3 Tips For Running An Effective PPC (Pay-Per-Click) Campaign: Strategies For
Online Marketing Success
By Chris Malta & Robin Cowie

Pay-per-click campaigns can be
incredibly effective traffic generators.
Although achieving PPC search
engine rankings is more difficult
and competitive than when it began,
the number of online users that
employ search engines has grown
substantially, so there is a significantly
larger audience to be reached.

Many eCommerce entrepreneurs have
employed pay-per-click ads and lost
serious money simply because they
didn't understand what they were
doing. According to Internet marketing
strategist Catherine Seda, of
DriveTraffic Today.com, you can
avoid blowing your budget by
following some general guidelines in your PPC campaign:

• Chase the Tail

Stay away from broad keyword phrases, and even single keywords.
Cautions Seda, "They're too wide-ranging to hit a targeted
audience, and you're going to have significantly more
competition bidding." For example, if you sell car insurance,
bidding on the search term "insurance" will pit you against
other car insurance agencies, as well as health insurance, life
insurance, home owner's insurance, and the list goes on.

Dig deeper with your keyword list to find "tail terms" that are
made up of low cost, lower volume words, but that are
super-focused. Generally a tail term is made up of multiple
words: like the phrase "free car insurance quote." It might not
pull in massive amounts of traffic, but it's going to convert
very well because a user who types in that phrase is the precise
audience you're targeting.

• Read the Fine Print

When you set up your PPC campaign, you're going choose not only
your keywords, but also your estimated budget. Once your bill
hits the specified amount, your ads stop appearing in the search
results for the remainder of that budget period. This allows you
to know exactly what your maximum bill will be.

It's very important to be aware that this is normally an
estimated daily budget, not an estimated monthly budget. Don't
just race through the set-up, plugging in numbers without paying
attention to what they mean. If $1,000 is your maximum monthly
budget, you want to make sure that you aren't topping out at
$1,000 in clicks each day. Not paying attention is an excellent
way to rack up serious charges that can sink your business in a
matter of days or weeks.

• Make It Easy

Don't just dump your visitors on your web site's homepage and
expect them to do all the work. If they have to search around
your site, you'll likely lose them. If they found your ad by
searching for a particular product, take them directly to the
page that sells that product. If they clicked on your ad
promoting one dollar shipping, make sure the page on which they
land highlights the fact that you provide shipping for one
dollar.

It's also important to ensure that the information that caused
the user to click on your ad is above the fold. (In other words,
make sure it's immediately visible within the constraints of the
monitor). Don't make users scroll down to the bottom of the page
to find it, because they might not. You want to instantly
reiterate the message that your ad promotes, and reinforce to
visitors that they're in the right place.

By implementing good PPC practices, you can help ensure the
traffic that you drive converts well, and that your campaign is
profitable. States Seda, "Any E-Biz owner can benefit from a
smart, well-run pay-per-click campaign. Just be careful to keep
your ads and your marketing message focused, and you'll see a
big difference in your bottom line."






About The Authors:
Product Sourcing Radio is Created and Hosted
by Chris Malta and Robin Cowie of WorldwideBrands.com,
Home of OneSource: The Internet's Largest Source of Genuine,
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