PAY-PER-CLICK FOR BEGINNERS

Pay-Per-Click or PPC is a kind of digital advertising. The main platform is the search engines. Individuals and companies buy listings for their targeted keywords from Google and Bing. Their paid listings appear in search results along with natural and non-paid listings. Every time a user clicks on that sponsored listing, search engine is making money.

Search engines sell these ads in an auction. You have to bid on your keyword or search result. If you bid highest among your competitors, your paid listing is ranked number 1 in paid results.

However, not every PPC campaign is an instant success. You have to follow some rules which are given below:

RULE #1: FOCUS ON CONVERSIONS

As you have to pay for every click made on your sponsored listing, PPC campaigners and companies usually set a budget. For limiting yourself to the set budget, tracking conversions is essential.

Conversion occurs when the visitor takes a desired action. For example:

1. Making a purchase
2. Filling a sales inquiry form
3. Registering on your website

It does not necessarily mean a sale. But it should be something meaningful for your business. There is no point in spending money on PPC, if your business is not experiencing any useful outcome.

You can use Google Analytics for measuring conversions achieved through PPC. You have to know if your paid money is giving you desired results or not. Also check out Tricks to Improve your Search Engine Ranking in Google.

RULE #2: SET A REASONABLE BUDGET

Don’t spend too much money on PPC advertising. Each business has unique goals to achieve. So it has different PPC needs. As a general formula, the profit earned from the click should be higher than the amount you have to pay for that click.

However, don’t base your conclusions on initial PPC conversions. May be this PPC campaign will help your business in gaining loyal customers.

If your business is to sell services or products then it is strongly recommended to collect data on conversions and clicks so you know your PPC campaign is working or not.

RULE #3: SEARCH FOR NICHE KEYWORDS

Most business bid on search results which are broad and vague like bike parts, or dresses. There is a strong logic behind spending on these broader terms. Searchers use these terms in search engines but it has a big drawback. Pay-per-click rate is higher for such terms and conversions are lower than usual.

Try to search out for niche and focused keywords like oil filters for bikes or bridal dresses. You have to pay less for such terms and searchers are more likely to buy.

RULE #4: GOOD AD WRITING

In PPC advertising, you have limited word count so you have to use these words wisely. It is best to write few short descriptive phrases. This is really important. You have to use appropriate language. Your ad should be free from grammatical and spelling errors. Overall your ad copy should be short and sweet.

Also you have to avoid excessive capitalization and superlatives as it is not allowed by search engines.

RULE #5: TARGET QUALITY

Now Google and Bing have quality for PPC ads. Search engines analyze:

• Your Ad
• Its performance
• The landing page for that ad

The bidding amount can be decreased or increased for gaining a specific position on the basis of these three factors. For getting better quality score, you have to build history for your ad campaign, test ad copy, focus on keywords and use these keywords on landing page as well.

RULE #6: MAKE ADJUSTMENTS

Last but not the least, you have to manage your campaign and make necessary adjustments. Always keep eyes on the performance of your PPC advertising so you can avoid unnecessary money spending.

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