Getting started with your first pay-per-click campaign can be daunting to say the least. But with a little research, know-how and practice it can be done – and is done successfully everyday. If you can add a profitable PPC campaign to your marketing, you’re on to a winning solution for your business.
Here are a few tips to help you get started:
#1 – Do read the provider’s free information. Adwords, the biggest provider of PPC advertising, has tons of free information and practical tools to help you set up your first PPC campaign.
It does take time to read through all the information but it’s definitely worth it, and it’s actually a must-do before starting. Take advantage of all the free information they provide. They can have you up and running with your first campaign in as little as twenty minutes.
#2 – Be prepared to sacrifice profits to start. You can do all the research in the world, but the best way to get to grips with PPC is to try it. Start slowly; you can invest as little as $25 to $50 to get started and learn all the ins and outs of PPC marketing.
Many experts believe that you should see this as an initial investment in your education and not really expect a return. If you do get one then that’s a bonus. This time and investment will give you the opportunity to tweak your campaign and basically learn all the ropes. You’ll soon be able to improve and move on to more profitable campaigns.
#3 – Do your keyword research. One of the most important aspects of PPC marketing is the keyword research. The right keywords will make the difference between a winning campaign and a dud. Adwords provides free keyword research tools to get you started, but you can also try paid programs like Wordtracker to really get a good grasp of the right keywords.
It’s worth noting that certain keywords like “diet,” “weight loss” or “make money” are highly competitive and not the right choice for a beginner. To start, you’ll want to use lower volume keywords which means you’ll get fewer visitors but you’ll also pay a lot less than you would for the main keywords.
This gives you plenty of opportunity to really test your product and market as well as to make changes to your campaign. Once you’ve found a winning formula you can expand to more high-end keywords.
#4 – Get your marketing right. The keywords in PPC are important but the marketing is just as important. The keywords will get visitors to your website, but you then need a positive outcome once they are on your website.
Many marketers don’t think this part through and end up wasting a lot of money with PPC. Before starting, make sure your website is ready for visitors. Have a clear call-to-action on your page so that the visitor doesn’t get distracted and click away.
Your call-to-action tells the visitor what you want them to do. Do you want them to fill out a form? Purchase a product? Sign up for a free newsletter?
Build a webpage which explains the benefits clearly the visitor and make it easy for them to do what you want them to do. This is where good copywriting skills come into play.
Practise your copywriting and concentrate on headlines which will draw the visitor in. If you’re not proficient in this area or not able to take the time to learn, you may want to consider outsourcing this part to a professional.
Getting your webpage right for your campaign, like everything else in marketing, will take time and testing to find the wining combination. However, it is definitely worth it to your business in the long run.
#5 – Follow the rules. Finally, it’s important that you read all the rules and regulations before setting up your campaign. You don’t want to get banned because of breaking the rules (even accidentally). There are many regulations and important points you should do and shouldn’t do with Adwords, so it’s worth taking the time to read through the rules before starting.
