Deciding to spend money on a pay per click (PPC) campaign takes serious consideration. If you’re not careful, you’ll go through your limited budget in no time and wonder why you’re money wasn’t very well spent.
People put money into pay per click, and when things aren’t going right, they throw more money at the problem.
The most important PPC tip is to be smart with your bidding. Beginners, small business and entrepreneurs often bid broadly on their keyword phrases and pay for too many terms. By bidding too loosely, you risk depleting your budget on non-targeted clickthroughs.
Instead of compiling and bidding on all relevant keyword phrases, instead only target more specific terms. This includes long-tail keywords, which are less popular phrases but much more specific.
With more narrowly-targeted phrases, you’ll spend less on the campaign, and the traffic generated will be more useful. Get smart about the phrases you pay for, and you won’t be forced to outspend competition. If a big budget is not something you have, you can make up for this with smart bidding.
Another example of smart bidding involves understanding the intention behind various keyword phrases. Some phrases are used more by browsers, people who are in the process of obtaining more information and not yet ready to buy something. They are simply researching at this point. Other phrases are used more commonly by buyers, those ready to make the final decision.
If you don’t grasp this difference, you might be fighting for the top PPC position with some terms and only attracting browsers. You don’t want to waste money on people early in their buying process. Settling for the #2 or #3 PPC spot can save you a ton of money.
For more specific mistakes people often make with PPC, check out SEOMoz’s article.
Tags: PPC, pay per click, google adwords, keywords
Like the blog? Buy the book.
