Okay, so you’ve allotted a substantial amount of funds for your marketing budget to run a campaign. The ads are already posted throughout the Internet. And after a week, it seems that your PPC is not working. What could possibly be the problem?
Just to reiterate, launching a PPC campaign does not automatically equate to higher traffic and higher profit return. In most cases, this particular online marketing model tends to fail if not used properly, and instead will only result to worthless ad expenses. Heck, even clicking your PPC does not equate as well to instant profit, but that’s a different story altogether.
So, to evaluate this much of a marketing travesty that you are currently carrying on your shoulder, here are some of the possibilities why no one is clicking your PPC ad.
You’re Doing It All Wrong
Research that is. Particularly, when choosing the right keywords for your paid ad and conducting a test ad using them. In utilizing a set of keywords, not only you should consider its relevance. As the website owner, you should know how to “play” and manipulate your keywords. Look for an alternative, significant match or variations for your keyword and use it to broaden the scope of your ads on the search engine. Furthermore, coining a Long-Tail Keyword or keyphrases will bring you closer reach to your target market, as the search becomes more condensed and specific, pointing them towards the closest search result that focuses more on those set of words. But be wary, as it could also result to low quality scores and less traffic if not analyzed properly.
In relation to this, utilizing Negative Keywords is a great practice in cooking a PPC campaign, as it disregards set of keywords that doesn’t mainly apply or related to your website, thus preventing your ads from appearing to a non-relevant search. Overall, the main objective here is to study and use keywords that have direct relation or impact to your website. It may draw less traffic, but the percentage of conversion for that number of visitors will be higher.
Create a Copy. Not “Copy” a Copy
A text copy, or “description” if you may, will be one of the main elements that will serve as a bait to compel potential visitors to click your ad. Start by creating an intriguing, enticing and catchy title and a short description. However, this will still depend on how straightforward and formal your site is. You wouldn’t want to make your company look tacky by using a lame, old tagline in the worst possible taste, now would you? Instead, create a one-liner or two that will encapsulate the entire nature of your website and its selling points, including the product or services that you’re offering. And just to reiterate the sub-headline, “CREATE, not COPY a copy.”
Your PPC Is Not Hitting the Spot
Put it this way: Why advertise a steakhouse to a town that has a majority of the population practices Hinduism? That’s never a good idea, not to mention quite insulting, right? This is another factor why your PPC campaign is being ignored by the users. Being aware of where to put your ads will make it easy for your customers to reach, locate and connect with your business. That’s why it is a best practice to geo-target your PPC ads. Knowing your target market’s location – whether by country, state or even by cities, this will efficiently and significantly increase your click-through rate.
Ad Placement is Everywhere
This is practically the same with not using the geotagging feature for your ads. In its basic form, your PPC is assigned to numerous domains aside from the ones that show about search engine such as Google, Yahoo!, and Bing. This usually results in irrelevant traffic and for some (Cost Per Impression) a sudden spike on their ad expenses. To resolve this, search engines mentioned earlier have this thing called “Placements” “Custom Reporting” or “Publishers Report” respectively to check new domains that are added to your campaign and remove those insignificant sites that are associated to your PPC.
Always Rely on Your PPC Learning Curve
That is the main solution. However, regardless if the solutions, workarounds, and best practices mentioned above are all applicable with PPC in general, campaigns are still different from each other, and each of it has a different strategy. Don’t be afraid to experiment with your campaign plan and compare it from the tests and early drafts of the ad. There’s always a learning curve to every task. Take advantage of it by learning from it. Until then, you will be able to utilize this Internet marketing model effectively.
