When designing your pay-per-click ad campaign (PPC), choosing keywords and phrases carefully can help you grab the attention of those consumers searching on Google for whatever it is you’re offering. In fact, the right keywords are critical to the campaign, attracting potential customers, minimizing the cost of advertizing, and increasing your click-through rate.
Working with a pay per click agency in Surrey is one of the quickest, most effective, and affordable ways to get your keyword selection right, but if you prefer to go it alone, here are some questions to ask yourself, when creating your next PPC ad:
What makes a good keyword or phrase?
Relevant to whatever it is you’re selling, keywords and phrases must also be very specific, so much so that when one of them is typed into Google by a consumer, they must be looking for a business exactly like yours. What this means is that those people clicking on your ad are already geared up for buying your products or services.
What keywords will your customers use?
If a potential customer wanted to buy what you’re offering, what words would they type into a search engine to find it?
Are your keywords specific enough?
General words and terms should be avoided, along with the use of keywords that aren’t directly related to your PPC ad, but which are likely to generate traffic. All this will do is attract people who aren’t interested in your business, your costs will rise, and it could have a negative impact on your business.
Single keywords have a tendency to be too generic, while phrases that are longer are typically more targeted and specific.
Have you listed enough different variations of your keywords?
Not every customer will use the same terms for whatever it is you’re offering, or spell the words in the same way, so using variations of keywords is imperative.
Have you changed your language and location settings?
Location targeting must always reflect the place where you do business, and using the language and location settings can help you reach the right consumers, in the right place. Customized targeting enables your ads to appear only to those people in an area that you’ve specified, such as within a ten mile radius of your bricks and mortar business.
Do you understand keyword matching options?
There are several ways to match keywords using Google, and the way in which punctuation is used when you’re inputting keywords, indicates the matching type you desire:
- Broad match – this is Google’s default setting for every keyword, and when a person searches for words related to your keyword, your ad may appear. For broad-matched keywords, no punctuation is required.
- Broad match modifier – slightly more targeted than broad match, you place an emphasis on certain words by putting a plus sign before them. When people search using these words, or similar variations of them, your ad will be shown.
- Phrase match – targeted more tightly, phrase match means that your ad will only appear when a phrase matching your entire keyword phrase is typed in.
- Exact match – all searches must exactly match the keyword phrase or similar variation, and for an exact match, your keyword phrase must appear in square brackets. This type of matching might give you higher click-through-rates, or CTRs, because your ad only shows when your keyword phrase is specifically relevant to the person’s search.
Have you included any negative keywords?
When using Google ads in Surrey, omitting negative keywords can be helpful in preventing any irrelevant searches from triggering your ad; simply add a minus sign in front of a keyword to specifically exclude it.
PPC ads require a lot of careful planning and a sound understanding of how search engines work. If you don’t have the time or inclination to learn about this, but you want your PPC ad campaigns to be successful, you should consider working with a digital marketing agency. With their expertise and experience, they can make your ads speak to the right people, time and time again.
