How business is done has changed, but many have not adapted their business accordingly. Trade shows and face-to-face meetings are restricted and are now going virtual. With this “new normal,” your inbound sales strategy needs to pivot toward a different direction. In my last article, “Pandemic Marketing,” I challenged you to pivot and try Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising.

The problem? PPC can be overwhelming and daunting if you don’t know where to start. Which is why we have broken this process down into three steps that will get you started on your PPC journey.

Step 1: Competitive & Keyword Analysis

Before creating a PPC ad on Google, you want to ask yourself and understand the following question: How are customers finding my competitors, and what are they searching for to find them? There are a few ways you can get this information. You can scour social media and websites to see what your competitors are doing online to reach their audience. And you can use SEMrush.com.

SEMrush is a tool your business can use to learn how your competitors perform compared to your business. It can give you insights such as traffic analytics, keyword research, site audits, and more. We use this tool at Tulip Media to get an understanding of our Client-Partners’ businesses and what opportunities they may be able to leverage when we build their Google PPC campaigns for them.

Once you have done a competitor analysis and you start to see what customers are searching for, this is when you can use Google Keyword Planner to start to get an understanding of what keywords you can use in your PPC ads to get the traffic you desire. Your PPC ads are like a car and the keywords that you use are your fuel.

When looking at Google Keyword Planner and choosing keywords, the main things to pay attention to are the following:

• your location
• average monthly searches – the higher the better
• competition – you want low or medium
• average cost per click – if you have a budget of $15 a day for your ad campaign, make sure one click isn’t going to spend your daily budget
• Competition (indexed value) – the lower the better

Google Keyword Planner also gives you suggestions based on what you are looking up, so make sure you take a look at these recommendations. You would be surprised at the variations of phrases people look up!

But be careful and make sure to focus on keywords that make sense for your business and that are not too ambiguous.

Step 2: Audit Your Website & Landing Pages

Look at your website and landing pages to ensure you are optimized for the buyer’s journey. Is your site showcasing what problem the customer is having and what solution you have for them? Is your site easy for your customer to navigate? Can they easily order, contact you, or book a call? Are you utilizing keywords for ideal SEO optimization?

Your website and landing pages must have cohesive messaging with your Google ads. The last thing you want to do is have someone who is looking for your product or service click on your ad and you lose them because your messaging isn’t aligned on your website.

Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and make sure you are speaking to them at their level.

Step 3: Create a Google Ad

You now know what your core customer is searching for, you have your keywords, and your website is ready for all the new visitors that you’re about to have from your Google ads.

Once you have set up your account, tracking tags (for reporting), and goals, you can create your PPC ads in Google.

Since you are paying per click with your ads, you want to be very strategic and make sure your ads not only attract qualified customers but also repel those who are not qualified. This is why your messaging is very important and why it is recommended you do Step 1 first.

When creating a Google ad, there are 4 key components:

• Headline(s)
• Description 1
• Description 2
• URL

Within these components, make sure to use not only your keywords but also your value proposition, benefits, and—of course—your call-to-action.

Don’t forget to fuel your Google ads with the keywords your research shows as strong keywords. When it comes time to input your keywords, you have three main types you can choose from:

• Broad match – include misspellings, related searches, and other relevant variations
• Phrase match – match a phrase or any close variations of that phrase
• Exact match – exact term or close variations

One other type of keyword that often gets overlooked is a negative keyword. This is a keyword you have found that people are searching for that is leading them to click on your ad but they are not your core customer. For example, if you’re a watch distributor that doesn’t sell a certain brand of watch, you could add that brand as a negative keyword.

Always tweak, add, and remove keywords that are not relevant to you.

Your Work Isn’t Done . . .

You did it—you set up your first campaign! But your work is not done. With Google ads, you are always improving, tweaking, and optimizing your campaigns. Pay attention to the data that is showcased in your Google ad dashboard. This will give you valuable insights into what your core customer is looking for and allow you to adapt and improve your messaging over time. 

Not sure where to start but interested in learning more? Go to tm.media/smarketing to start your PPC journey today.