4 Signs You Need a Better PPC Search Strategy
March 13, 2024
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You’ve set up your first campaign on Google Ads. You’ve worked on the PPC strategy, chosen your keywords, selected your bid range, and crafted your ad copy.
The only issue? You’re not getting the results you expected.
Before you panic and start spending more money, take a step back and breathe. It’s likely that your paid advertising strategy just needs a bit of a rethink.
Here are some of the red flags that will alert you to below-par PPC strategies and what you can do to make things right.
1. You’re blazing through your PPC budget
You’ve set a specific budget on Google Ads, but you’re finding that it’s gone in just a couple of clicks.
Sometimes it’s necessary to spend money to get good results in Google Search Ads. For example, if you work in the legal, gambling or real estate sector, it’s not uncommon to pay $40 for a click.
However, if you’re not getting a solid return on ad spend (ROAS) and your cost-per-click is creeping up, it’s time to look at your PPC strategy.
If you’re depleting your Google Ads budget too quickly, a great place to start is by adding negative keywords.
These are a list of keywords you can add at campaign, account, or ad group level. If someone searches for a word or phrase in your negative keyword list, they won’t see your ads.
This means you don’t waste money on searches that are irrelevant to your business.
2. You’re not spending money at all
While spending your PPC budget too quickly is a major concern, the opposite is true too. If you’re not getting through your budget, it could be a sign that your campaign is poorly optimized.
Of course, there will be times when it takes days, even weeks, to blitz through your allocated budget. For example, if you’re bidding on super-niche keywords or focusing on branded keywords, which generally have a low cost-per-click.
But most of the time, it means you’re missing out on potential impressions, clicks, and leads.
In this situation, it’s worth checking your keywords one by one. Look at the impressions you’re getting and see if you can do anything to move the needle.
For example, if you’re using exact match, shifting to phrase match can mean your ads get more views, but your traffic is still highly targeted.
It’s also worth seeing how much you’re bidding on each keyword. While you don’t want to overspend, underspending can mean your ads won’t make the first page of the Google search results.
Google Ads offers automated bidding strategies that can do the hard work for you, but it’s still important to check your account regularly to make sure you’re getting value for money.
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Get In Touch3. You’re getting traffic to your site, but the wrong kind
People are clicking on your Google Ads and visiting your site. That’s fantastic news… isn’t it?
The issue is that these people aren’t your ideal target audience. This means they’re not interested in what you have to offer, meaning you’re wasting time, money, and resources on your PPC strategy.
Before you begin creating your ads, it’s vital that you know who your target audience is. This makes it easier to develop a paid marketing strategy with them in mind. As a result, you can focus on the right keywords and create copy that resonates specifically with your ideal customers.
As well as developing a negative keyword list and using phrase and exact match keywords, we recommend using targeting in Google Ads.
This allows you to show your ads to people in specific countries and regions, as well as on particular devices. For example, if you sell an app for iOS, you’ll probably not want to promote it to Android users!
Another fantastic option is to use audience targeting. This allows you to target people based on their interests, purchase history, and key demographics like age and gender.
4. You’re not getting conversions
Let’s imagine a slightly different scenario. People are clicking on your ads, and they’re exactly the customers you want to target.
However, when they land on your website, they’re leaving as soon as they arrive. This means a high bounce rate as well as wasted ad spend.
It’s vital to consider the entire journey when putting your PPC campaign strategy together. As well as your Google Search Ads, you need an enticing, user-friendly website that drives conversions.
One of the biggest issues we see is when Google Ads take prospective customers directly to a homepage. A homepage has so many links and functions that it can end up confusing your website visitors, especially if this is the first time they’ve landed on your site.
It’s much better to create a highly targeted landing page designed to solve pain points and sell a solution.
Another bonus of a well-developed landing page? It can boost your quality score in Google Ads. The higher your quality score, the less you pay per click!
Takeaways
Need help with your PPC marketing strategy?
Paid search advertising is a fantastic way to get your business to the top of the search results and drive targeted traffic to your website. However, it’s vital to get your PPC campaign strategy right first. Otherwise, you won’t see the benefits. If you want to give your paid search campaigns and strategy a refresh, a PPC audit is a great place to start.
Our expert team will identify areas of wasted spend, suggest ways to structure your accounts, and evaluate your ad copy. This will provide you with loads of actionable ways you can supercharge your paid search strategies moving forward.
With over $20 million in managed ad spend, plus Google Partner and Microsoft Advertising accreditation, it’s easy to see why we’re the PPC specialists you can trust.
Get in touch with us today and take the first step towards transforming your PPC marketing strategy.
Anastasiya is a Marketing Manager at Aimers. She excels in her strategic approach and brings valuable insights as an author on the Aimers blog.