Technology / Internet
10 tips to boost PPC performance
07 Feb 2022 at 07:58hrs | Views
PPC (Pay Per Click) Marketing is one of the fastest-growing digital marketing channels. With millions of businesses using PPC, competition is high for positions on the search engine results pages (SERPs).
In a recent survey, over half (51%) of respondents reported that they did not feel confident in their knowledge of PPC. Only 12% stated they were highly knowledgeable.
This means there is room for improvement across the board, especially when it comes to PPC management. According to this survey, lack of time and resources are the main reasons why businesses may be struggling to get top-notch performance from their campaigns.
Here are 10 tips designed to help improve your PPC performance:
Use Longer Keywords
Including bigger keywords in your ad copy will result in a higher quality score from Google. However, it also benefits the advertiser to include keywords that are more relevant to their business and website because a higher CTR enhances their ranking in the organic SERPs with Google, Bing, and Yahoo!
Be Clear And Concise With Headlines/Ads
Use an active voice in headlines and descriptions for best response rates. An example might be: "Chelsea Surgeon Solves Blocked Fallopian Tubes". If you use an inactive voice like "Blocked Fallopian Tubes Solved By Chelsea Surgeon" then this could lead to lower quality scores since it's less engaging to the user.
Split Test Different Sites/Bids
The last two words of Google's definition of Quality Score are "campaigns" and "ad groups". An advertiser should split test different sites to see which receive more clicks, rather than launching all ads at once or creating ad group level bids. Testing different landing pages are also highly recommended as websites with higher quality scores tend to have a higher conversion rate due to better page layout, design, content, etc.
Use Negative Keywords Sparingly
Negative keywords are useful for filtering out unwanted traffic that may be attracted by related or similar search terms. However, advertisers need to be careful not to use too many negative keywords because this will result in lower quality scores for ad groups. A better alternative would be to use more specific keywords that are related to high-quality traffic rather than blocking out the wrong keywords entirely.
Adjust Bids By Hour of Day
Bid adjustments can be made across different time zones for best results when it comes to performance and Quality Scores. If you're an advertiser in Central Time then your peak hours might be between 1 PM and 4 PM, while Eastern Time advertisers may find their peak performance occurs between 3 AM and 6 AM (when many people in the US are sleeping). Use tools like Google Trends to map out peak hours through the year before making bid adjustments.
Use Extensions Sparingly
Ad extensions will help boost CTRs and Quality Scores, but too many extensions will reduce performance. Use website destinations, callouts, and site links to boost CTRs since these are more likely to be clicked on than social media links or location extensions. Google Analytics is another great tool for understanding how users interact with your site, which helps you make better ad copy decisions over time. 8. Keep Ads Fresh
If advertisers upload the same ads constantly then it can lead to lower quality scores since Google judges this as a lack of effort to create new ads that perform better in search results. Update PPC ads regularly to include fresh content that's related to what users are searching for online today. The more engaging the ad copy, the higher the click-through rate and Quality Scores.
Be Specific
Advertisers need to be as specific as possible when writing ad copy for their Search ads. If they're not, the Google algorithm discounts the quality score of their ad and judges whether or not it's relevant enough for a user clicking through. Include keywords in domain names so users understand what type of site is being advertised. For example, using an ad like Sugar Daddy in Manchester vs Sugar Daddy is more likely to result in clicks from users looking specifically for a sugar daddy in Manchester.
Keep It Legal
It's important not to resort to blackhat SEO techniques to outrank competitors in the SERPs because this could lead to Google flagging your site as SPAM and either dropping your site's rankings or banning it altogether from their index. PPC ads are effective when it comes to building brand awareness since organic rankings take months, if not years, of consistent effort before they'll start showing up for relevant keywords.
Track Ad Performance
The final step is testing ad performance over time with tools like Google Analytics or Microsoft Excel, which can help you get a clearer picture of how users are interacting with your website based on targeted keywords/phrases. Use split-testing platforms like Splitforce to measure best performing ads on mobile devices, while tracking CTRs for ad groups and keywords. PPC ads can boost traffic to your website, but only if it's done well with the right combination of targeting, bid management, and Quality Scores.
Bonus Tip: Understand Your Audience
Understand your audience when it comes to PPC ads. If you're targeting mature users then make sure the ad copy is family-friendly, while targeting teens might require more provocative incentives to get clicks. A/B testing different ad copy for each demographic helps establish what works best when it comes to CTRs and Quality Scores across multiple search engines.
