Last time we went over the basics of PPC and how it works in general. Today, we\’re going to talk about some of the key components of PPC.

Keywords:

Choosing keywords that are relevant to your end goal will be one of the first things you will do. Most search engine platforms will offer you a keyword discovery tool that will get you started with your list. You can also check out your own website and the websites of companies in your industry for more ideas. You might want to try using synonyms in some cases where you think people might search that way. For each keyword, you will need to enter a match type. There are three kinds of matching:

• Broad match – When the keyword, such as a phrase like digital marketing, can be anywhere and in any order in the search string with any other keywords. For example: a complete list of digital channels in marketing
• Phrase match – When the keyword can be in exactly this order surrounded in quotations like \”digital marketing\” but with any other keywords in the search string. For example: What does the term digital marketing mean?
• Exact match – When keyword equals a search string, which is surrounded in brackets like [digital marketing]. For example: digital marketing

Use phrase match to start out as it\’s a good balance between a broad match, which will give you too many clicks, and exact match, which could yield fewer clicks that intended as people might still be searching for your keywords but not the precise order you specified. As you become a more experienced search marketer, you will begin to see where these match types can be best used in your campaign. You can also choose negative keywords, which are words where you do not want your ad to appear.

Google provides you with great tool to brainstorm further:

https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

(Make sure the \”synonyms\” square is checked.)

Landing Page:

If you want your traffic to respond to a specific Call to Action or offer, create a dedicated landing page for your PPC traffic. Your landing page should use the keywords you are trying to advertise but although clicks are important, it\’s more critical to turn those clicks into conversions. The major point here is to make sure you give just enough valuable information on the landing page in order for them to signup. A prominent Call to Action and the registration form should be visible right away as well as very clear and simple. We recommend including customer testimonials and a list of well-known clients. Other tips include: making your message clear; limiting your offer (by time or by the number of signups); and providing something for free in order to build your lists. Get feedback from friends and family. Test it all out!

Quality Index:

The most important and elusive thing in PPC advertising is a score called the quality index. What it does is calculates how relevant your ads (title, description, and even URLs) and landing pages are and how good are your click-though rates. The major idea here is to make this quality index as high as possible to be sure you are not only placed higher than others in the sponsored listings but you also pay less!

Make sure to group all the keywords logically and use different landing pages/ads for each group. This will increase you index score as well.

Creating Ads:

Use at least 3 ads per group of keywords and test, test, test. Find out which ones convert better. One option in Google automatically serves the ad-copy that performs the best (your choice). It is a good idea to include your keyword within the ad, using dynamic keyword insertion. Think about what your audience is looking for and how your offer meets their needs. Write copy that will highlight your company and encourage someone to find out more. Testing ads, landing pages, keywords – is the best way to succeed in PPC.

PPC Competition:

You might want to steal a little bit of traffic from your competitors by advertising on their searched brand names. While this is technically legal, we caution you to be very careful and use this technique sparingly. You can use their names as keywords but not in the actual ads or landing pages. Read more on the subject in our recent article here: Dealing with Dishonest Competitors.

Conclusion:

These all are just basics but will allow you to get a good start. Remember a successful PPC campaign involves time, analysis and optimization. SEM will not only increase your traffic but also drive conversions and will be well worth the money spent. Just think through your campaign and test everything possible to help ensure your efforts will be worth it.

Shavkat Karimov
Director, Online Marketing
Every problem comes with a solution
and
Shaneli Ramratan
Marketing Manager
mobileStorm, Inc.