5 Common PPC Mistakes To Avoid In Your Business

If you want to benefit from pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, you need to have clarity and intent when integrating it as a digital marketing tool. The most challenging aspect of PPC advertising is that it is by no means an exact science. There is a lot of experimenting involved in getting the correct formula for your business and budget. The rewards, however, can be substantial with Google reporting up to double revenue for the budget spent in some cases. Let’s take a closer look.

5 Mistakes To Avoid To Fast-Track Success in PPC Sdvertising 

If you’re set on success in PPC advertising, here are the most common mistakes that business owners tend to make (and suggestions to help you fix them).

1. Neglecting The Data 

Before making any hard and fast decisions about how your campaign is doing, and which ads and keywords to target, carefully analyze all the available data. You may find that you are doing well overall, with plenty of clicks and conversions, and so you might decide to keep your current spread of ads as it is. However, parts of your campaign may be working well, while others are not working at all. One or two of your ads may be carrying your entire campaign. Analyzing the data allows you to shift your strategy and spending to maximize your results.

2. Avoiding Negative Keywords

Many marketers either forget, neglect, or choose to ignore negative keywords. This can be a big mistake. While it may seem counterintuitive to target keywords that are meant to keep people away from your website, it is actually one of the best ways to establish your niche and make sure that you attract only visitors who are most likely to become paying clients. You would be doing both yourself and internet users a favour by establishing these limits at the very beginning. Yes, negative keywords will lead to less traffic, but they will eliminate only the non-converting visitors and ensure that you get the right traffic.

3. Forgetting About Ad Extensions 

Ad extensions can increase your click-through-rate by 10-20% – and they don’t cost any extra – yet many people forget to include them in their campaigns. Ad extensions can increase your ad’s reach, they can provide better value for money, and they offer more ways to reach you while increasing your online visibility. They may include contact details, site links, invitations to download an app (if you have one) or testimonials from your customers, among other things. Be sure to include as many of them as you can.

4. Not Bidding on Your Own Brand’s Keywords 

You should always run at least one campaign that is dedicated to your own brand keywords. The main advantages of doing so are that brand keywords are generally much cheaper, yield higher search scores and convert much better than generic keywords. By neglecting to set up brand keyword PPC campaigns, you miss out on opportunities to capture your market.

5. Incorrect Keyword Targeting

Sub-optimum keyword selection is a mistake that many companies make in their search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. It can be particularly costly when it comes to PPC, as choosing the wrong keywords can result in either no hits at all or hits that don’t convert to sales, but which you still have to pay for. One of the best ways to target your PPC ads is with long-tail keywords. The main characteristic that distinguishes long-tail keywords from short-tail ones is that they usually consist of two or more words that resemble detailed queries. In contrast, short-tail keywords generally consist of single words or phrases without context. Using long-tail keywords will narrow your traffic considerably and help ensure that your PPC costs are worthwhile.

As with SEO marketing and content marketing, your PPC advertising strategy can command a large part of your budget, and you need to be sure that you’re getting an optimal ROI. If you want to ensure the best results, connect with WSI Digital Boost for professional assistance. We will help you to improve your PPC strategy and get the best return for your budget.