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Do you have a transactional website that could benefit from more exposure through Paid Search Marketing? If so, the good news is that everyone can do pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. It doesn’t require a huge initial investment, it’s a very flexible channel (a campaign can be paused in a matter of seconds) and you have full control over every penny spent.
The bad news is that unfortunately, PPC doesn’t work for everyone. Bidding on keywords related to your business doesn’t guarantee searchers clicking on your ads and becoming customers.
3 Things To Consider Before You Invest In PPC
Here’s what you need if you want PPC to meet your expectations and provide a positive contribution to your ROI:
1) Do You Have A User-Friendly Website?
A user-friendly website includes a hassle-free checkout process and specific category or product landing pages featuring rich and unique content.
If your website is not user-friendly, your business may not yet be ready to get the most out of PPC. Analyse your traffic data, bounce rate and the average time users spend on site, and pay greater attention to the Google Analytics In-Page Analytics Report, which is a goldmine of useful information.
Identify and remove all the obstacles that make the user’s experience complicated. Make use of A/B split testing to understand which layout visitors find easier to use. Isolating the checkout process is one proven method of reducing abandonment.
Also, try adding unique content optimised for product-related keywords. An SEO-friendly website will have a positive impact on PPC campaigns. Adwords Quality Score (QS) is, in fact, influenced by the quality of the landing page. A poor QS means a higher cost-per-click.
Don’t ever stop the process of improvement. Always analyse your data, test new solutions and make changes when necessary.
2) Are People Interested In Your Products?
It doesn’t matter how big your business is, whether niche or more generic, your products must always have an audience actively looking for them.
If this audience doesn’t exist then you need to rethink your marketing strategy. Google Trends and Google Keyword Tool are free tools that provide insight into what is popular, giving you an estimate of the monthly search volume for your keywords.
If the search volume for keywords related to your products is too low, you might be able to expand your range of products or explore other channels like affiliate marketing that will enable you to “push” your products in the places where your targeted audience is likely to be.
3) Are Your Prices Competitive?
63% of people conduct research on multiple websites before completing their purchase online (Econsultancy, 2011). If customers find that a product you’re selling is cheaper on another website, it is very unlikely they will return to your site and complete the purchase.
If your prices are competitive then what have you been waiting for?? PPC can drive more relevant traffic to your website and boost ROI significantly. Integrate PPC with other marketing channels and start building your account gradually. If your brand is well known, don’t hesitate to bid on your brand terms after first registering them with the search engines to prevent other advertisers from doing so.
If your prices are not competitive or don’t represent good value, PPC (and I’m afraid any online marketing channel) is not going to work for you. You need to look at your competitors and align your prices with theirs.
(Image source: Unsplash)
Be Smart. Big players like Amazon and Ebay cannot be beaten on price. Don’t try to fight a price war that cannot be won, or as Sun-Tzu said: “Every battle is won before it is ever fought”.
Explore opportunities, find your niche and start growing. Use temporary killer offers (known by the supermarkets as loss leaders) to attract customers to your website. If your website and the overall ecommerce experience is good, you may be able to encourage repeat purchases, brand loyalty and most importantly, brand advocacy.
How (& What) To Optimise For Increased PPC Conversion
To optimise for increased PPC conversions, focus on refining various aspects of your campaign to attract and convert your target audience effectively. Here is what you need to do:
- Select your keywords carefully: Use relevant and targeted keywords that align with your business and audience. Regularly review and update your keyword list based on performance and industry trends.
- Invest time in writing your ad copy: Craft compelling and concise ad copy that clearly communicates your value proposition. Use persuasive language, highlight benefits, and include a strong call-to-action (CTA).
- Always optimise your landing pages: Match the messaging on your page with that in your ads, have a clear and prominent CTA, and streamline the user experience to reduce friction.
- Check your ads with A/B testing: Conduct A/B testing on different elements, such as ad headlines, copy, images, and CTAs. Identify what works best with your audience and duplicate successful variations.
- Make use of ad extensions: Extensions like site link, callout, and structured snippet extensions can enhance the visibility and appeal of your ads.
- Improve your Quality Score: Focus on factors such as ad relevance, landing page experience, and expected click-through rate. A higher Quality Score can lead to lower costs and better ad placements.
- Optimise your campaigns based on geographic targeting: Tailor your ads and bids to specific locations so that your target audience are seeing relevant ads.
- Try out dayparting and ad scheduling: Analyse performance data to identify peak times for conversions. Adjust your ad schedule to show ads when your target audience is most active and likely to convert.
- Optimise your ads for different devices: Consider the devices your audience is using and optimise your campaigns accordingly. Adjust bids for mobile devices if they perform differently from desktops.
- Use negative keywords: Regularly review and update your list of negative keywords to filter out irrelevant traffic. This helps focus your budget on more qualified leads.
- Implement remarketing campaigns: Target users who have previously interacted with your site. Tailor ads to their specific interests or offer incentives to encourage conversions.
- Track your conversion: Track valuable actions, such as form submissions or purchases, to measure the average conversion rate and overall success of your PPC campaigns.
- Allocate your budget appropriately: Allocate budget based on the performance of individual campaigns and ad groups. Focus more resources on high-performing areas to maximise ROI.
- Keep an eye on your competitors: Analyse competitor campaigns to identify opportunities and differentiators. Adjust your strategy to stand out in the market and capture potential customers.
- What your progress carefully: Regularly monitor campaign performance and make ongoing adjustments. Stay informed about changes in the industry, audience behaviour, and adapt your PPC strategy accordingly.
Summary
To wrap it up, while PPC advertising is a good way to get more attention for your online store, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. There’s good news and bad news. The good news is that anyone can do PPC, it’s not super expensive, and you have control over how much you spend. But here’s the catch – just bidding on words related to your business doesn’t guarantee people will click on your ads and buy things.
Now, here are three things to think about before you dive into PPC:
- Is your website easy to use?
- Do people want your products?
- Are your prices fair?
To optimise your PPC campaigns, you need to focus on key things like picking the right keywords, and making ads that catch attention. Keep an eye on your budget, check what your competitors are doing, and make changes when needed. If you follow these steps, PPC can help your business grow to new heights.
Article by
Jessica-Leigh Kelly
