a number of online tools which you can use to help find the most profitable keywords, although this may be the trickiest part of a PPC campaign overall. That’s why many businesses contact King Kong or other PPC management agencies. The more potential a keyword has, the more competition there will be to use it, and the more it will cost companies each time someone clicks on it.
Clearly defined goals, an interested audience, and profitable keywords are the essential ingredients of all successful PPC campaigns. Ignore them, and your business will be paying for clicks from uninterested consumers, but get them right and the results can be immediate.