Key Considerations Before Starting a P-P-C Campaign

Research your keywords. There are numerous tools available to help with this critical part of the campaign setup. Include both broad and specific terms. Use negative keywords too. If you’re selling blue widgets and don’t have any other colors available, consider making red, black, white, yellow, etc. negative keywords. That way if someone is searching for a yellow widget, your ad will not show. Save the web searcher some time and save yourself some money.

Carefully select your landing page. Consumers want to click on an ad reflecting their interest. And, they expect the ad to take them to a web page that contains information, products or services relevant to their search. If a consumer has to click through even a few pages trying to find what he or she is looking for, chances are they will leave and may not come back.

Make it easy to buy. Being one click away from the shopping cart is ideal. The less time it takes to purchase and checkout, the better. Look for road-blocks to purchase in your web stats. Smooth-out the rough spots, eliminate the bottle-necks. It will boost your conversion rate.

If you plan on running your ads in “contextual websites” (and you should), be sure to optimize your campaign to take full advantage of this powerful feature. By breaking your campaign into multiple AdGroups, targeted toward specific product or brand features, it enables better placement within targeted/contextual sites.

Think about the purchase cycle. Buying guides, white papers, trial software are all examples of Engagement Devices that can bring you closer to a sale. Capturing a potential customer’s email address in return for something useful gives you an additional chance at conversion. Remember, you’ll be driving a lot of traffic to your site. Those visitors that aren’t quite ready to buy need not go away unsatisfied. Make your P-P-C dollars go further by engaging these people too.