As digital advertising expands to create bespoke but cost-effective solutions, the Pay-Per-Click or PPC software market is expected to thrive by 11.20% between this year and 2032, at which point the market is projected to reach $45.4 billion. Entrepreneurs who operate in highly saturated markets are finding that previously reliable marketing efforts, such as social media carousel ads or sponsored influencer posts, are no longer moving the needle. Rather, these are making a dent in the bottom line. If you have limited capital, it could make business sense to choose a campaign structure like PPC, which only charges you at a more stable point in the customer conversion journey: when a user clicks on your link to learn more or initiate a purchase.

With PPC, your ad will be more prominently displayed on search results for predetermined keywords. You can set a specific cost limit and targeting parameters to work with your advertising budget. When optimized well by pairing ads with the right keywords, you can expect higher click-through rates and a possible increase in conversions from organic traffic. To get the best possible results from your PPC campaign, keep a few pointers in mind.

 

Doing a PPC audit

Despite the many benefits of PPC, poor execution can create less-than-stellar results. A PPC audit allows businesses to identify gaps in their keyword or marketing strategy, spot new conversion opportunities, and avoid wasting ad spend. A post on conducting a PPC audit from Ayima details how the checklist should include a survey of the account structure, keywords, ad and landing page copy, bidding, and tracking. With your checklist down pat, determine a proper timeline for retroactive review, such as the date of a product launch or after significant changes to the website. Your audit should involve double-checking keywords to look for brand and non-brand overlap, which can negatively impact performance.

A review of landing pages is also necessary to refresh or correct copy and ensure that information is updated and is in line with the current stage of a campaign or your overarching business goals. You can use a tool-based PPC audit and have your team perform the check in-house or get a more comprehensive audit by an outside agency or consultant for discussion-based insights to back complex analytics.

Optimizing your PPC process

Campaign improvements are made because businesses want a return on investment (ROI) as soon as possible – the sooner, the better. This is why, before creating your next PPC campaign, it’s best to create a timeline with specific goals and milestones outlined in advance. This can include ideal cost per click, target cost per conversion, target number of conversions per month, and more. By tying goals to timeframes, your team will be better able to assess when a campaign is meeting its targets or is lagging behind. This allows them to be agile and make changes before the PPC campaign hemorrhages your advertising budget.

To enhance targeting and avoid confusion, organize campaigns by locale or country and create separate campaigns for various targeting methods like search or display ads. Search Engine Land explains how conversion rate changes in your industry should be checked regularly so you can see how to pivot strategically. For instance, fashion and jewelry saw a 34.9% year-on-year decrease, while beauty and personal care maintained stability.

In our previous post Five Steps to Building Your Entrepreneurial Platform, we discussed the importance of sharpening your competitive edge by collaborating with like-minded people. You can achieve or surpass your company’s PPC goals by working with professionals and industry peers who will support and enhance your ad strategy, building a foundation for sustainable growth and profit.

 

Article written by Rose Patterson

BIO: Rose Patterson is a freelance journalist, creative writer, and part-time editor. She is also an aspiring author looking to publish her own novel in the future.