(The following blog post (re-posted from an earlier date) was a writing test prepared for eZanga. This post was published on the eZanga site and is available at http://blog.ezanga.com/blog/5-mistakes-thatll-derail-your-ppc-campaign.)
You probably already know that Pay-Per-Click advertising or PPC is a huge, potentially lucrative online marketing technique and a valuable tool to have in your ad campaign toolbox. By displaying your ads on desktops and mobile devices, you reach consumers anywhere they are. Consumers will see your ad and hopefully click on it. Sure, that click is going to cost you a little cash—PPC is an investment, after all, but like all good investments, if it’s made wisely, the payoff is a handsome return. In this case, conversion to a sale and a tidy profit for you. Party on!
PPC – Advantages and Disadvantages
Like other online marketing tools, PPC has many advantages:
• PPC is easy and generates traffic immediately. PPC ads bring traffic to your site as soon as your ad goes live which is great if you want fast results.
• PPC campaign results are easily measured. Most PPC networks utilize metrics to determine if ads generate conversions and profit.
• PPC puts you in the driver’s seat. In a PPC ad, you control how the ad looks, where it’s published, and the audience you’re trying to reach. You also control what keyword searches make your ad appear.
• PPC ads are easily revised. The ability to quickly revise your PPC ad allows you to meet ever changing market trends to remain competitive.
• PPC ads are cost effective. Placing ads for some keywords can cost as little as one thin dime. If that click leads to conversion, you make a profit.
One word sums up the disadvantages of PPC—mismanagement. Here are five ways, if mismanaged, your PPC ad campaign will not help you achieve your goals.
1. Not Developing a Strategy
When you invest money into a PPC ad campaign, you must develop a strategy and tactics (daily activities) to implement the strategy. You may have set your goals, but without a strategy, you may not achieve those goals. First, make sure your goals are clearly defined. Ask yourself key questions to help establish goals:
• What do you wish to accomplish?
• When do you want this to happen?
• Are these goals attainable? (Set realistic goals.)
• What benchmarks will you measure to gauge success?
Once you’ve set clear goals, devise the strategy that will help you achieve them and the tactics to implement the strategy.
2. Choosing Keywords Poorly
Some PPC advertisers sacrifice too much of their budget to broad match or highly competitive keywords that may not lead to conversions. You want to be at the top of the SERP and the broadest searched keywords may seem to be your best bet for getting there and attracting traffic to your site, but they will eat up your budget in a New York minute.
If your budget gets used up too quickly, you’ll end up with lost clicks and, more importantly, those sought-after conversions won’t happen. Instead, think like a customer and choose keywords relevant to your product or service. A long-tail keyword strategy would benefit a company with a modest budget in a highly competitive market. For example, the long-tail keyword “dress shirts with French cuffs” would be less costly to an online shirt company than the highly competitive “shirts”.
Selecting the right keywords is one way to create a successful PPC ad campaign. Important things to consider are:
• PPC Keyword Research. Use keyword research tools and analytical data to find keywords relevant to your products or services.
• Keyword Grouping/Organization. Highly effective PPC campaigns organize keywords into tightly related groupings.
• Negative Keywords. Setting negative keywords filters out unwanted clicks.
• Keyword Bid Optimization. Allows you to maximize your budget by focusing your spending on the keywords that best suit your needs.
The bottom line when creating PPC ads, is to choose the right keyword mix or it will affect your bottom line.
3. Not Tailoring Your Ad to Your Audience
Remember earlier when we talked about setting goals and determining strategy? Somewhere in that process is where you need to determine who you’re trying to reach. Who is your audience? If you’re selling skateboards, you don’t want to appeal to people of a certain age. Let’s face it, few octogenarians have a passion for longboards or perfecting their ollie.
The key to success here is to write emotional ads that appeal to your target audience so that they’ll click your ad and buy your product.
4. Focusing on the Wrong Performance Measurements (or Not Tracking Metrics)
Tracking the results of your marketing efforts, particularly PPC, is integral to the success of your ad campaign. You want to make sure that your campaign is meeting your goals. To that end, there are some things you can do to measure how well your ads perform:
• A/B Testing. This is a way of testing two slightly different versions of an ad campaign to see which one performs better. Even small changes can result in a significant increase in profits.
• Incorporate New Copywriting Techniques. Get creative with your ads. Steer clear of bland, boring ads. Make them come alive.
• Trust Indicators. Add testimonials. Consumers (especially Millennials) want to know what other peoples’ experiences with your product have been.
• Include Pricing. For me, if I see a product with no pricing, I immediately think the product must be expensive. Providing the cost may make consumers more willing to click.
• Modify Your CTAs. You want consumers to click, but how do you MAKE them click? Try adding a Call to Action. Compel them to click.
This list is not all inclusive, but these tips will help you measure your PPC ad’s performance and allow you to make changes that will help you reach your goals.
5. Sending Consumers to the Wrong Landing Page
Sending visitors to the wrong landing page may be a costly mistake. If you’ve attracted a consumer’s attention by displaying an ad with a beautiful silver necklace and they click the ad to potentially buy that necklace, but your ad directs them to your homepage, a totally different product, or worse, a broken link, you may have lost that customer (as well as any others drawn to the silver necklace in your ad.)
At best, your decision to direct the customer to your homepage will frustrate them, especially if they can’t find the necklace on your site. At worst, you have paid for a click that won’t result in a conversion and has likely alienated the consumer.
I know. You worked hard on your homepage. You want visitors to see all the wondrous products your site has to offer. What they want, the thing that drew them to your site, is the beautiful silver necklace, so give them the bloody necklace! It’s a win-win. They get the necklace, you get a conversion, and maybe, just maybe, they’ll continue to shop or visit your site again to see all of those wondrous products you have to offer. Make sure your visitors land in the right spot.
Conclusion
To maximize the potential of your PPC ad campaign and realize your goals, develop a strategy to achieve those goals and tactics to execute your strategy. Choose keywords wisely and incorporate a good keyword mix. Tailor your ad to your audience. Measure your ad’s performance by tracking the right metrics. Finally, send visitors to the correct landing page and optimize the page for maximum results.
Anthony Renaldi 
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