article: is ppc for me?

By Charlene McMillan - BrightWay Marketing

You may have considered running a paid online ad campaign for your business. This article will help you decide whether pay per click advertising makes sense for your business and give you the low down on what to watch out for.

Advantages of Pay-per-click Advertising (aka PPC)

You can get your business listed on the first pages of Google within hours (Google owns 80% of the market so this is where you want to start)

It's much more targeted. People search for your selected keywords and bang! your ad is shown. This is much more targeted to potential buyers than newspaper ads or drop mailings, which are viewed by people who may or may not have an interest in what you offer.

Ok that sounds good... but how do I know if PPC makes sense for my business? What are the considerations?

PPC makes sense when…

* You have a great website. You've got to have a great web page to land on when the user clicks your ad. It has to be specific to the ad, uncluttered and not confusting. If you don't have a website now, the first step is to get one! (or at least a server where you can post a landing page)

* You have clear goals that relate to revenue for your campaign. For example, if I state that I want to generate 10 leads a month because I know 5 of these will close and become paying customers generating approximately $1,000 worth of business - that is a clear goal. You want to have a clear, measurable goal before you begin.

* You are in a competitive market (ex: you are a sign company or interior designer). PPC can move you up the ranks quickly despite the competition.

* You sell to a local market. You can limit your ads to a specific geographic area, and achieve great results on a limited budget.

* You use the right keywords. Poorly targeted keywords will waste money and deliver poor results. (more on keywords below)

* If you have an online store and you provide a landing page for the specific product the buyer is looking for. (no storefronts or home pages or you will waste money).

* You sell high $ goods or services, where one (1) sale can pay for a whole month’s campaign and then some.

* You have a monthly ad budget. For local ads plan to spend at least $300 a month. For national ads, plan on $1,000 or more.

* There is strong seasonal demand for what you sell. This is perfect for PPC! You can turn it on and off at will.

* You generate a profit … If you are an online retailer and you sell $1,200 worth of widgets from $900 worth of online ads then you are making a profit. If you sell services, your ad budget is $500 a month and you get 6 leads that result in 3 customers and revenues totalling $800, you are making a profit. Also, these new customers might purchase from you again, generating even more revenue in the future.

* If what you sell generates residual income (ie. Insurance, counseling, etc.). It may be worth the monthly cost, even at a loss, to attract new clients that will generate an ongoing revenue stream for you. This is a case where PPC is a valid consideration, especially in a local competitive market like insurance. Note: you have to have the right offer to get them to click.

* You are willing to invest the time it takes to learn how to do it right or you are willing to hire a pro to do it for you. There’s a bit of knowledge and practice to this.

If you answered NO to 2 or more of the above, then PPC may not be right for you. But if you have the budget and the right landing pages (or website) then pay per click advertising is a great way to drive more business for your company. Plus, you can always turn it off if it doesn't work to your satifaction.

What to watch out for when advertising your website online…

* You could waste money – a lot of money if your ads are not set up properly (see the true story at the end of this article)

* You have to pick the right keywords – those indicative of intent to purchase.

* You have to pick the right matches. Google encourages you to use ‘broad match’ keywords but you want to use [exact match] or “phrase match” instead. Broad match results in lots of ad views, which Google likes, but is not likely to bring you any real business. Why? Well, if you are a ‘sign shop’ and you use that as a broad match phrase, someone searching for a ‘dress shop’ could see your ad because their search matches the word ‘shop’. You’d better hope they don’t click on your ad because you'll end up paying for a prospect that’s looking for a dress! You get the idea...

* Create a well-structured campaign. You don’t want to throw everything you sell into one ad that lands on your home page. This is not effective and likely to cost you for clicks that bounce off your home page in 1-2 seconds. You want to create ad campaigns based on the types of products you sell. For example, you might group ‘sign company’, 'custom signs' and 'business signs' all into one ad that lands on your home page. Then create a separate ad for ‘banners’, ‘corporate banners’, ‘banner displays’ that lands on your specific page promoting banners. You get the idea. How you structure your campaign and the ads within can make or break you.

* You have to pick the right bids – high enough to get you on the first page and as low as possible to still get on the first page without over spending.

* You could waste money if you don’t monitor and improve regularly. Regularly review what is performing and get rid of ads that aren't. Remember the old 80/20 rule? 20% of your ads will generate 80% of the response – so focus on those and continue monitoring and improving so you get better results. This requires an ongoing monthly commitment.

* It's not about traffic, it's about conversions. You're paying for every click so you want to do everything in your power to reach your conversion goals. For example, iif you are advertising a new product, you want people to go you your product page, then to your order page and place an order. Tracking how many visits to the product page and how many convert to orders allows you to track the investment return on your ad.

* Take the time to learn it or hire a pro. If you don't you could waste alot of money...

True story: I had a client who hired an expensive ad agency to set him up with an AdWords campaign. He started at $300/mo, then it went up to $500/mo and then $850/mo! His ads were generating ZERO leads and ZERO business. Frantic, he called BrightWay to shut it off. We looked at his campaign and discovered that his ads were not limited to his selling geography and contained search terms that he didn't even offer (ie. gym equipment)! In a nutshell he was paying for clicks from all over the country for products he didn't even sell! If you don't take time to learn how to set it up right, then hire a pro or don't do it at all. Otherwise you could spend $1,000s and get little or no results.

If you think PPC is right for your business or you have some questions about it, don’t hesitate to contact us. PPC can make money for your business - if it’s done the right way (or should we say the 'brightway')!