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Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a popular and powerful digital marketing strategy that can drive traffic to your website and generate leads and sales. However, because PPC campaigns can be tricky, mistakes are common and costly. This article identifies some common PPC mistakes and provides tips on how to avoid them and ultimately improve your bottom line.
PPC Mistake #1: Not Taking Keyword Research Seriously
Keyword research is the foundation of any successful PPC campaign. If you don’t choose the right keywords, you won’t attract the right audience, and your ads will lead you nowhere. Many businesses make the mistake of choosing keywords that are too broad or not directly relevant to their target audience. To avoid this mistake, use keyword research tools to find relevant and high-traffic keywords that match your business and audience. Better yet, work with a team of PPC experts who can support you from start to finish.
PPC Mistake #2: Neglecting Ad Copy Optimization
Your ad is going to be your first point of contact for a lot of potential customers. If your ad copy is weak or unappealing, users will not want to click on your ads. Worse yet, they could develop a negative impression of your company. Avoid this by publishing compelling, error-free ad copy that highlights the benefits of your products or services, includes a clear call-to-action, and uses relevant keywords. You can also test different variations of your ad copy to see which one performs best and then tweak your ad copy accordingly.
PPC Mistake #3: Forgetting Negative Keywords
Negative keywords are keywords that you don’t want your ads to show up for. For example, if you sell luxury bags, you may want to exclude the keyword “cheap” to avoid advertising to users who are not interested in buying high-end items. If you don’t exclude these irrelevant keywords, your ads may appear for unrelated searches, and you’ll waste money on clicks that won’t lead to conversions. So, make sure to research negative keywords and add them to your campaigns.
PPC Mistake #4: Spending Too Much or Too Little
Budgeting is one of the biggest challenges in PPC marketing. But PPC experts swear by a simple rule: cut down spending on underperforming campaigns and increase spending on the most promising ones. Keep in mind that increasing ad spend doesn’t always have to mean inflating your digital marketing budget. You can reappropriate funds from one ad group to another.
Nonetheless, in the event that increasing your overall budget is the best solution, consider taking out a small business loan to expand your PPC campaign. Alternatively, if you’re new to PPC advertising such as Google Ads and Bing Ads, you can use a loan to cover the initial costs of setting up a campaign, such as hiring a PPC specialist or purchasing software. Over time, you can increase your revenue and generate a positive return on your loan investment if you run a well-planned PPC campaign.
PPC Mistake #5: Focusing On Google Ads Alone
Google Ads is the leading PPC platform, but it’s not the only one worth your attention. With breakthroughs like Microsoft’s AI-powered search, the future of search and PPC will unlikely look the same. Additionally, depending on your business and audience, you may find that other platforms, such as Bing Ads, Facebook Ads, or LinkedIn Ads, are more suitable for your campaign. Hence, if you only run PPC campaigns on Google Ads, you will miss out on prospective customers on other search engines or social media platforms.
Look into expanding your PPC campaigns to other platforms that are aligned with your business and audience. For instance, if you’re a B2B business, LinkedIn Ads may be a better option than Google Ads, since it allows you to target users based on their job titles and industries. Last but not least, remember that different platforms may require different strategies and ad formats, so you’ll need to customize your campaigns.
PPC Mistake #6: Ignoring Mobile Optimization
The centering of mobile search is one of the most important digital marketing trends in recent years. Mobile traffic is only expected to increase in the coming years. If your PPC campaigns are not optimized for mobile, you could be alienating potential buyers who prefer browsing on their smartphones or tablets.
To capitalize on this trend, ensure your landing pages and ad formats are optimized for mobile devices. This may include using responsive design, designing mobile-friendly landing pages, and creating ad copy that is concise and easy to read on small screens.
PPC Mistake #7: Failing to Monitor Your Campaign
The key to successful PPC campaigns is constant and consistent monitoring and optimization. You need to monitor your campaigns to see what’s working and what’s not, and you won’t be able to make timely adjustments to improve your results. To achieve your desired results, set up conversion tracking and analytics to monitor your campaigns’ performance, and regularly review your data to make necessary changes to your bids, ad copy, and targeting.
Start Your PPC Journey Today
PPC advertising is a powerful tool for driving sales and traffic, but committing preventable mistakes can put your money and efforts to waste. So, make sure to invest in quality keyword research, optimized ad copy, negative keywords, proper budgeting, and mobile optimization. And don’t forget to check other PPC platforms and monitor all your campaigns.
Our PPC campaign with Sunway Medical Centre Penang in June 2022 helped them generate content in monthly basics and launch campaigns to gain more engagement and build an audience base, including Brand Awareness Campaigns (FB Ads & Google Ads), running ads with different target audiences and different interests, visuals, and copywriting to filter the best audience for Sunway Medical Centre Penang to promote their services. As well as Conversion Campaign (FB Ads), maximises enquiry of Sunway Medical Centre Penang’s medical packages and allows patients to make appointments.
For more helpful digital marketing tips, consult with the pros at Kode Digital Experts.
Author Chatty
Chatty is a freelance writer from Manila. She finds joy in inspiring and educating others through writing. That’s why aside from her job as a language evaluator for local and international students, she spends her leisure time writing about various topics such as lifestyle, technology, and business.
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