The Four Most Common Mistakes You Can Make With PPC Ads
[Brian warns about problems with PPC. PPC can be a useful part of how to get leads but you need to understand how to manage PPC campaigns. Frankly, my view is that PPA is better than PPC. Also, you can get lower cost results with PPC by using long-tail keywords which show good, regular hit counts with relatively low competition. Gren. Bingham]
Because it allows you to target prospects specifically by interest and location, pay per click advertising, or PPC, is one of the best options available. You can measure results precisely, and control ad spending, too. It’s also more affordable for small business owners than many other options, including billboards, television and radio.
Like anything else, PPC has disadvantages and shouldn’t be entered into without doing your homework. Hundreds or even thousands of dollars worth of advertising could be wasted if you attempt a campaign that isn’t planned and doesn’t have a strategy. There is a lot of information offering guidance when deciding your PPC strategy, so it’s a good idea to learn more about it.
However, getting things off the ground doesn’t require a book worth of information. There are a few basic PPC mistakes that most business owners make when they start out. They’re easy to fix, and repairing these problems can increase your PPC campaign’s effectiveness dramatically. Here are the most common errors people make, and how to fix them.
Mistake 1. Using your home page as a landing page isn’t an effective way to convert clicks to sales. No matter what search engine you’re using, the landing page is the key to making the sale. Deciding where customers are directed, instead of just showing everyone your home page when they click on an ad, is the fastest and best route for the customer. Start sending them to other links and places and they will get lost and return back to the search page, probably to click on one of your competitors ads.
When people click on your ad , they are looking for a very specific thing that you’ve been advertising. Landing pages can be specific to ads, so that the person is taken directly to what it is you are advertising. This way, the customer gets exactly what they are looking for. Landing pages should be focused on keywords or phrases used in the advertisement and don’t clutter it up with other links or distractions.
2. Poorly customized landing pages. Make no mistakes about it, the landing page should relate directly to the ad and vice versa. The minute a potential customer gets confused or thinks they have gotten lost they will immediately exit back to the search. Your customer must be able to find what he or she is looking for, so advertised products or services should have their own landing page that addresses the keywords used in your ads.
3. Use of generic ad copy. You don’t have a lot of space to work with when it comes to PPC ads. That means that you can’t use phrases without meaning, such as “quality service”. Even if these statements are true, they don’t help bring in your prospects. Write your ad including specific keywords that potential customers will enter to find you. Use the main keyword in a captivating headline, and follow it up with the biggest benefit you can give your customers. Line three should include special features of the product or service, or an offer/discount. Specific keywords mean more clicks, and more effective clicks.
4. Low bid placement. All search engines use their own methods for determining where to put your ad. Yahoo and Google use a combination of the relevancy of your ad, and your bid price. One big mistake that many people make is not tightly targeting keywords enough to get top placement. As much as eighty-five percent of all PPC clicks happen on ads in one of the top three positions. If you can’t focus your ads tightly enough to get that top spot, you’re missing out on a lot of traffic.