Pay Per Click StrategiesBetter Search Engine Marketing / Pay-Per-Click Results Start Here – We Guarantee It!

The title of this post sounds like an oxymoron, we know. But we’ll explain why it’s really not. You really can use your Pay Per Click (PPC) campaign to drive free traffic to your site.

Successful Affiliate Marketer Explains How Pay Per Click Marketing Drives Free Traffic
No matter how much money you invest in pay per click marketing, only a certain percentage of it will come from these efforts. Now, it may be significant, for sure. For example, one successful affiliate marketer says that about 60% of her traffic comes from PPC advertising.

She goes on to explain that she uses PPC to drive traffic to her sites initially. And then, something amazing happens. She says that once you drive traffic using this paid method, the search engines stand up and take notice of your site. The reason is simple – search engines pay attention to sites that get traffic; they rank them higher.

Now, it’s like that success feeds on itself. Once you start to get traffic, search engines notice. Once search engines notice, they rank your site higher – which means it gets even more traffic.

This last part is significant because it means you start showing up higher in organic traffic results – ie, getting free traffic.

The bottom line — even with a small budget, pay per click marketing is a great way to start getting traffic to your site. As discussed here, this initial push can get you on the path to getting free (ie, organic) traffic.

A landing page is as critical to your pay per click campaign as the ad that gets them to click through to it.

Following are two tips that will make it convert more prospects.

Simple Works Best: Clean, simple, straightforward landing pages convert best. Many pay per click marketers may think of these types of pages as boring. It’s understandable.

When you work with a product/service, you know it day in and day out. You long for a “fresh, new, exciting” way to convey the benefits of using it (your landing page does convey benefits, doesn’t it?). BUT, the visitors to your landing page are not thinking that way.

They may know a little or a lot about your product or service. They want a landing page that gives them the information they need to make a decision. This is usually dispensed in a straightforward manner.
So, don’t try to be cute, thoughtful or funny on your landing page. Be specific – in plain language — and it’ll convert better.

Instruct Your Visitors: What we mean by this is, tell them what you want them to do every step of the way. Many spend tons of money on their pay per click campaigns, but forget the simplest of instructions.
If you want visitors to your landing page to subscribe to a monthly newsletter, say so. IE, subscribe to our monthly newsletter here and get the free report, “Blah, Blah, Blah” in your inbox instantly).

Notice how this simple sentence does a few things:
(i) it lets them know the frequency of the newsletter; it lets them know that the info you’re going to give is free; and (iii) it tells them how they’ll receive the report.

These landing page tips are simple – and we meant them to be. Why? Because sometimes pay per click campaign managers get so hung up on the more intricate aspects of Pay Per Click marketing that they forget obvious, simple things like this.

Don’t! Good luck with your PPC marketing efforts.

Every pay per click marketer knows that the success of any campaign depends on the keyword selection. But, it goes a step further than simply choosing the right keywords. Once chosen, keywords should be classified.

What Is Keyword Classification?
Keyword classification is where a pay per click marketer categorizes keyword phrases according to where they should be used during the sales process. For example, let’s say you have 75 keywords that you want to use in your pay per click campaign. You would go through and group your keywords by which action they are likely to cause prospects to take.

In the beginning of the buying process, you’d probably want to use keywords that generate qualified traffic and interest. The types of keywords you’d use during this phase are broad.

For example, let’s say you were selling affordably priced laptops. Some keywords you’d use might be cheap laptops, discount laptops, etc. During the middle part of the buying process, consumers want more information. So key phrases used during this phase might include those that lean toward things like product reviews and consumer feedback (eg, cheap laptop reviews).

During the final part of the buying process, consumers are usually focused on specifics. So, your pay per click keyword phrases might include specific products and brands (eg, Dell Inspiron Mini 12).

The key to any pay per click campaign is planning. Hitting small goals along the way will ensure that you convert more prospects overall.

If you’ve spent any time managing a pay per click campaign, you know that it takes diligent management to ensure that you don’t overbid for keywords, maintain your rank and get the maximum ROI (return on investment). Bid management software can help you manage all of this easily, and free you up to attend to other matters in your business.

Note: Before we discuss some of the things bid management software can do for you, just a note of caution. We advise that you be as hands-on with your pay per click campaigns as possible in the early stages. This way, you’ll learn the ins and outs of this lucrative form of internet marketing quicker.

Then, when and/or if you do decide to use bid management software, you will know exactly how to make it work most effectively for you. With that being said, following are three benefits of using bid management software.

3 Benefits of Using Pay Per Click Bid Management Software

• Prevent Overbidding: Pay per click bid management software can help you keep your keyword rankings on target, without overbidding for them. It does this by regulating your bids and turning off keywords during certain hours.
• Increase Your ROI: Pay per click bid management software can increase your ROI. It does this by placing your listing in the most cost-effective position for you. You don’t have to waste time doing this manually.
• Cross Platform Functionality: Most pay per click bid management software will work across platforms, ie, Yahoo!, Google, etc. This means you don’t have to waste time navigating different search engine account interfaces.

Pay Per Click bid management software is an excellent tool to add to your internet marketing arsenal – once you understand the nuances of PPC campaign management from the ground up.

It’s prime time to target holiday buyers and profit from the increased traffic and consumer spending. If you haven’t already built seasonal keywords into your Pay Per Click campaigns, there is still time! Read on to learn a few tips on applying holiday related keyword phrases to your PPC campaigns.

Here are a few PPCto help you reach holiday buyers: tips

1. Research the keywords that are searched most often during the holiday seasons. Check out Google’s Hot Trends tool to learn what people are searching for and review popular searches. Keep in mind timing, Christmas related searches start as early as September according to Google Trend data. Build popular seasonal keywords into your campaigns now!

2. Incorporate holiday related (seasonal) keywords into your campaign. Your keyword should match what your potential customers are searching for during the holiday. Here’s a Christmas example using holiday related keywords: Christmas toys, holiday toys, toy gifts, Santa Claus toys…

3. Research your competition and learn their ad copy strategies. Do a search on your keywords and review the ads that you are competing with. Also try using longer keyword phrases that your competition is not using.

4. Streamline your PPC campaign management and set up different campaigns for each season/holiday. When the season ends, you can turn the campaign off until the next year.

5. Be sure to analyze your seasonal keywords and campaign results to plan for higher ROI next year.

Make the most of your PPC advertising this holiday season!