There are several alternatives to social media marketing, however, the ROI of social media is not always stable. So you probably wonder, is there an alternative to social media marketing?
Paid search and pay-per-click are strategies that have been effective since the beginning of search engines. They are still effective for your investment today. Everyone notices paid search advertising when using a search engine such as Google.
Let’s check them out!
Top 9 PPC Best Practices To Adopt In 2022
Paid search marketing can help you boost your business, but you need to be aware of the latest trends.
As consumer habits and technology change over time, the tactics you used in the past for your PPC campaigns might not be as effective in the future.
To make sure your PPC campaigns are effective, it’s important to stay up to date with the latest changes on search engines and social media platforms. Following the latest trends will help you ensure that your campaigns are successful.
1. Set PPC Goals
What are the goals of your paid search marketing campaign? How will you measure the progress towards these goals?
Before launching a PPC campaign, consider what your primary goal is. Do you want to increase revenue or brand awareness? What keywords do you want to focus on? Are you starting a new campaign from scratch, or refining an existing one?
Some examples of PPC goals are:
INCREASING SALES AND REVENUE
If you follow the proper steps, you will almost certainly increase the number of sales your website gets from pay-per-click advertising. You can target potential customers who have already shown an interest in what you’re selling, and this gives you a much better chance of making a sale.
To increase your sales through paid search, you need to optimize your keywords for the phrases your target audience searches for, rather than using generic keywords that won’t generate any clicks.
If you use more specific keywords, they will be more expensive, but the chance that someone will click on your link from a search engine and make a purchase is much higher than if you had used generic keywords.
INCREASING SITE TRAFFIC
To increase site traffic, you need to use broad and relevant keywords to get clicks. To maximize ROI from increasing web traffic via PPC, make sure your content and website structure are on point.
OVERSHADOWING THE COMPETITORS
There is no industry in which you can’t find competitors. Pay-per-click advertising allows you to bid on keywords that your competitors have already established. As a result, when potential customers search for your competitors, you can persuade them that your offer is much better.
This also gives you the opportunity to poach your competitor’s customers by claiming that your products are better.
INCREASING PROFITS
The primary objective of any marketing campaign should be to improve profits. With PPC specifically, this should be seen as a long term goal, as there is no guarantee of instant profit. Instead, various factors need to be taken into account, such as testing, optimizing keywords, having a well designed website, and ensuring that what is being offered is understandable and desirable. Being patient is also key.
BRAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
PPC advertising lets you put your ads on relevant websites, driving traffic and increasing brand awareness. This also helps establish your brand, by featuring your logo and branded products in front of a new audience. increased trust in your company.
A more specific list of PPC goals can look like the following:
- A certain amount of users to click on an ad and complete a lead generation form.
- Paid search should bring 200 new leads per month from your website.
- The cost per click (CPC) shouldn’t exceed $2.50.
- The PPC visitor time on the website should be more than the time spent by those who open the site organically.
2. Personalize Your Ads
If you want to grab your customers’ attention, you need to personalize your ads. You need to ensure that your ads reach the right people. Facebook Custom Audiences and Twitter Target Audiences are two examples of platforms you can use to show your ads to a focused list of people. Google’s Customer Match also works in a similar way.
You can use Google Customer Match to target ads at people who have similar demographics and behavior to the people on your list of leads. For more information on how to set up and use GCM, read the WordStream guide.
3. Single Keywords Ad Group (SKAG)
Google AdWords is becoming very competitive, and the cost per click is constantly increasing. This is why low-quality keywords and bad clicks are simply not acceptable. To increase your click-through rate, you need to focus your campaign on a single keyword ad group.
Pairing your keywords into a unique ad group ensures that the keywords that you bid for equal the search term that you’ve paid for. For example, if you sell custom tuxedos, the keywords inside one SKAG would look like this:
+custom +made +tuxedos “custom made tuxedos” [custom made tuxedos]
This single keyword ad group would be called “Custom Made Tuxedos” and would be the basis for related search terms.
SKAGs can greatly improve your PPC campaigns by creating a stronger keyword foundation. You can learn how to use root keywords and the AdWords Editor to create SKAGs by following this guide from KlientBoost.
4. Target Bottom-of-the-Funnel Keywords
You may not be able to convert users if you use TOFU keywords since they might not be ready to purchase or they’re not at the right stage of the buyer’s journey.
This post covers how to create a funnel report in Google Analytics. This post will show you how to create a funnel report in Google Analytics step-by-step.
People who are not yet ready to convert use general keywords in Google searches because they don’t have a lot of specific knowledge about the product or service. Targeting keywords that are more relevant to people who are further along in the sales funnel can help you avoid leads that are not ready to buy.
