Get More Clicks with PPC Ad Campaigns

Optimizing Google Adwords and other PPC campaigns naturally consume time and effort because of all the data gathering and testing you need to do. However, there are techniques that are known to improve any campaign's performance quickly. Running different ad variations is the most popular technique to optimize PPC campaigns. Some of your ad versions will gather more clicks than others do; it's just a matter of discarding low-performing ads.

There are other methods you can use to improve PPC campaigns. Peter Kent, the author of 'Pay Per Click Search Engine Marketing for Dummies' names several methods for improving Quality Score on Google Adwords and fine-tuning campaigns. Here are five methods you can immediately use to improve your ad's performance:

1. Utilize negative match keywords. Negative match keywords are used to sift through prospective visitors and run your ads only to those who are more likely to be interested in your website. Implementing negative keyword matching in Google Adwords is easy. Just indicate the words you do not want to include in your campaigns and Google will automatically omit your ads on search results with your negative words.


2. Change your CPCs for major keywords. Modifying the CPCs of your major keywords may boost your campaign's overall performance. Just click on 'Tools' under the Campaign Management tab to modify your campaign. You have complete control of your ads here and this makes it easier to optimize your efforts.


3. Review and resubmit any rejected ads. Google Adwords will review every ad you submit and either accept or reject it. All rejected ads are stored in your Campaign Management section, and you can edit and resubmit them at any time. Review your work regularly and don't be afraid to resubmit an ad after tweaking it with different keywords.


4. Run ads at different times of the day. 'Dayparting' is the technique of defining what time of day your ads should be run, and you can coordinate this for a better reach. For example, if you are promoting restaurant coupons, it may be a good idea to run the ads a few hours before lunch or dinner hours when people are thinking about where to go or what to eat.


5. Understand your target market. You need to understand your audience first before you can reel them in with your ads. Find out why they would be interested in your product. You might also want to look at existing promotions they are already responding and buying. See how these promotions talk to your market and how your market talks in discussion forums and blogs.

We mostly use trial and error for optimizing our pay-per-click marketing efforts but there are strategies you can implement to speed up the process. Get started on these strategies to start your way on generating high quality leads.

Write Effective Google Adwords Ads

Google Adwords continues to be one of the most effective PPC advertising models on the web, and businesses of all sizes can get started with Google Adwords within a few hours. Writing effective ads is a critical element of the campaign; since you only have a 35 characters of text in each line to get the attention of your audience, the words you select and the statements you make must be very specific and structured in a way that generates clicks.

Expert adwords users follow a basic structure when composing their adwords ad. Read on if you are a new Google adwords user and use these guidelines in writing your first ad.

1. Include your keyword in the Title. Perry Marshall and Bryan Todd, authors of "The Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords" state that internet users are more likely to click on an ad if the ad's title or headline contains the keyword or keyphrase they were searching on. Use this to your advantage and capture people's attention instantly.

2. Describe your benefit in the second line. Most readers will respond to an ad that clearly lists a key benefit near the beginning. Make sure you are listing your benefit on the second line, not your offer or a feature. Think about giving them what they want' before highlighting a feature or a special offer.

3. Feature and offer goes in the third line. After 'giving them what they want', its time to support your benefit by stating a feature or your special offer. This line should be simple and concise and make sure this line does not overwhelm your benefit.

4. Place your landing page URL in the last line. You can enter any URL you want on the last line and lead surfers to any page on the web. Many Adwords users make the mistake of assuming that they have to enter their website's homepage URL. You can setup a different landing page for each ad you run to encourage more clicks and even track your performance.

5. Run a similar ad to improve your campaign. You can run two similar but differently worded ads to improve your campaign. We do this to know whether slight changes in words or ad structure can produce more clicks. Track which ad performs better and drop the less effective ad.

All elements needed for success in Google Adwords can be mastered with practice. Remember to track your performance always so that you can pinpoint areas for improvement. In any case, don't delay your usage of Google adwords and follow these tips to start running ads now.

How to Avoid the Common Mistakes when Using Google Adwords

Establishing a successful Google Adwords campaign can be tough for both beginners and experts alike. Tougher still if you are entering a new niche or just starting to operate in an unfamiliar market. You can always spend a lot of time on market research and spying on your competitor but you will only advance once you create an ad and concentrate on optimizing it. Then again, just placing an ad out there won't instantly lead to success. The truth is a lot of people discover how quickly they can lose all their time, effort and money invested in Adwords by committing simple mistakes.

