PPC Management - Then And Now | Advertising

By KirtChristensen
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Word Count: 516

It used to be that getting an upper placing on highly searched, generic words such as China, business, running, and headache, for a nickel a click was easy. A search on Google would show that there were few results for this search and you would then know you had cheap clicks coming.

But as an advertiser you had a difficult time getting these general terms to convert, particularly before the advent of phrase- and exact-matching were in use. When someone entered a keyword there could be any one of a number of different specific things on his mind that he was looking for. The chances that he would click on your ad was slim and there was an even a slimmer chance of his buying your product.

Since then, the PPC management norms have changed. Now there is no minimum CTR, you don't have to worry about keeping the clicks up. Advertisers have gotten smarter over the fast few years and are able to take those non-specific terms and make of them opportunities for profitable information marketing.

So now it is worth the trouble to bid on general, non-specific, big-traffic keywords. But what is the secret to making them work?

Here is the answer:

Change your ads until you find a winner. Make copy changes and run trials, then more trials. This can be a lengthy process with plenty of failures but the victories will come if you will be willing to try and try again until you get a winner.

Utilize the full benefits of negative keywords.

With your ads you want those who you don't want clicking to be disqualified. When you offer "Golf Instructions: Free" you will get unsuitable folks clicking. However if you offer "Golf Video $49" those who are serious and likely to buy will be the ones clicking.

Fully utilize the clicks you pay for. Offer not only merchandise, but also information. Have a landing page where you can gather opt-ins, and offerings of free guides, tutorials, or e-courses of some type. This will make you into an information source, and make your customers stick with you and make your visitor value rise. Then those broad clicks will be worth paying for.

Managing PPCs - The New Rules

Each keyword in your list is actually its own market.

Every keyword represents a mindset that people have when they type it.

There is a wish, demand, query, or supposition prompting each of the words your customers uses to search with that they may not be totally aware of.

Keyword markets vary, some are larger and some are smaller.

For each keyword the competition will also vary.

Keywords will not deliver the same earnings to each person using it.

Some keywords will have an overabundance of competitors making the bid prices above market value and unrealistically high.

On the other hand there will be some keywords that, though they make up a better more reactive market, and are available using good keyword tools, are generally neglected.

When you mirror the language playing in your customers head, that is when he is going to buy from you.

About the Author

Need to optimize or "fix" your Adwords & PPC campaigns? Kirt Christensen manages over $600k in PPC spending & knows what it takes to make your account hum! When it comes to pay per click account management, he's the man!

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