PPC – The Ultimate Guide to Pay-Per-Click Marketing

The Basics of PPC

PPC (pay-per-click) marketing is a form of online advertising in which advertisers accrue costs when users click their ads. Advertisers bid on keywords and audience types, which a search engine matches to user search queries and predefined lists, and then displays ads.

PPC is used for all types of campaign goals, including:

• Increasing sales
• Generating leads
• Promoting brand awareness

PPC is all about relevance. Users are searching for specific products, services, and information at any given time. Advertisers have the ability to show a targeted ad at the exact moment this search is occurring.

Main Platforms

Google AdWords

Run on Google, Search Partner sites, and Display Network sites, AdWords is the largest pay-per-click platform. AdWords was launched in October 2000 and has gone through several iterations over the last 15 years. AdWords is geared toward the entire spectrum of companies from small business to Fortune 500.

Bing Ads

Similar to AdWords, Bing Ads is a pay-per-click platform showing ads on the Bing and Yahoo networks. The platform also utilizes Search Partners. Bing Ads is primarily keyword based advertising. As of 2014, Bing Ads has an audience of 553 million unique searchers worldwide*.

Account Structure

Campaigns and Ad Groups

Advertisers begin by choosing keyword themes and creating individual campaigns. Within this campaign are themed subcategories, called ad groups. Each ad group then contains themed keyword variations.

Keywords

Every keyword must be assigned a match type, which defines the queries for which ads will show. There are seven keyword match types:

• Exact – Query must be typed in exactly
• Exact (Close Variant) – Query must be typed in exactly, but can include misspellings or other variants
• Phrase– Query must be typed in correct order, even if there are additional terms before or after the query
• Phrase (Close Variant) – Query must be typed in correct order, even if there are additional terms before or after the query. Query can include misspellings or other variants
• Broad – Query can be typed in any order and will potentially show ads for similar searches
• Modified Broad – Query can be typed in any order, but must include terms that contain a plus sign
• Broad (Session-Based) – A form of broad match that takes into account other queries from that user’s search session

Negative Keywords

Along with the positive terms, negative keywords can be added to help eradicate unqualified traffic. For example, someone who searches for “free coffee table” isn’t looking to buy. By adding “free” as a negative keyword, the advertiser’s ad will not show when a query containing this term is typed.

Ad Copy

Text Ads

Once ad groups are created and the keywords chosen, ads can be written. Ads should include the targeted keyword theme, any value ads, and a call to action.

AdWords text ad structure and character limits are as follows:

• Headline – Up to 25 characters (including spaces)
• Description Line 1 – Up to 35 characters (including spaces)
• Description Line 2 – Up to 35 characters (including spaces)
• Display URL – Up to 35 characters (including spaces)

Bing Ads text ad structure is similar, but description lines 1 and 2 combined can be up to 71 characters.

Ads cannot contain excessive capitalization or punctuation. Additionally, the root display URL must match the root destination URL.

Mobile specific ads should be written for users conducting searches on smartphones. Mobile ads contain the same requirements, but should be written in a more concise manner. Mobile sites are generally condensed, easy to use versions of the desktop site. Mobile ads should follow the same practice.

Product Listing Ads (PLAs)

Product Listing Ads are square units used in eCommerce PPC campaigns that contain product titles, images, and prices.

PLAs utilize Google product feeds, and must be connected to a Google Merchant Center account. Bing Ads contains a similar feature called Product Ads that also requires the use of a Bing Merchant Center account.

Image Ads

Advertisers can run Display Network campaigns that utilize image ads. These ad units show within and around the content of millions of sites across the Display Network. There are 19 total sizes for image ads.

• 200 x 200
• 240 x 400
• 250 x 250
• 250 x 360
• 300 x 250
• 336 x 280
• 580 x 400
• 120 x 600
• 160 x 600
• 300 x 600
• 300 x 1050
• 468 x 60
• 728 x 90
• 930 x 180
• 970 x 90
• 970 x 250
• 980 x 120
• 320 x 50
• 320 x 100

Settings

Campaign Types

Search Network – This is the most common targeting option. The Search Network consists of google.com and Google’s Search Partners such as aol.com, amazon.com, and many more. The Search Network is primarily keyword based advertising. In other words, searchers type in queries for which ads are shown.

Display Network – This network consists of millions of sites that agree to show Google text, image, and video ads. These ads are shown within the site’s content and don’t utilize traditional keyword based targeting, but rather audiences and demographics. For example, a user may visit a blog that speaks to the history of coffee tables. Even though the user isn’t necessarily in a buying mode, the content is relevant to coffee tables. The user may or may not click the ad, but is ultimately now aware of the brand.

Search Network with Display Select – This targeting option is a combination of both networks. Campaigns are setup as you would a regular Search Network campaign, however, ads can selectively show on the Display Network. The caveat is that Google determines when and where ads may perform best, taking control away from the advertiser. The preferred option is to break out campaigns by network, but Search with Display Select is worth testing.

Shopping: Product Listing Ads – PLAs are shown on Google and Bing. After submitting a product feed to Google Merchant Center, Shopping campaigns can be created in AdWords. Advertisers create product groups to which they can bid on various feed attributes. These attributes include:

• Brand
• Category
• Condition
• Item ID
• Product Type
• Custom Attributes

Shopping campaigns do not contain keywords. Both search engines match user queries to the product they deem most relevant. Thus, it is important to ensure all products have accurate information as well as clear titles and descriptions.

Device Targeting

Ads can be shown across all devices, including:

• Desktops/Laptops
• Tablets
• Mobile Devices

Desktops/laptops and tablets are considered similar enough by the search engines that the same bid is applied to these platforms. Mobile devices can have a bid modifier. For example, if the bid is $1.00 and the mobile bid modifier is set to -50%, the bid on mobile devices becomes $0.50. A bid modifier of 150% would set the mobile bid at $1.50.

Location Targeting

PPC targeting is extremely granular, going down to the zip code level. Advertisers have many options to ensure that their ads show only in desired locations.

Budget

Each individual campaign is allowed a daily budget. Budgets should be created in accordance with account goals.

Delivery Method

There are two options for which ads are delivered: standard and accelerated. The standard delivery method shows ads evenly throughout the day. This option is good for advertisers who may have budget restrictions and want to ensure their ads show throughout the day. Depending on the budget concerns, ads will not show at all times. Accelerated delivery method shows ads until the budget is depleted. This option is best for advertisers who may not have budget restrictions and want to ensure their ads show for every query.

Ad Delivery

There are four options for which your ads will be delivered by Google:

Optimize for clicks – Delivery is based upon ads expected to produce higher click volume
Optimize for conversions  – Delivery is based upon ads expected to produce higher conversion volume
Rotate evenly – Ads will be rotated evenly for 90 days and then the better performing ads will be seen more
Rotate indefinitely  – Ads will always be rotating evenly

Fine! These are the basic tips of PPC. Read and learn more about PPC. Check our website to get more updates. We will come up with more details.

(Source: PPCHero)