Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Common PPC Advertising Mistakes And How To Avoid Them

By Brian Basch

Pay per click allows you to target specific markets by their interests or where they live, making it a great advertising option. Results can be measured with statistics and spending controlled to suit. It's very much viable for small business owners who might be considering things like television, news print and radio.

Like anything else, PPC has disadvantages and shouldn't be entered into without doing your homework. Hundreds or even thousands of dollars worth of advertising could be wasted if you attempt a campaign that isn't planned and doesn't have a strategy. There is a lot of information offering guidance when deciding your PPC strategy, so it's a good idea to learn more about it.

Getting things off the ground is quite easy, provided you don't follow in the footsteps of others who have made these simple mistakes. The upside is that simple issues are easily fixed with pay per click, so if you do start out with a mistake you can turn it around very fast and start seeing results.

Mistake 1. Using your home page as a landing page isn't an effective way to convert clicks to sales. No matter what search engine you're using, the landing page is the key to making the sale. Deciding where customers are directed, instead of just showing everyone your home page when they click on an ad, is the fastest and best route for the customer. Start sending them to other links and places and they will get lost and return back to the search page, probably to click on one of your competitors ads.

When people click on your ad , they are looking for a very specific thing that you've been advertising. Landing pages can be specific to ads, so that the person is taken directly to what it is you are advertising. This way, the customer gets exactly what they are looking for. Landing pages should be focused on keywords or phrases used in the advertisement and don't clutter it up with other links or distractions.

Mistake 2. Landing pages that are confusing lose sales. Your PPC campaign will work by giving a customer an ad targeted to their keyword. The landing page they then arrive at should be related to that keyword, so don't give the customer an excuse to back out. Make it easy for them to find what they are looking for. You should have multiple landing pages if you are promoting multiple items with keywords or phrases.

3. Use of generic ad copy. You don't have a lot of space to work with when it comes to PPC ads. That means that you can't use phrases without meaning, such as "quality service". Even if these statements are true, they don't help bring in your prospects. Write your ad including specific keywords that potential customers will enter to find you. Use the main keyword in a captivating headline, and follow it up with the biggest benefit you can give your customers. Line three should include special features of the product or service, or an offer/discount. Specific keywords mean more clicks, and more effective clicks.

4. Low bids. Different search engines use different methods to determine where your ad goes. Yahoo and Google use the relevancy of your ad and the bid price to determine your positioning. It's a big mistake to not aim for one of those first few advertising positions, as much as 85 percent of people click on the first three on the list. So you need to put some careful thought into your ad to get the best results.

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