5-tips-for-launching-a-pay-per-click-advertising-campaignWant to launch a pay-per-click (PPC) ad campaign? It’s definitely one of the best ways nowadays to advertise and create brand awareness. However, it’s important to keep in mind that PPC does not immediately and miraculously convert into sales. You need to work hard and work smart to get your ad campaign really going. If you are ready to do this, read ahead for helpful tips on how to launch a PPC ad campaign:

1. Launch with Goals in Mind

Online advertisements are not a magic spell that will begin the moment you buy an ad. If you want a great PPC campaign, you need to approach the effort with objectives in mind. For example, do you hope to sell a product with the ad or get people to sign up for a free trial for a service? The objective matters a lot when getting the ad copy right. Knowing what you want out of the campaign will help you choose the right keywords and perfect the text copy.

2. Think about Other Search Engines

PPC ads are search engine specific. Google AdWords services are currently the most popular in the world, but there are other search engines as well, such as Bing and Yahoo. Google is not always necessarily the best search engines for all target audiences. For example, if you are trying to market to people in China, you need to advertise on Baidu, not Google. Likewise, think about what the best search engine might be to reach your target audience, and plan your campaign accordingly.

3. Budgeting is Important

PPC ads are cheap, so most marketers do not really think about setting a budget before beginning. Unless your company really has a bottomless marketing budget, you really need to start with financial limits in mind. Costs will vary depending on the scope of your campaign and the competitiveness within your industry. Setting a budget will help you focus on what’s important, instead of buying largely ineffective ads. If you are just starting out, it’s smart to start your PPC campaign with a $100 budget. Learn what you can accomplish with this amount first.

4. Research the Keywords and Search Terms

Do not pick trending keywords without a second thought. The search phrases, terms, and keywords you choose should be relevant to your industry, and, more importantly, desirable to your target audience. Know what your potential customers are searching for on a particular engine to choose products or services such as the ones you are selling. Then use these keywords in your ad copy. While picking out keywords may seem straightforward, it actually does involve some work. You will have to spend significant amounts of time researching the ones that will mostly be effective for the audience you are targeting.

5. Write a Killer Ad Copy

It will ultimately be the ad copy that attracts your potential customers. Therefore, this has to be perfect. Generally speaking, for online ads, ad copies are kept very short and to the point. Often it’s the keyword that is emphasized. You won’t have enough space to convince potential customers with lengthy purple prose. So, learn how to get the ad copy just right. See what marketers and advertisers more successful than you are doing and try to follow suit.

Once you have mastered the above, don’t forget to perfect the landing page too. This is the webpage that the link on the ad takes the clicker to. The landing page must be optimized to convert a visitor to a customer. Otherwise, your ad would have gone to waste.