Digital marketing is no joke, although we would like to start off with a joke to lighten things up. Here’s a great one from Dharmesh Shah’s online blog:
How many PPC (Pay Per Click) experts does it take to change a light bulb?
One. But she’s smart enough to know that you can’t just focus on “light bulb”. You need to “change light bulb”, “replace light bulb”, “fix light bulb” and “new light bulb. But, not of course, “light bulb” as that’s way too pricey and drives a bunch of unqualified people that are not really interested in changing light bulbs.
Ain’t that the truth! Online marketing and particularly PPC marketing requires intense attention to detail. From choosing the best and most relevant adwords to determining specific audiences, setting up campaign budgets and testing the success of PPC advertising content, this is a field that needs careful planning and focus.
One of the foremost goals of PPC marketing is to drive a return on investment for money pumped into generating more website traffic. However, this comes with the prerequisite of having a strong PPC campaign that has been worked out to the finest details. PPC requires fast decision-making and constant changes to ensure successful campaigns, landing pages and websites – a fact that is only possible when you’re focused on ensuring that every detail is relevant.
Here are some ways to focus on detail in your PPC advertising
Set up a budget
Online marketing is an expensive game to play. Setting up a budget in collaboration with clients helps ensure that you can make the highest bids for keywords to get an edge over the competition. Talking clients through the process of ad campaigns is essential to having them understand that lowering the price of ad campaigns is not the best way to ensure PPC success. In the same breath, the most expensive PPC ads might not ensure success either. A balanced budget with room to make adjustments where necessary is a great starting place.
Choose the right keywords
Online marketing is an expensive game to play. Setting up a budget in collaboration with clients helps ensure that you can make the highest bids for keywords to get an edge over the competition. Talking clients through the process of ad campaigns is essential to having them understand that lowering the price of ad campaigns is not the best way to ensure PPC success. In the same breath, the most expensive PPC ads might not ensure success either. A balanced budget with room to make adjustments where necessary is a great starting place.
Focus on your landing page and website
What’s the use of a beautiful PPC ad if it leads to a landing page and website that are shabby and outdated? PPC ads are great but what follows is just as important and it's the complete package that works together to convert viewers and clickers into customers.
Be on top of everything that goes on around you
This is especially true if you work as part of a team or a larger agency. Attention to detail is a major driver in PPC success, one that easily gets lost in larger groups where contributors have different areas of focus. Setting up checklists can help make sure that the details are fine-tuned for each campaign.
Don’t forget to test out your ad
Always test your ad campaign before fully launching it. Slow loading pages, unintuitive website designs and distorted images are easy fixes but left untouched, these details become cumbersome turn-offs that will have people closing the browser page before you can say ‘PPC.'
Follow up on customer and client feedback
Did your PPC ad campaign run into the ground? That’s too bad. Wipe off your tears and get ready to find out everything you can about what went wrong. Customer response to ads and client feedback are important details that could make the difference between succeeding and failing again in the future.
Prioritize communication
Constant communication with your client should always be a primary focus. Did the client mention that the ad should have a blue color scheme? Best find out which shade of blue. Attention to detail can only flourish with clean communication. Don't be afraid to ask clients for more information about their preferences, budget or any other information.
Make sure you have the basics
Make sure that you have a good understanding of the PPC basics. Google Ads isn't really complicated but there's more to ad campaigns than just placing random keywords on a pretty picture. PPC marketing through Google Ads is a powerful tool with lots of potential but it comes at a price – make sure that you understand how PPC campaigns work from start to end before jumping in the deep end.
