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Step One: Set-up your PPC Goals
Set your goals and objectives before you start your PPC campaign. Determine what success will be (number of leads generated, number of sales, etc.). Decide how you will measure it.
Step Two: Keyword Research
For info on conducting keyword research, visit our page on developing an Internet marketing plan.
Step Three: Create Keyword Themes and Clusters
We typically build a PPC campaign on Google first. You can take the campaigns developed for Google and easily convert them to other PPC systems.
The best practice for launching a PPC campaign on Google is to cluster your keywords into themes of 20 or so keywords per cluster. These keywords should relate to each other. In addition, each theme should point to a landing page that matches the keyword theme.
One of the trickier aspects of Google is the system’s quality score (QS). The quality score is a number Google assigns to keywords in your campaign. When Google assigns a higher QS to a keyword (the max is 10), the system will charge slightly less for each click. Google will not tell you how it computes the QS.
In our experience, creating tightly clustered keywords, related to the page, and following good SEO practices for that page helps get a higher QS. For example, if your page title and headlines carry a keyword, you should get a higher QS for that keyword.
Step Four: Estimate Your Google Adwords Budget
Once you have clustered your keywords, you can run each cluster through the Google traffic estimator. This Google tool will give you an estimate of the budget for each cluster.
Step Five: Select or Create Your Landing Page
Your Google Adwords will point to a specific page on your Web site, called the landing page. Do not send all Adwords traffic to your home page. You will likely get a lower QS, spend more than you should, and see fewer conversions.
The message on the landing page is a critical factor in developing a PPC program that converts well. For tips on developing a successful and high converting landing page, we recommend the book, Landing Page Optimization by Tim Ash.
Step Six: Write Your Ads
We typically write our Google ads in an excel spreadsheet. You can use the formulas in excel to make sure your ads adhere to the strict character limits of Google.
When you complete the ads in excel, you can simply cut and paste the ads into the Google Adwords system.
Write a strong headline. You only have 25 characters for a Google Adwords’ headline. Make every character count. If possible, use your keywords in the headline. You can also use Google’s dynamic keyword insertion tool. Be careful to follow the directions in Google’s help section to avoid trouble. Another approach to writing a headline is to ask a question and then answer it in the description lines.
You have 35 characters to work with for the two description lines on Google Adwords. While the headline’s job is to capture attention, the description’s job is to encourage the click. Remember, your objective is to get the searcher to your landing page.
Think about what searchers are looking for when they conduct their searches. Make sure you have a strong call to action. If you are giving away something free, mention that. If you are running a sale, put that in the ad. If you offer a strong guarantee, mention that.
What ever you do make sure you set the right expectation. You want to get good prospects to your Web site. Once they get to your site, you want them to take the next step. The right prospects are much more likely to take the next step. For example, if you sell top of the line products, do not use words like “bargain” or “cheap.
You can also use negative keywords to make sure your ads do not show up for the wrong searcher. See the Google help section for an explanation on negative keywords.
Step Seven: Launch Your Campaign
Google gives very good directions on how to launch the campaign. If you are not familiar with their system, be sure to watch their video tutorials.
We do recommend two changes at the start. First, uncheck the content network. The content network is useful, but usually not so right at the start. The content network are those independent sites that display Google’s ads, as opposed to Google’s main search site.
The next setting you should change is the "Ad serving" setting. When you run multiple ads in an ad group, Google’s default setting is "Optimize". Under this setting, Google runs the ad with the best response -- as measured by a higher CTR -- more frequently than the ads that show a lower CTR.
This default setting makes it more difficult to compare the performance of two or more ads. The "Rotate" setting tells Google to display each ad an equal number of times. You want to select “Rotate” so that you can test results.
Step Eight: Monitor Results and Adjust
In the beginning, check your ads daily to see how the responses are going. After 100 or so impressions, start tweaking any
ads that show a low CTR. If your ads show a good CTR, but do not convert, then you should make changes to your landing page.
You can find information on tools to help manage your PPC program on our section for Internet marketing tools.
Need Help? Let us know
Our PPC team has managed thousands of clicks-through to client Web
sites. And, more importantly...our clients have generated tens of
thousands of dollars in new revenue as a result of their PPC programs.
For complete information on our services and fees, please
send an e-mail to:
Market Wise Inc., a top PPC management firm in Northern Virginia
and Washington DC, serves clients throughout the US.
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