How to use pay-per-click advertising to increase sales? Explained by Digimagg

PPC advertising is a valuable tool for boosting website traffic and sales, but it requires a systematic approach for optimal results. These ads appear in search engine results when users search for specific keywords, and you're charged only when someone clicks on your ad.

To maximize your ROI, it's crucial to monitor your ad performance closely. This involves refining your keywords, ads, and website based on data insights to enhance your campaign's effectiveness.

Adrian Turner, a BDC Advisor specializing in Web Conversion and Personalization, emphasizes the importance of hands-on management and monitoring in online advertising. He suggests the following steps for creating successful PPC campaigns.

Step 1. Establish your website analytics framework

The objective of online advertising is to drive traffic to your website for either brand awareness or sales conversion. Using tools like Google Analytics is crucial to track visitor data and evaluate campaign effectiveness. If you lack analytics, your tech manager or web agency can assist in setting it up. Analytics provide insights into achieving specific goals like increasing page views or sales, as well as understanding visitor behavior such as their origin, visited pages, duration, and repeat visits. Turner emphasizes the importance of retaining control over data access, recommending ownership of login credentials to avoid potential issues when changing web agencies.

Step 2. Establish an online advertising account and select your targeted keywords

Turner suggests initiating your online advertising journey with Google search ads due to its predominant usage in Canada for online searches. Start by creating a Google AdWords account for your ad setup. Once comfortable with AdWords and running campaigns, consider expanding to Bing, the second-largest search engine.

Search ads hinge on keywords, which are words or phrases used in online searches for products, services, or information. Analyze competitor keywords and conduct searches to identify relevant terms. Utilize tools like Google’s Keyword Planner to gauge keyword effectiveness in driving website traffic.

Keyword costs are determined via auction; initially bid on numerous keywords to assess their performance and adjust based on ad positioning and clicks. Turner advises strategic keyword selection to optimize spending and stand out with less common yet impactful keywords.

Understanding the mechanisms of the Google Keyword Auction

When targeting specific keywords on Google, you bid on them, indicating the amount you're willing to pay for your ad to appear when those keywords are searched. Google then compares your bid with others to determine ad placement, considering both bid amount and ad relevance to the search query. Monitoring ad performance through tools like Google AdWords preview helps track trends and optimize campaign effectiveness.

Step 3. Maintain constant monitoring

Once you've grasped the fundamentals of PPC advertising, utilize your account's control settings to tweak ad visibility duration and budget allocation. The online landscape is ever-evolving, so monitoring ad performance ensures sustained ROI.

In addition to search-based ads, consider exploring alternative PPC avenues like re-marketing display ads. These ads target users who have visited your site, appearing on other sites they browse. This strategy reinforces brand awareness and engagement, creating a cohesive approach when combined with search and display advertising.