Digital advertising has evolved into an essential component of any successful marketing campaign. Whether you’re a small business owner or a larger corporation, PPC advertising can help you reach your target audience, drive traffic to your website, and ultimately boost your sales.
However, building a successful PPC strategy can be daunting, especially if you’re new to the world of digital advertising. That’s why we’ve put together this guide to help you develop a robust PPC strategy that will drive results for your business. From identifying your target audience to selecting the right keywords and creating compelling ad copy, we’ll take you through every step of the process.
So, whether you’re looking to launch your first PPC campaign or improve an existing one, read on to learn how to build a winning PPC strategy.
How to Build Your PPC Strategy
We understand that getting to grips with PPC and putting together your strategy can seem like a difficult challenge. By following the following 6 steps, we can help you create campaigns that will help you meet the needs of your prospective customers and improve your revenue. So, let’s dive in!
Identifying your goals is a critical first step in building a successful PPC strategy. Before you start creating ads or selecting keywords, it’s important to define what you want to achieve with your PPC campaigns. When creating your goals, you should try and use the SMART framework:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time-Bound
For example, if your goal is to increase sales, you might set a target for the number of conversions or sales you want to achieve through your PPC campaigns in month-1 of going live. If your goal is to generate leads, you might set a target for the number of leads you want to capture through your campaigns over a 3-month period. Alternatively, if your goal is to drive traffic to your website, you might set a target for the number of clicks or visits you want to generate each month.
Once you have defined your goals, you can begin to develop a strategy that will help you achieve them. Your goals will inform your decisions about targeting, keywords, ad copy, and budget, so it’s important to be clear and specific about what you want to achieve.
Additionally, setting goals allows you to track your progress and measure the success of your campaigns over time. By regularly reviewing your performance metrics against your goals, you can make data-driven decisions to optimise your campaigns and achieve even better results.
2. Define Your Target Market
Defining your target audience is a crucial step in building a PPC strategy that is destined for success. Your target audience is the group of people who are most likely to be interested in your products or services. By targeting your ads to this group, you can increase the likelihood that they will click on your ads, visit your website, and ultimately convert into customers.
To define your target audience, you need to gather information about their demographics, interests, and behaviours. This can include data such as age, gender, location, income, education, and more. For extra support in defining your target audience and buyer personas, we highly recommend checking out our buyer persona research template. You can download it below:
Once you have a clear understanding of your target audience, you can begin to create ads that will appeal to them. You should also use targeting options in your PPC platform to ensure that your ads are only shown to people who meet your specific criteria.
Defining your target audience also allows you to track your performance metrics more accurately. By monitoring the performance of your ads among specific demographics, you can make data-driven decisions to optimise your campaigns and improve your ROI. Ultimately, the more you know about your target audience, the better you can target your ads to their needs and interests, and the more successful your PPC campaigns will be.
3. Conduct Your Keyword Research
Keywords are the terms or phrases that people use to search for products, services, or information online. By targeting the right keywords, you can ensure that your ads are shown to people who are actively searching for what you have to offer.
To conduct keyword research, you can use a variety of free or premium tools, including Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, and Ahrefs. These tools will enable you to identify the keywords that your target audience is searching for, as well as the level of competition for each keyword. You can also use these tools to discover related keywords and long-tail keywords that may be relevant to your business.
If you’re currently running SEO campaigns, it’s likely that a lot of this groundwork will be completed already. Just bear in mind that for your PPC campaigns, you’ll need to focus on the keywords with high-commercial intent in order to provide a good return on your investment.
Once you have identified your target keywords, you can begin to create ads that you want to be displayed in the search results for those keywords. Your ad copy should include the keywords you are targeting and should be relevant to the user’s search intent. For example, if someone is searching for “best running shoes”, your ad copy should highlight the benefits of your running shoes and why they are the best choice for the user.
It’s important to note that keyword research is an ongoing process. You should regularly monitor your performance metrics to see which keywords are driving the most traffic and conversions and adjust your targeting and ad copy accordingly. By staying on top of your keyword research, you can ensure that your PPC campaigns are always optimised for the most relevant and effective keywords.
4. Create Compelling Ad Copy
Flowing nicely into the next section, how-to create compelling ad copy. Your ad copy is the text that appears in your ads, and it’s the primary way you can communicate the benefits of your products or services to potential customers.
To create compelling ad copy, you need to focus on three key elements: relevance, value proposition, and call-to-action.
First, your ad copy needs to be relevant to the user’s search query. This will help ensure that your ads are shown to people who are actually interested in your products or services.
Second, your ad copy should clearly communicate your value proposition. This is the unique benefit that your product or service offers to customers. Your value proposition should be specific, clear, and compelling, and should address the pain points of your prospective buyers. As an example, if you’re selling running shoes, your value proposition might be “Lightweight and breathable shoes for a comfortable run.”
Thirdly, your ad copy should include a clear call-to-action. A CTA is the phrase that encourages the user to take a specific action, such as “Shop now” or “Sign up today”. Your CTA should be relevant to the user’s search intent and should be placed prominently in your ad copy.
In addition to these key elements, your ad copy should also be concise, clear, and easy to read. Try to use simple language and avoid technical jargon, and always make sure your ad copy is free of spelling and grammatical errors. By creating compelling ad copy, you can improve the relevancy of your ads, influence more users to click, and generate more customers for your business.
5. Setting Your Budget
Your PPC budget will determine how much money you have to spend on your ads, and it can have a significant impact on the success of your campaigns. To get started with setting your budget, you need to consider a few key factors, including your business goals, your target audience, and your competition. You should also consider the cost of the keywords you are targeting, as well as the average cost per click, CPC, in your niche or market.
