Google is the dominant search engine on the internet, and Google’s AdWords program is the number one pay-per-click (PPC) program. Unfortunately, though registration and set-up on AdWords is easy, seeing conversions (sales) from your PPC campaign may be more difficult.
If you’re new to AdWords or if you’ve been running an AdWords campaign for a while but just don’t see the value in it, keep in mind that it is not enough to have potential customers click through the ad to reach your website. Customers who were merely curious about your ad but who are not in buy-mode or who are turned off by your website will simply “bounce” back to their search results. Google AdWords will be satisfied with the transaction, since you paid for the click, but you will be frustrated, confused, and irritated with the advertising campaign for which you had such high hopes.
The complexity of Google AdWords is the reason that medium-to-large companies typically hire individuals who do nothing but deal with PPC marketing. Though this often isn’t an option for small-businesses and start-ups, which are usually operating at small margins, there is an alternative – an off-site PPC specialist.
What can a PPC specialist do that you can’t, or more to the point, that you don’t have time to accomplish?
- Ensure your website is “search-engine friendly,” meaning that it is integrated with search engine metrics, and optimized on an ongoing basis by an expert in search engine optimization (SEO)
§ Analyze HTML page design and structure
§ Create landing pages to maximize PPC campaign results
§ Insert tracking capability into major web pages to ensure proper analysis of Google AdWords campaign
§ Hand-submit website to major search engines
- Select the keywords and keyword phrases that are best-suited to your website (not necessarily those that are widely applicable to your industry, and not necessarily even those you would select, but the keywords and keyword phrases your customers use)
- Conduct detailed analyses of your online competition and apply the results of those analyses to your PPC campaign
- Apply an AdWords skillset to your PPC campaign on a daily basis to maintain your results; stay up-to-date with changes in AdWords
§ Create and implement text ads for PPC campaign
§ Generate and interpret Google AdWords reports
§ Monitor campaign daily and make adjustments when supported by analytics
Some business owners and decision-makers decide that AdWords and other PPC programs are too much trouble and decide to forego them entirely. This is shortsighted, because when a campaign is properly conducted, PPC brings new customers to you while you are occupied with other ways of generating revenue. Pay-per-click is a low-cost, high-volume lead- and revenue-generating machine capable of instant, exciting results when the campaign is managed by a professional.