79% of e-commerce businesses leveraging PPC ads witness brand awareness growth in accordance with PPC Hero study. Likewise, 64.6% of users will go on clicking your ad on Google if they are likely to purchase anything online, according to WordStream.
Why is it so?
It’s because of laser-fast campaign result, which impacts the overall growth in leads, brand recognition, and conversions for a business.
Let’s get into what PPC is.
Pay Per Click (PPC)
PPC, or Pay Per Click, is an online ad campaign that is one of the vital ways to win clicks, leads, and recognition quicker than ever. This digital advertising model requires advertisers to pay a fee each time their ad is clicked by users. But, it takes a lot of effort and insights into how to bid for ad placement on search engines or other platforms, and how to use that insights with the relevant keywords in the ad. This is indeed an inexpensive method to drive traffic to websites, generate enquiries, and boost sales. That’s why it is a household name among digital marketers.
You can have Google Ads (or Google AdWords), Microsoft Advertising (or Bing Ads), Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, Twitter Ads, and LinkedIn Ads to run these paid campaigns.
The Most Suitable Platform for eCommerce PPC
If you talk about eCommerce, Google Ads and Facebook Ads do a commendable job. These are the best fit platforms where a brand can reach out to a massive audience and display products to engage potential customers online. Besides, Google Shopping Ads, which has billions of daily users, also offer an amazing opportunity to retailers & distributors to exhibit their products directly in searches. This active exposure makes it an ideal platform to drive high-intent customers. It obviously scrolls up their online sales for the eCommerce industry.
How to Successfully Set Up a PPC Campaign for eCommerce Sales?
To establish a successful paid ad campaign, you need an expert Google certified marketer. He or she can guide you through several steps to effectively gain visibility. Let’s come across these steps:
- Discover Your Keywords
The keyword research starts with finding a relevant phrase that has a high volume of searches or low competition. Ensure that it resonates with your product or service, and can also align with your target audience’s pain points or requirements. Using Google Keyword Planner or any other third-party tool can make this task way easier. Apart from tools, emphasize blending broad, exact, and long-tail keywords to target different search intents.
- Develop Your Ad
Now comes the drafting of the ad copy! Create a compelling one that carries the pain-points and answers to any related FAQ. Don’t forget adding the keyword. Once written, frame its title in the requisite word-limit, which is 30 characters. And, the description should be 90-character long, catchy, clear, and concise with a strong call-to-action (CTA). This act as a trigger for intended customers to click on the ad. Last, but not the least, your ad should have the unique selling points of whatever you sell. It helps in building value for your brand.
- Measure Ad Score
Google Ads uses a Quality Score to determine if the advertisement is relevant and able to perform well over the internet. This score ranges from 1 to 10. With 10 being the highest, it certainly affects ad rank and cost-per-click. Let’s get a little deeper understanding how Quality Score is influenced. Actually, ad relevancy, expected click-through rate, and landing page experience impact this score. Higher scores result in better ad positions, and this happens at lower costs. Therefore, your online ad should have an excellent quality score. To improve it, you need to create targeted, relevant ads with specific keywords, and also optimize landing pages for a seamless user experience. A higher Quality Score pays off to advertisers with its better ad visibility and can invite more clicks and conversions while lowering overall ad costs.
- Place Your Bids
Now that you have made everything ready, it’s time to set your bid for each keyword. Estimate your budget, as how much you are likely to buy a click. It’s notable that the bid amount can influence your ad’s placement on SERPs or other platforms. So, consider the amount that can help your ad to remain competitive while being in the budget. You can employ AI tools like cop.ai or any other one to automate your bidding strategies. In addition, these tools can also tell how to optimize your bids on your campaign goals.
- Test Ads
Testing is good if you want your campaign to be fruitful. Go ahead & test ad variants to discover the most effective ones. A/B testing can also be employed to determine which ad elements perform the best, be it the headline, ad copy, CTAs, and visuals. So, it’s necessary to regularly analyze performance metrics, such as click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, and return on investment (ROI). This will help in refining and optimizing your campaign.
- Get Clicks
Once tested, make your campaign live. This will publish your ad on the platform you choose. You may check the relevant search results or on partner websites. This will enable users to click on the ad, which will land them on the hyperlinked URL.
- Pay the Ad network
With PPC, you only pay when a user clicks on your ad, but not on only impression. Each click costs a requisite amount, which is based on your bid and the ad’s performance. This is why budget management is essential. This practice will help you control your spending and get the most out of your campaign. So, always take care of your ad budget whenever you launch any ad campaign.
Best Practices for PPC Campaigns
There are multiple practices that should be followed for better results that you have thought of before launching any ad on your favourite Google, Yahoo, or Bing.
- Keyword Research
This has already been discussed above. You can follow the guidelines like deciding the relevant and high-converting keywords, align them with your ad objective, and may also utilize Google Keyword Planner for competitor analysis and catching up with customers’ insights.
- Well-Structured Ad Groups
For posting your ad, selecting the niche-based ad group is significant. This will show up your ad copy in the relevant search query results, which will certainly attract a better click through rate and quality score. Keep unrelated keywords out of that ad group to save money.
- Compelling Ad Copy
With a highly persuasive and engaging ad copy, your unique selling points will be powered, and hence, will attract more click from the intended customers. Make it more attractive to clicks by using compelling headlines, clear calls-to-action (CTAs), and relevant ad extensions.
- Landing Page Optimization
Before linking with any webpage, ensure that the landing pages provides a seamless user experience. Also, it should directly relate with the ad’s message. With the support of a PPC campaign expert, get that page optimized for speed, mobile-friendliness, and clear conversion paths to maximize conversions.
- Utilize Ad Extensions
Take advantage of ad extensions like site links, callouts, and structured snippets to provide additional information and increase the visibility of your ads. Ad extensions enhance your ad’s appearance and can improve click-through rates.
- Implement Negative Keywords
The use of negative keywords can help you exclude irrelevant search queries that may attract irrelevant clicks. Simply put, this can enhance the relevancy of your ad impressions and also prevent wasted ad spend on irrelevant clicks.
- Bid Management
Regularly monitoring and adjusting your bids is necessary to improve clicks and ad performance. Consider automated bidding strategies with the help of AI tools and also, optimize your bids effectively.
- A/B Testing
This has already been mentioned above. Consider the aforementioned details to test your ad for better results.
- Geographic Targeting
For eCommerce leads, this is a good initiative to utilize geographic targeting. It helps you to reach your most relevant audience. For attracting leads, you should focus on locations where your target customers are located. Also, exclude areas where your products or services are not available.
- Conversion Tracking
Conversion tracking lets you measure the success rate of your PPC campaigns accurately. Track KPIs or key performance indicators, such as form submissions, purchases, or sign-ups to map effectiveness of campaigns and also, ROI.
- Monitor Competitors
You need to keep an eye on your competitors’ PPC strategies. This can help you identify potential opportunities or threats in the market. Thoroughly examine their ad copy, keyword targeting, and bidding strategies to make your targeting better with ads.
Conclusion
There are certain best practices that can help you create effective and successful PPC campaigns. With this, you can drive relevant traffic, increase conversions, and deliver a strong return on investment for your business. Also, it is necessary to continue monitoring and optimizing ads together with landing pages for maintaining a competitive edge in the dynamic world of PPC advertising.