Assessing BOFU keywords with an understanding of the niche dsterminology and phrases that are used in your industry. On those phrases, you need to attach bottom-of-the-funnel keywords that prompt people to the CTA, such as:
- Buying-related words such as “get a quote”, “proposal”
- Branded terms
- Competitor terms
- Contact words like “contact”, “call us”
- Location: city/state/region/zip code
After you have uploaded your keywords to the AdWords Keyword Tool, the next step is to check the keyword volume and competitive nature. Then, look at the CPC of the keywords. A higher CPC means that there are likely many competitors bidding for the same keywords.
The best way to choose BOFU keywords is to select ones with high search volume, low competition, and high CPC. This process requires significant research, time, and testing.
In order to use the BOFU keywords strategy to its fullest potential, you must create content that is focused around those keywords, or offer some sort of incentive, such as a case study, demo, or free trial, to encourage your target customers to use your service.
5. Create dedicated campaigns for voice searches
Voice search is a rapidly growing trend, with over one billion searches per month. Your company can take advantage of this by incorporating it into your paid search strategy. This will give you a leg up on the competition, and position your business for success.
analysts are predicting that those who adopt voice search technology early on will see an increase of 30% in their digital commerce revenue by the year 2021. If you want to create a campaign specifically for voice search, start by looking into your past campaigns to see what worked and what didn’t. Once you have your campaign picked, follow these steps to review your keywords:
- Log into your Google Ads account
- Select your ad campaign
- Choose “Keywords” from the sidebar menu
- Click “Search Terms” from the top menu
- Download the report
After you download your report, search through the data for the phrase “OK Google.” This phrase indicates a voice search. The words that follow “OK Google” could be potential keywords for your voice search campaign. Depending on your industry and business, you may not have any viable voice search keywords.
It’s okay if you want to see if your company could find a whole new channel for targeting your market. It’s a smart move.
6. Make remarketing a part of your paid search strategy
Remarketing allows you to advertise to people who have already shown an interest in your product or service by visiting your website. This is an incredible way to increase sales as you get another chance to convince potential customers to contact or visit your business. Many businesses choose to exclude remarketing from their paid search strategy, though this can be effective in driving sales.
Remarketing campaigns may not provide your company with a large audience, but the audience it does provide is already interested in your business. This is a huge advantage in the digital marketplace! Make the most of your PPC strategy with display or search remarketing campaigns.
Before you launch your campaign, do some research on your target audience and your marketing goals, and check your website data in Google Analytics. Once you’ve done that, build a remarketing audience in Google Analytics. Depending on your site traffic and your target audience, your team may need to wait before launching your campaign.
This is because Google Ads requires a certain number of people in an audience for remarketing campaigns. For example, a display remarketing campaign needs 100 people, while a search remarketing campaign requires 1,000.
When requirements differ greatly, businesses tend to center their efforts on display remarketing rather than on search. Both approaches have the potential to improve your paid search strategy.
7. Target competitor brand names with search ads
A lot of PPC strategies involve targeting your competitor’s customers. You can do this by bidding on keywords that your competitors are targeting. This will help you get their customers to your site, and maybe even convert them to customers.
You can find an example of this strategy by searching “quickbooks accounting.”
In this search engine, there are paid results for QuickBooks as well as a few of its competitors. If your company uses this paid search strategy, then your team (or PPC agency) will need to create some great advertisement copy. People who are searching for a competitor already know about that company’s benefits.
People may be loyal to a certain business, especially if they are current customers. Your advertising copy should highlight your unique selling points, as well as the needs and pain points of your target audience.
If you want even better results, your ad copy should focus on the downsides of your competitor’s product and the upsides of your product. While this paid search strategy might not result in a lot of clicks or conversions, it can help your company build brand awareness. A user might see your ad, then visit your website later, after checking out a competitor’s site.
It is beneficial to test this approach in your paid advertising campaigns.
8. Get a PPC audit to refresh your PPC strategy
If you have tried to create a successful PPC campaign but have not been successful, you are not the only one. PPC can be difficult to master and many companies have a hard time creating an effective campaign that is also cost-friendly.
A PPC audit is one paid search strategy you may want to consider. PPC agencies or consultants can thoroughly look at your campaigns and strategies, such as keyword research, audience targeting, and bidding, to figure out which factors are impeding your campaign’s success.
The assessment provides recommendations for improving your campaign, as well as strategies specific to your industry, products, and services. An audit may not be free, but it saves money in the long-term.
Your company can improve your campaign based on feedback from your agency or consultant, which could lead to a higher CTR, lower CPC, and greater ROI.
Wrapping Up
Paid search advertising is a complex area where multiple strategies and tools must be used to create effective campaigns. Although PPC can be expensive, if done correctly, your business will eventually see the benefits. Try out the strategies above and focus on the ones that give you the best return on investment.
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