These costly mistakes are addressed in the book The Definitive Guide to Google Adwords. Written by Perry Marshall, the book is all about getting excellent results from Adwords campaigns consistently.

Below are five common mistakes you must avoid to get you started in raking in huge traffic from your target market:

1. Not writing keywords in your ad's body. Most ads I see only utilize keywords on their headlines. Do not neglect the body of your ads as 1-2 keywords or keyphrases placed in there will make it more relevant to search engines and your market alike.

2. Send traffic to your site's homepage. The purpose of a site's homepage is to provide broad information about the site and what it offers. There's a good chance that your visitors will turn away if they have to exert effort to get the information they came for in the first place. This ultimately results in a low conversion rate and lost sales. Make it easy for your visitors by stating your offer upfront on a landing page.

3. Using 'broad match' in the Google Adwords Keyword Selector Tool as the basis of your research and campaign. As the name suggests, the 'broad match' selection is only useful for an overview of your chosen niche or market. The whole point of keyword research is to know the precise words or phrases your target market uses when searching for information in Google. Make use of 'phrase match' and 'exact match' instead to find out the exact keywords or keyphrases that will lure in your prospects.

4. Use of low-performing keywords. Discovering the exact keywords your target market use takes time. Monitor your Adwords campaign regularly to check if your keywords are performing as expected. If they're not, look for other keywords to focus on. The Google Adwords Keyword Selector Tool has a 'synonym' feature you can use to produce new keywords and make the most out of your campaigns.

5. An uninteresting headline. Each ad on average only has a second to grab the attention of viewers before they move on. The headline of your ad serves as the hook to reel in visitors. It's the most prominent part of your ad and the quality of it will determine if the reader checks out the rest of the ad or not. State the most important benefit you're giving in your headline to compel viewers to read the body of your ad and click through it.

Improve Your Marketing With Google Adwords And Split Testing

When it comes to using Google AdWords ads to attract customers, your CTR or clickthrough rates are the key to getting the biggest bang possible for your marketing buck. Perry Marshall, an online marketing expert, suggests the those seeking to increase the effectiveness of their AdWords advertisements to employ the strategy of split testing. By split testing, you can begin to determine the precise effectiveness of each of the keywords and phrases in attracting attention and, as a result, clicks from members of your target audience. By paying attention to what really works in your marketing, and perhaps running two or more advertisements simultaneously, you can gain valuable insights into what drives your customers.

Split testing isn't simply for AdWord, however; the knowledge you obtain from split testing performed on just about any area of your site can be easily applied to the creation of effective AdWords, and help you develop a more advantageous online presence. As a springboard for your own ideas, here are five examples of areas in which split testing can be effective.

1. Your signup pages. Whether you have a newsletter signup box on your homepage, or are just collecting e-mail addresses for a free download, running a split test in this area can help you determine what types of freebies your visitors respond well to. The words and marketing copy you use in these areas can be manipulated to deliver different messages; when you've defined what the most effective messages are, it also becomes easier to insert these messages into a Google Adwords ad.

2. Your website's "shopping cart." One area of your site that can yield important clues to what makes your customers tick is the "shopping cart." Looking at what customers do on this section will tell you more about their buying habits, as well as what they're truly interested in. Split testing can be applied to your site's shopping cart as well, perhaps by experimenting with messages presented to customers during the process of checking out. In this vein, it is also a great idea to monitor what items are most commonly searched for on your site.

3. Individual product pages. If a customer is viewing the page for a specific product, they're definitely interested, but the specific copy on this page can be an essential factor in motivating him or her to make the decision. Make sure that the copy used on your product pages is attention-grabbing, and use split testing to see which variations of a message get the best results. Long-term monitoring of the effects of product pages copy can bear considerable fruit both in increased sales and knowledge that can be applied in your Adwords ads.

4. Sales letters. Sales letters have always been of great value to online marketers, as they encourage the recipient to make an immediate decision to click through to your site. These letters are perfect for split testing, as they allow you to track which key messages you should emphasize in order to provoke an immediate response from your target audience, insight which can be easily and beneficially applied to your AdWords advertisements.

5. Email messages to customers. Any electronic messages you send to potential customers can be fine-tuned for greater effectiveness using split testing. Even if you don't send out a full newsletter, the tweaking of even autoresponder messages, and the subsequent monitoring for clickthroughs, can yield valuable information about how to attract a greater audience to your site.