Pay-per-click (PPC) online advertising is a great way to increase the visibility of your business on search engines. By creating compelling ad copy and promotions, businesses can attract more visitors to their website in hopes of increasing sales or conversion rates.
Getting your business noticed online is just as hard as getting your brick and mortar store noticed, if not harder. PPC helps your business get the attention is deserves with targeted campaigns. The success of a PPC campaign depends largely on the effectiveness of keywords.
Why are keywords so important? Keywords are the basis of any PPC campaign. It is the keywords or key phrases that users enter into a search engine that prompt your PPC ad to appear. Use the wrong keywords and you’ll end up targeting the wrong customers – and losing money. While you may think you know exactly what keywords to use, it’s important to know that you are investing your money in keywords that will give you high click-through-rates (CTRs).
Do Some Research
A rule of thumb is to do plenty of research before you select your keywords. GoogleAdwords allows you to see the search volume of your specific keywords. By doing this, you can learn how often people are punching in those particular keywords into Google.
Evaluate Broad vs. Exact Match
When selecting your keywords, you should also decide if you want to use a broad vs. an exact match approach. What does this mean? Essentially, a broad match approach to keywords means that your ad will show up for keywords related or similar to your chosen keywords. If your chosen keyword is “dancing shoes” your ad may show up for searches for dancing lessons, running shoes and even shoes. An exact match approach means that your ad only shows up when users enter the exact phrase – dancing shoes.
Use Negative Keywords Wisely
Your keyword selection should also be mindful of negative keywords. Negative keywords prevent your ad from being shown when that particular keyword is used. Say you sell new kitchen appliances. You may wish to add “used” as a negative keyword to prevent your ad from appearing for searches of “used refrigerators” or other appliances.
Use Geotargeting and Scheduling
Depending on your business, it may also be useful to geographically target your PPC campaign. This will prevent your ad from being show in areas in which your business does not operate. Say you are a Chinese delivery or pick-up only restaurant in Queens, NY. You want to make sure that your ad shows up in areas where you can deliver your food – no point in it showing up in Florida. You can also schedule your ads to maximize your ad spent. This means that your ads show up at times that are useful to you. If you’re the same Chinese restaurant, you probably won’t get a big return when your ad shows up at 4am in the morning and you are closed.
Selecting keywords for your PPC campaign is not as simple as it may seem. Careful analysis and research is necessary to select the most effective keywords for your campaign. Looking for an expert to help you select the best keywords? Contact ClickxPosure at 1-888-909-RANK where one of our PPC specialists can help you get the most out of your PPC budget.
