Pay-Per-Click: 5 Tips to Decrease Costs and Improve Performance
Optimize Your PPC Advertising
Most marketers know two things about pay-per-click
advertising -- it’s more than just picking keywords and setting bids, and it can
end up costing a lot of money.
Whether you’re advertising with Google, Yahoo, Microsoft or others, these guidelines
will help optimize your PPC campaigns, driving the most number of relevant visitors
to your site, for the lowest price.
CTR and Quality Score columns in the Google adWords interface
1. Deal with Low Click-Thru-Rates
Your keywords’ click-thru-rate (the number of clicks your ad receives divided by
the number of times your ad is shown) is also used to establish your keyword's Quality
Score. Higher Quality Scores mean lower costs-per-click and higher ad positions,
so it’s an important metric. Every campaign is bound to have keywords with low click
through rates -- but what should you do with them?
Try adding negative keywords to your campaigns to eliminate non-relevant searches
(especially if you’re using broad or phrase matching), and moving these poor performers
out of their current Ad Group and into a new Ad Group, then creating new, more relevant
ads and landing pages for them.
If they still continue to perform poorly, you probably want to pause or delete them,
as they will have a negative effect on your overall account Quality Score (do not
confuse with keywords that have no impressions – these will not affect your score).
2. Limit One-Word Keywords
Think like a customer – if you were searching for your type of product or service,
would you be likely to type in just one word? Keywords that are too broad (travel,
desk, shoes) can lower your performance by generating a lot of impressions but not
many clicks, and one-word keywords tend to be the biggest culprit.
Delete generic keywords - especially if you’re using exact match - and replace them
with two- or three-word phrases that are more likely to display relevant ads to
the right people and improve your account Quality Score. Your PPC budget will thank
you!
3. Test Different Match Types
If you've been told one type of match is better than another, you may have been
misled. They each serve a different function, but their value generally depends
on your needs and budget.
Broad match (usually the default) can trigger your ads if any of your keywords is
searched, regardless of what other words are also used or in what order. You’ll
probably get a lot of traffic (if this is what you want), but won’t have a good
idea of the keywords your target audience are using.
Phrase match is more targeted than broad match, so you’ll have a better idea of
what terms are serving your ads and may receive fewer, but higher quality, clicks.
Finally, exact match only triggers your ad with the exact keyword string in the
exact order and nothing more. You not likely to get as many impressions or clicks,
but your traffic will probably be much more targeted.
So how do you decide what match type to use? Since there’s no benefit to adding
the same keyword to your account three times, start by using the broad matching
option, then monitor which keyword variations are triggering your ads (for example,
Google has a “Search Query Performance Report” that will show exactly what users
typed in when your ad was shown).
From there, you can add more of these key phrases, and negative keywords as well
(to eliminate searches that aren’t relevant to you). Change the type to phrase match
and monitor, add, and refine. If your goal is to be highly targeted (rather than
generate loads of traffic), eventually you will have a very comprehensive list of
phrases and can start using exact match to refine your bids.
4. Separate Content and Search
Debate on the effectiveness of content networks (PPC advertising on websites as
opposed to search) aside, if you’re advertising there, you should optimize and track
your campaigns separately from search.
Why? Because paid search advertising behaves differently from content advertising.
On a search engine, people are searching for specific words and phrases. With content,
people are browsing websites, so ads are targeted based on themes rather than specific
keywords.
Tailor your ads for each and you’ll probably find that you receive better leads
and higher ROI, and can start to adjust bids at a more granular level to optimize
your budget.
Screenshot of the Microsoft adCenter Desktop Menu
5. Use Their Software
Google’s Editor and Microsoft’s adCenter Desktop are free applications you can download
and use offline. They have powerful editing tools that allow you to make changes
quickly and easily, whether you’re adding one text ad or editing hundreds of keyword
bids.
Other benefits include the ability to download, sort and view performance statistics,
copy or move items between campaigns or ad groups, and export snapshots for sharing.
You simply make your changes then upload to your account in real time.
The Payoff
Optimizing paid search advertising can be tricky. But with practice, testing, and
proper analysis, your campaigns will succeed.
Are you looking for PPC advice? Let’s discuss your pay-per-click objectives. Contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation today.
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Kristina
Smith is an Associate Writer with Single Entry Point Marketing. She brings 9 years
of experience in online marketing, brand building, and copywriting, specializing
in the advertising, publishing, and travel industries. She spends her free time
blogging and channeling her inner
chef in the kitchen. Contact Kristina via email at
kristina.smith@singleentrypoint.com.