One common approach to setting a budget is to use the cost-per-acquisition model. CPA is the amount you are willing to spend on each conversion, such as a purchase, lead, or sign-up. To calculate your CPA, you need to divide your total budget by the number of expected conversions. For example, if you have a budget of £1,000 and you expect to get 100 conversions, your CPA would be £10.
Another approach is to set a daily or monthly budget, which limits the amount you spend on your ads each day or each month. This can help you control your costs and ensure that you don’t exceed your budget, keeping your key stakeholders happy.
It’s important to note that setting a budget is not a one-time task. You should regularly monitor your campaign performance and adjust your budget as needed. You’ll need to review this on a campaign-by-campaign basis. For example, if a campaign is getting a good return on investment, you may want to increase your budget to reach more potential customers. On the other hand, if your campaign is not performing well, you should consider reducing or reallocating your budget to a better-performing campaign.
By setting a budget that aligns with your business goals and target audience, you can ensure that your PPC campaigns are effective and cost-efficient.
6. Monitoring & Optimising Your Campaigns
As a marketer, you’ll know that no digital marketing strategy is ever ‘truly’ finished. Regularly analysing your campaign performance alongside continuous adjustments will empower you to improve your ad targeting, increase your click-through rates and ultimately achieve better ROI.
To monitor and optimise your campaigns, you need to track key performance metrics such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and cost-per-click. Ultimately, these KPIs should be determined by the overarching marketing goals that you created during step 1. You can use tools like Google Ads and Google Analytics to track these metrics and get insights into how your campaigns are performing.
Once you have collected data on your campaign performance, you can start making adjustments to optimise your campaigns. Some common PPC optimisation strategies include:
Adjusting your targeting: You may want to adjust your targeting based on the performance of your campaigns. For example, if certain keywords are driving a lot of clicks but few conversions, you may want to adjust your targeting to focus on more specific keywords.
Testing different ad copy: Testing different ad copy can help you identify which messaging resonates best with your target audience. You may want to test different headlines, value propositions, and CTAs to see which ad copy generates the best results.
Adjusting your bids: Adjusting your bids can help you improve your ad positioning and increase your visibility in the search results. You may want to increase your bids for high-performing keywords or adjust your bids based on the time of day or day of the week.
Adding negative keywords: Adding negative keywords can help you exclude irrelevant search queries and improve your targeting. You may want to add negative keywords based on search terms that are generating a lot of clicks but few conversions.
By monitoring and optimising your campaigns on an ongoing basis, you can improve the performance of your PPC ads and achieve better ROI. It’s important to be patient and persistent with your optimisation efforts, as it may take time to see the full impact of your adjustments.
PPC Top Tips
As a little bonus, we thought we’d include some of our own top tips that we have discovered when creating and optimising our own PPC and Google Ad Campaigns.
Use Ad Extensions to Enhance Your Ads
Ad extensions allow you to add additional information to your ads, such as your phone number, address, or additional links. Using ad extensions can make your ads more informative and engaging, which can increase your click-through rates and conversions.
Track Your Competitors
Monitoring your competitors’ PPC campaigns can give you valuable insights into their strategies and help you identify areas where you can improve your own campaigns. Tools like SEMrush and Google itself can help you track your competitors’ ad spend, keywords, and ad copy.
Don’t Neglect Your Landing Pages
Your landing pages play a crucial role in converting your clicks into conversions. Make sure your landing pages are optimised for your target audience, with clear calls to action and relevant information. Consider adding multimedia elements like a video to further enhance the user experience.
Don’t Make Too Many *Big* Changes
Technically, your ad campaigns will start running within 24 hours of going live but your return on investment won’t be immediate. This is because on average, it takes around 3 months for an ad campaign to mature. A word of advice, we’d recommend limiting any seismic changes to your campaigns outside of the realm of your standard optimisation work.
Loop Digital PPC Agency
At Loop Digital, we recognise that getting started with PPC and online advertising can be a daunting experience. We want you to know that our experts are on-hand to help. As a Google Partner-certified agency, we have continued to provide exceptional customer experiences and outstanding results for our clients.
For more information about how we can support you in generating new customers for your business, you should check out our PPC services or speak to one of our experts.
Vinod is an indispensable asset to our team, serving as a highly skilled Paid Search Specialist. With an exceptional ability to analyse competitors and identify innovative strategies, Vinod continuously strives for excellence in his work. His profound passion for writing and effective client communication further strengthens his ability to deliver outstanding results. Vinod’s unwavering dedication to tackling challenges head-on in order to achieve tangible and remarkable outcomes sets him apart. Bringing with him a wealth of knowledge, Vinod embarked on his educational journey, pursuing a Master’s degree in Marketing at UOB. Although not yet completed, his extensive coursework has equipped him with a comprehensive understanding of the intricacies of marketing. Vinod’s acute understanding of client needs enables him to develop targeted campaigns that not only surpass competitors but also drive significant growth for our clients. Beyond his professional pursuits, Vinod indulges in his passion for music by playing the guitar, honing his skills, and channelling his creativity. Additionally, his love for football provides him with an outlet to foster teamwork, resilience, and a competitive spirit. Vinod’s expertise as a Paid Search Specialist, coupled with his unyielding enthusiasm and commitment to delivering exceptional results, make him an invaluable member of our team. His ability to analyse competitors, craft compelling campaigns, and foster strong client relationships propels our clients toward unprecedented success.
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