Click, click, click. It is the sound of your marketing budget going down, down, down. Pay-per-click (PPC) seems like a great way to boost your reach without paying a fortune. You pay money, and Google or another platform puts a link to your content from website writers in an ideal spot. You only have to pay for each click a user makes on your link. You want them to click, but if they do not buy, you lose money. With these tips, you can get past the clickbait and get real conversions for your investment.
Try Different Keywords
In the world of PPC, the keyword you choose makes all the difference in the money you will pay. The more generic and popular the keyword, the more competition you will face from other businesses when you bid on Google AdWords. If you have already tried to focus your SEO campaign on a few keywords and they do not seem to be very productive, you may need to shift your entire strategy. Even adding the city is not going to be super attractive all the time, especially if you want to rank on something like “talent agent Los Angeles” (which returns 12,800,000 results). With the improvement of voice-recognition software like Siri, people are making long-tail keyword searches the order of the day. So, instead of putting your hopes on “Albany café” (18,700,000 results), you might try “Where is the best café in Albany?”
Track Conversions
Once you have chosen a few keyphrases that may serve you better, you should make it a point to track conversions. It is not difficult to find software that will do this for you. You want to collect data on the number of people who click through, where those people came from and whether or not they actually bought one of your revolutionary products or signed up for a service. As you are working to refine your marketing strategy, do not hesitate to be ruthless about your expectations. It does not matter how cheap the cost-per-click (CPC) rate is. If it is not converting to sales, you are losing money.
Revise Content Strategy
The content that you link to for your PPC campaign is the other side of the coin for improving conversions. Google wants you to link to a page that is supremely relevant to the keyword. You also need the page to be slick, informative, easy to browse and most importantly, encouraging for buyers to act. Avoid just linking to your homepage or contact page. Instead, link to a delightful blog post, product or service page with chipper content written by website writers, plus plenty of links to “buy now” or request services.
By now, you know that if you want PPC to work for you, you need more than just clickbait. You need conversionbait. With new keywords, conversion tracking software and a solid content strategy, you will watch your marketing budget for PPC turn into a real improvement in your bottom line.
Holly S is an avid cook and baker who focuses on natural food that tastes wonderful. She has an extensive background in college debate, and so she has always had a love for argument and discourse.
