(image: https://www.superdream.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Pay-per-click.jpg alt: Pay-per-click advertising)
**The boss wants more enquiries, but has cut your marketing budget. Customers demand better value, but want to pay less. Welcome to the marketing department in 2013!**
With the squeeze on marketing spend; it is time for savvy marketers to start making the most of their dwindling resources. With this in mind, many marketers have been turning to one of the sharpest tools in the advertising toolbox – (link: https://www.superdream.co.uk/advertising/online-advertising/pay-per-click-advertising-ppc/ text: Pay-Per-Click advertising (PPC) popup: true title: Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC)).
Google AdWords is the most successful PPC advertising system on the Net and is largely responsible for the company’s huge profits. It can be a tremendously effective strategy… when used correctly! Without proper management, your advertising budget can disappear quicker than Usain Bolt on steroids.
Google AdWords is structured in order to be a very efficient money machine – for Google though, NOT for you. The AdWords system has now become so complicated that the majority of advertisers are paying more than they need to for their ads.
Here are some tips on how you can level the playing field and keep more money in your pocket rather than handing it over to the big G.
**1) Track everything**
It is essential that you know your marketing numbers.
If you have an (link: https://www.superdream.co.uk/digital/website-analytics/ text: Analytics package popup: true title: Website Analytics) that monitors visitors, you can connect this to your PPC advertising to record the number of sales or enquiries. This puts you in control of your spending and ‘return on investment’.
For instance, you could calculate that an enquiry is costing you £15.20 in advertising costs. This can then be compared to the returns from other marketing channels.
**2) Negative keywords**
The default way that Google AdWords is set up will have your ads showing for lots of ‘related’ keywords. Although the system is trying to help you, sometimes it can suggest things that you don’t sell. To stop your ads showing up you can make use of the negative keyword tool.
**3) Geographical targeting**
One of the big advantages of using PPC advertising is that you can select the types of people that see your ad. If you are a local business, such as a plumber, solicitor or accountant, you can choose to advertise only to people within a 25 mile radius of your offices.
**4) Specific landing pages**
One of the common mistakes that novices make is to drive traffic only to their homepage. Ads should be targeted to specific pages. If somebody is searching for ‘fender guitars’ direct them straight to the correct page, rather than making your visitor have to try and navigate their way through your site.
**5) Keep on testing**
If there is a secret to improving the performance of your account, this is it.
Split testing everything in your account is a proven way to get better results. This can include ad copy, landing page design and keyword selection. By continuously improving the individual elements of your account you will see an improved ROI over time.
As explained, Pay-Per-Click advertising can be a fantastic addition to your marketing activity and for many businesses, a core element. However it does require a substantial amount of time and effort in order to kick-start, and most of all maintain, which is where you may want to call on the help of an experienced online-marketing agency.
Superdream are a leading advertising agency and a Google AdWords Certified Partner. This means we’re perfectly positioned to help you get maximum ROI from your PPC campaign. To see how, (link: https://www.superdream.co.uk/contact/ text: contact us today popup: true title: Contact).