Pay-per-click advertising is the practice of purchasing sponsored links on search engine results pages. Many people believe that pay-per-click advertising (PPC) can be an integral, ongoing part of any search engine optimization (SEO) campaign.
Have a well-defined keyword strategy. This starts with a rigorous keyword analysis. Your keyword strategy is where you’ll decide which keywords to optimize for and which to bid for.
Launch with one platform first. While you may want your ads to get maximum exposure, most experts recommend launching with one provider initially. There is some administrative overhead that goes with each system, particularly when disallowed ads are factored in. With some providers, it’s not uncommon to have more than 25% of your ads rejected, requiring multiple revisions.
Test, test, test Once you’ve rolled out a batch of ads, monitor progress for about a month. By then you should have a good idea of which keywords are working and which aren’t. You should also have a good idea of what creative/landing page combinations are earning the best conversion rates. This is your opportunity to test whether those questionable keywords are worthy of your efforts.
Extend the campaign. Armed with performance info, you can now roll out your campaign to other providers. The ad creative may not be directly applicable because of different character count limitations, but you’ll have a good idea of what to do with more or less words. You can also stagger implementation of each provider, using campaign insights to further refine your approach.
Paid per click marketing is not about blindly paying Google to drive clicks to your site. It is about knowing how much to pay for each click and understanding which type of consumer you ought to be paying to attract. It is also about listening to signals provided by clicks that result in both bounces AND your desired conversion goals to make the necessary changes to your keyword lists, ads and landing pages.
Everyone might be doing paid search, but very few do it well. Per Google, the average Adwords click through rate is 2%, meaning only two clicks occur for every one hundred ad impressions. Don’t expect immediate success from your test but expect to walk away with education. The single most important goal in this first step is to find the formula of keywords, ads and user experience that works for your business.