Conclusion
As you can see, the tips above will help PPC advertisers get better click-through rates by understanding what users are looking for and how they interact with their ads. Those who understand their audience and track ad performance over time should be able to improve Quality Scores and boost overall revenue from paid search.
In a recent survey, over half (51%) of respondents reported that they did not feel confident in their knowledge of PPC. Only 12% stated they were highly knowledgeable.
This means there is room for improvement across the board, especially when it comes to PPC management. According to this survey, lack of time and resources are the main reasons why businesses may be struggling to get top-notch performance from their campaigns.
Here are 10 tips designed to help improve your PPC performance:
Use Longer Keywords
Including bigger keywords in your ad copy will result in a higher quality score from Google. However, it also benefits the advertiser to include keywords that are more relevant to their business and website because a higher CTR enhances their ranking in the organic SERPs with Google, Bing, and Yahoo!
Be Clear And Concise With Headlines/Ads
Use an active voice in headlines and descriptions for best response rates. An example might be: "Chelsea Surgeon Solves Blocked Fallopian Tubes". If you use an inactive voice like "Blocked Fallopian Tubes Solved By Chelsea Surgeon" then this could lead to lower quality scores since it's less engaging to the user.
Split Test Different Sites/Bids
The last two words of Google's definition of Quality Score are "campaigns" and "ad groups". An advertiser should split test different sites to see which receive more clicks, rather than launching all ads at once or creating ad group level bids. Testing different landing pages are also highly recommended as websites with higher quality scores tend to have a higher conversion rate due to better page layout, design, content, etc.
Use Negative Keywords Sparingly
Negative keywords are useful for filtering out unwanted traffic that may be attracted by related or similar search terms. However, advertisers need to be careful not to use too many negative keywords because this will result in lower quality scores for ad groups. A better alternative would be to use more specific keywords that are related to high-quality traffic rather than blocking out the wrong keywords entirely.
Adjust Bids By Hour of Day
Bid adjustments can be made across different time zones for best results when it comes to performance and Quality Scores. If you're an advertiser in Central Time then your peak hours might be between 1 PM and 4 PM, while Eastern Time advertisers may find their peak performance occurs between 3 AM and 6 AM (when many people in the US are sleeping). Use tools like Google Trends to map out peak hours through the year before making bid adjustments.
Use Extensions Sparingly
Ad extensions will help boost CTRs and Quality Scores, but too many extensions will reduce performance. Use website destinations, callouts, and site links to boost CTRs since these are more likely to be clicked on than social media links or location extensions. Google Analytics is another great tool for understanding how users interact with your site, which helps you make better ad copy decisions over time. 8. Keep Ads Fresh
If advertisers upload the same ads constantly then it can lead to lower quality scores since Google judges this as a lack of effort to create new ads that perform better in search results. Update PPC ads regularly to include fresh content that's related to what users are searching for online today. The more engaging the ad copy, the higher the click-through rate and Quality Scores.
Be Specific
Advertisers need to be as specific as possible when writing ad copy for their Search ads. If they're not, the Google algorithm discounts the quality score of their ad and judges whether or not it's relevant enough for a user clicking through. Include keywords in domain names so users understand what type of site is being advertised. For example, using an ad like Sugar Daddy in Manchester vs Sugar Daddy is more likely to result in clicks from users looking specifically for a sugar daddy in Manchester.
Keep It Legal
It's important not to resort to blackhat SEO techniques to outrank competitors in the SERPs because this could lead to Google flagging your site as SPAM and either dropping your site's rankings or banning it altogether from their index. PPC ads are effective when it comes to building brand awareness since organic rankings take months, if not years, of consistent effort before they'll start showing up for relevant keywords.
Track Ad Performance
The final step is testing ad performance over time with tools like Google Analytics or Microsoft Excel, which can help you get a clearer picture of how users are interacting with your website based on targeted keywords/phrases. Use split-testing platforms like Splitforce to measure best performing ads on mobile devices, while tracking CTRs for ad groups and keywords. PPC ads can boost traffic to your website, but only if it's done well with the right combination of targeting, bid management, and Quality Scores.
Bonus Tip: Understand Your Audience
Understand your audience when it comes to PPC ads. If you're targeting mature users then make sure the ad copy is family-friendly, while targeting teens might require more provocative incentives to get clicks. A/B testing different ad copy for each demographic helps establish what works best when it comes to CTRs and Quality Scores across multiple search engines.
Conclusion
As you can see, the tips above will help PPC advertisers get better click-through rates by understanding what users are looking for and how they interact with their ads. Those who understand their audience and track ad performance over time should be able to improve Quality Scores and boost overall revenue from paid search.
Source - Byo24News
