There’s always been this notion in the industry that success was reserved the marketers who had a big enough budget to spend. In particular, PPC advertising has been heavily criticised because of the apparent lack of parity it promotes. However, these accusations may not be true. At the end of the day, what matters most is not the amount of money you have at your disposal, but the way in which you opt to use that money. The issue for many marketers is not that they aren’t financially capable in terms of marketing dollars – it’s their ideas that aren’t efficient enough. And that often leads to the wasting of their budget.
In fact, allocating your marketing budget correctly is much easier than it sounds. The entire “science” of efficient PPC spending can be narrowed down into 4 simple methods that will turn the performance of your ads around. It truly doesn’t matter if you have a big or small budget, because these tactics should be employed even at the corporate level where saving money is often a paramount goal. So, let’s begin, shall we?
Picking the right network
Okay, so you want to promote your brand and you’ve assembled a bunch of ideas that are to be put to use. That’s great! However, the next step may cause a lot of issues if not carried out correctly. And this, of course, relates to the process of choosing the right network for your ads. There is a substantial number of networks to choose from, but picking the right one should be a priority.
The first thing you should know is that different networks have different levels of inventory. Inventory is defined as available space for third-party ads. Some networks, like LinkedIn, have a very low inventory, which may prove disadvantageous for advertisers. Why? Well, that’s because low inventory means there’s a smaller number of ad spaces, which results in high prices for each ad. It also means that there will be many more advertisers competing for one space in comparison to sites with a higher amount of inventory.
If you’re a beginner, your best bet would be to start off with Google AdWords and Facebook. Their interface is comparably simpler and they have a lot of inventory for you to work with, which creates greater parity among advertisers. Using these networks usually means your money will be going in the right direction and that there will be no overspending needed just for the sake of beating the competition. When you know that you’ve chosen the right network, everything will be much simpler from there on out.
Target your ads at a specific group and have a clear ad copy
If your ad copy isn’t targeted at the right group, your campaigns won’t bring in revenue, and that’s the universal truth. The tricky part about using networks like Google AdWords, for example, is that they charge you by clicks. That’s why incorrect targeting might just be the death of your budget because you’re spending unnecessary money on clicks that won’t lead to conversions. So, in order to ensure that your money is well spent, you have to make sure your ad copy is well targeted.
And to do so, you need to first master these two tasks:
- Understanding the demographics of your customers, as well as their habits and financial status amongst other details
- Understanding how to use that collected data to maximise the efficiency of your PPC campaigns
Learning how to complete the above two tasks will help you to become a master of PPC advertising. It doesn’t always boil down to analytics and complex algorithms. Sometimes, PPC marketing simply requires exploration and well-researched execution. And to take that a step further, one should consider creating a Buyer Persona. A Buyer Persona is an imaginary customer that you formulate based on your chosen demographic and psychographic details. From there, you can work backwards to decide what works best for that particular customer.
Further, it’s important to note that time-saving comes after proficiency. So, don’t worry too much about wasting time to get the basics right because mastering the art of PPC can only come about as a result of smart financial allocation.
Be sure to optimize your funnel
Let’s say you’re investing around $100 in your PPC campaigns on a monthly basis. Also, let’s say that this amount yields you approximately $200. Most advertisers would be happy with a 100% return, but that isn’t necessarily the right mentality to have. Instead of putting in more money to get greater returns, why not optimize your funnel to garner more revenue with the same investment?
A good way to think about improving your funnel is to look for different ways to improve your conversion rate. This requires a focus on landing page improvement. How can you make your landing page more enticing for new customers? And how can you compel your regulars to keep returning? Many companies often pay attention to either getting new conversions or maintaining old ones. But optimising your funnel can only be achieved when you allocate an equal amount of time and effort to both groups of customers. Conversion parity, right?
Study to become a better copywriter
Having good ideas and good resources is one of the best luxuries an online advertiser could have. But that’s nothing without the ability to produce good content. Knowing what phrases to use and what calls to actions to employ – these are all integral parts of every good PPC campaign. Thus, one needs to master copywriting in order to get the most out of their ads.
One word or one exclamation mark can mean the difference between remaining stagnant and getting more clicks. By studying how to become a better copywriter, you will be able to use language to mesmerise and entice the masses into clicking.
In the end, it’s important to remember that the main requirement of copywriting is patience. Some of the skills can be acquired quickly, but some of it comes with time. Keep working on your copywriting skills and the results will show for your efforts.
