Maximizing your click through rate for Google Adwords and other PPC campaigns can take time and lots ot testing, but there are several ways to fast-track your way to better ad performance. One of the most well-known strategies for improving PPC ad campaigns is to run several variations of the ad and monitor results; changing only a few words and sentences can make a significant difference to the click-through rate, and you can then discard the low-performing ads instantly.
There are other strategies you can apply to optimize your PPC campaigns. Peter Kent, author of the book ‘Pay Per Click Search Engine Marketing for Dummies’, reveals some strategies for creating successful, highly targeted campaigns and improving your Google Adword’s quality score. Here are some of those strategies.
1. Utilize negative match keywords. Negative match keywords are used to sift through prospective visitors and run your ads only to those who are more likely to be interested in your website. Implementing negative keyword matching in Google Adwords is easy. Just indicate the words you do not want to include in your campaigns and Google will automatically omit your ads on search results with your negative words.
2. Modify your CPCs for major keywords. The Google Adwords program allows you to edit your keywords in several ways, and changing the CPC for a campaign may be an effective way to boost performance. All you need to do is click the ‘Tools’ option in the Campaign Management tab and make changes directly to the campaign. This gives you complete control over the ad and makes it much easier to fine-tune your efforts.
3. Review and resubmit any rejected ads. Google Adwords will review every ad you submit and either accept or reject it. All rejected ads are stored in your Campaign Management section, and you can edit and resubmit them at any time. Review your work regularly and don’t be afraid to resubmit an ad after tweaking it with different keywords.
4. Run ads at different times of the day. ‘Dayparting’ is the technique of defining what time of day your ads should be run, and you can coordinate this for a better reach. For example, if you are promoting restaurant coupons, it may be a good idea to run the ads a few hours before lunch or dinner hours when people are thinking about where to go or what to eat.
5. Understand your target market. You need to understand your audience first before you can reel them in with your ads. Find out why they would be interested in your product. You might also want to look at existing promotions they are already responding and buying. See how these promotions talk to your market and how your market talks in discussion forums and blogs.
Fine-tuning an Adwords campaign takes time because we mostly use a trial and error approach. However, the above guidelines have already been proven to improve PPC campaigns faster. Apply them now on your campaigns and see results faster.
