PPC

PPC campaigns can be particularly useful if you lack exposure due to poor SEO. Major search engines offer PPC management softwares like Google Adwords or Yahoo!Advertising. The number one PPC tool of the moment is Google Adwords, and I recommend starting with this one. If you see that your campaign yields good results, you can then consider replicating your campaigns on other search engines.

Setting up a PPC campaign is relatively simple. Making it profitable can be a bit more complex for most. There are many things to consider for that, but in the mean time I will just name a few basics.

PPC campaigns work on a bidding system for keywords. Basically this means that you bid for keywords that are relevant for you. If you want to sell shoes, your keywords will target footwear expressions. You want to be be careful in choosing your keywords. If you sell a specific type of shoe, say jogging shoes, then you want to select words that are relevant. If you lack inspiration, Google has a very useful tool you can use to select your keywords: the Google Keywords Tool.

Once you have your keywords, you’ll need to work on your ads. This is a very important part of your PPC campaigns, as it is the one thing that might entice people to visit your site. You have to realize that you will only be allowed a limited number of characters to deliver your sale pitch.

You want the ad title to have your main keyword, and include secondary keywords with a a call to action on the rest of the ad. Make sure your ads lead clicks to the appropriate landing pages.

When bidding for your keywords, start low. Watch how it plays and make the necessary adjustments by regularly checking your campaigns. If  your keyword quality score determined by CTR is high enough you’ll be able to get better rankings for your keywords at a lower cost.

Your quality score is determined by a set of factors, the main one being your CTR (click throug rate). The higher your CTR, the higher your quality score. If your quality score is high, even if you bid for a keyword at a lower price than a competitor who is bidding for the same keyword, your ad can get better rankings than your competitor for that keyword.

Tracking your conversions is essential. This will reveal your CPA (cost per action), and you’ll be better able to judge your ROI (return on investment). You’ll need to set up a tracker that you’ll paste in you action validation page (like a thank you page). The tracker can be found in Adwords « Reporting » tab under « Conversions ».

There are many other things to cover on PPC campaigns,