PPC…Power-Purchases-Cash?

Nope, just good old-fashioned Pay-Per-Click.

With a vast array of advertising platforms now available, where should brands splash their cash to get the maximum return on ad spend (ROAS)? 

It really depends. On what you ask?

The simple answer is where your audience is likely to be and what the objective of your spend is. 

Picking an appropriate social media platform is a good start. For instance, LinkedIn suits those B2B chaps looking to reel in leads and boost brand awareness. While Meta and Amazon Marketplace are great for retail sales and sparking inspiration. Even, dare I say, Tik Tok for the latest Amazon gadgets…or is that just me being a tech fiend?!

So where do good old-fashioned PPC ads sit within the marketing mix? Google Ads still reign supreme in the paid advertising realm and there is good reason for that…attribution and customer experience. With GDPR compliance making it trickier to track user behaviour, most paid last-click sales are attributed to PPC.  Also, you can feel pretty confident you’re more likely to clinch a sale when someone’s actively searching for a “bendable TV” rather than idly scrolling through Facebook for baby pictures of their new-born niece.

With that in mind, here are a few best practices every savvy marketer should adopt when setting up and tinkering with their PPC campaigns:

  1. Keyword Keywords Keywords: Do some solid digging to find the right keywords that’ll catch your audience’s eye. Tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush can help you spot the winners.
  2. Ad Talk: Write ads that jump out and scream, “Pick me!” Make sure they’re catchy and clear about what makes you awesome.
  3. Landing Page Love: Your landing pages should match your ads and make it super easy for users to take action. Experiment with headlines and images to see what works best.
  4. Extension Extravaganza: Use ad extensions to beef-up your ads and give users more info. Things like sitelinks and location info can help you stand out.
  5. Bid Boss: Keep an eye on your bids and tweak as needed. Play around with different settings to make every penny count.
  6. Quality Score Queen: It’s not just your exceptionally written ads that Google loves. The better your landing page and user journey through your site, the less you’ll pay and the better your placement will be.
  7. Negative Nancy: Don’t waste money on irrelevant clicks. Use negative keywords to filter them out and keep your budget in check.
  8. Ad Testing Trials: Test, test, and test some more. Try out different ad versions to see what gets the best results.
  9. Track and Tackle: Make sure you’re keeping tabs on how your ads are doing. Factor in geo-targeting, time of day, day of week…even testing the Google Display Network is worth it to get that ROAS up.
  10. Budget Basics: Don’t blow your budget all at once. Set reasonable limits and adjust as you go to get the most out of your cash.

And with AI coming fast out of the blocks, there will be a significant evolution of search and ads over the coming months and years. However, the basic best practices stand and there is no approach like a human one when it comes to managing PPC advertising!

Any questions? Wondering where to start? Get in touch!