As traditional and direct marketing response rates start to decrease, some people worry that PPC marketing strategies in general are starting to fail. In a press release shared on PR Web, Dave Sherwin stated that PPC marketing has passed its prime and is now falling to other marketing solutions. But not everyone agrees. Michelle Lowery, the Executive Editor of Chamber of Commerce.com, warns that the reasons PPC marketing campaigns fail is not so much about the PPC format itself, but the way that it is used.
Search engine optimization, pay per click advertising, and all kinds of other marketing are evolving as the Internet continues to develop. Mere saturation advertising no longer fits the bill. People want and respond to quality. Being effective in your PPC marketing requires the application of a few secrets.
Avoiding Bait and Switches
Michelle Lowery refers to “bait and switches” as being one of the most common reasons that PPC marketing campaigns are not successful for most people. Often times, businesses use images and links to draw customers in, but they switch them to something else. It’s important to finesse the potential client in order to convince him to click, but you must not let the finessing overcome the truth. Otherwise, your viewers will become agitated and not become customers. Adlift’s SEO and PPC services in Bay Area, for instance, need to focus on keeping PPC campaigns accurate while still creating interest.
Focus the Advertising Where Prospects Are
According to Search Engine Watch, the other way that you can make your PPC marketing more effective is to put your ads where your target audience will likely be. The saturation method often involves sending out advertising in all kinds of forms to many places. With the increasing sophistication of the PPC marketing tools, you can use a number of algorithms to develop the most appropriate ad presence. “Convert,” a book by Ben Hunt, recommends also incorporating the “readiness continuum.” In other words, focus in the places that your viewers will be receptive to your offers. Convert gives the example of grocery stores. The most effective grocery store campaigns focus on providing the coupons next to the products that the coupons can be used on, rather than just in random places throughout the store. People are more receptive to these coupons then. The same technique improves the results from PPC marketing.
Don’t Get Sidetracked by the Cost
The “Four Foundational Secrets to Effective PPC Advertising” recommends avoiding the penny analysis. Instead of focusing only on cost, businesses need to evaluate the rate of return on each of their campaigns. Businesses tend to make mistakes on both sides of this spectrum, with some assuming that the more expensive an ad is, the better, and vice versa. Instead, you must evaluate how high the rate of return is and whether it is worth it to keep going.
Promote Creativity
One of the primary criticisms against PPC marketing is that they tend to be unimaginative. Numerous packs with PPC taglines and base images can be purchased around the web. The same things are said over and over. Weight loss and fitness PPC ads often fall into this category, promising to drop those last five pounds or ten pounds fast. The limited nature of a thumbnail PPC can make it difficult to be creative, but creativity pays. The PPC Associates recommends integrating buzzwords and buzzphrases key to your business or product into the marketing. Through integrated marketing techniques, you can make the ad stand out. It’s all about developing the brand and not looking like every other PPC marketing campaign out there.
