Strategies for an Effective Pay-Per-Click Campaign

In today’s highly competitive environment, the majority of marketing and advertising activity is conducted online. People are using phones, tablets, computers, and other devices more than ever to research and purchase goods and services. Both of your existing and potential customers are spending more time online than ever, so focusing your digital marketing efforts to attract and retain them has never been more critical.

A pay-per-click (PPC) campaign is an advertising option where you pay the search platform to boost your chances of being positioned at the top of the search engine results page (SERP). PPC advertising involves paying for premium space on search engine results listings, many social media platforms, and other hosts on a “per-click” basis. Ideally, the host will show PPC ads to web users that are seeking products, services, or information related to the advertiser. This process connects potential customers with businesses based on the keywords or search terms (queries) they’ve entered.

PPC advertising is a great tool for field service companies seeking to generate fast results. Keep these tips in mind when creating your own PPC campaign:

• Set Clear Goals: Before developing a PPC marketing campaign, it is important to determine your exact goals. Are you seeking to boost sales by 30% more than last year? Perhaps you want to obtain 500 new subscribers to your monthly newsletter? Are you looking to expand the commercial side of your business? Setting clear and realistic goals is essential to stable growth as your marketing efforts take off. Consider working with a seasoned marketing organization to assess your goals, potential strategies and maximize your return on investment.

• Establish Your Budget: Start with a designated budget or choose maximum limits when beginning a PPC campaign. You always have the opportunity to make changes later. PPC offers limits based on your maximum spend per month, week, day, etc.

• Identify Your Target Audience: Although it is not perfect or always exact, PPC advertising can be directed toward specific audiences and demographics. For example, Google Ads offers demographic targeting based on age range and household income. You might want your ads explicitly shown to those in certain metropolitan areas where you offer services.

• Choosing Search Engines: What search engine options exist for PPC marketing? Google dominates this market. As most reports suggest, they have at least an 85% market share. The remaining (approximately) 15% is divided among Bing, Yahoo, Baidu, and others. It is generally recommended to include the smaller search engines in your PPC efforts to ensure your company gains maximum exposure.

• Consider Other Site Options: Aside from search engines, other platforms also offer PPC advertising. Facebook is a social media platform that has amassed billions of users. Facebook allows you to effectively target certain potential customers based on behavior, location, and various other options. YouTube is another platform that offers pre roll video advertising that can be very effective. A knowledgeable marketing partner can assist you with developing video advertising.

• Develop Effective Landing Pages: A PPC user that clicks an ad may be automatically directed to a customized landing page. This is a specific page that generally contains a call to action (CTA) that encourages the user to take some form of action. Examples might include requests to call you or subscribe to your updates. Your landing page should be compatible on mobile devices.

• Closely Track Campaign Progress: PPC campaigns give you continuous access to reporting data so you can track your results. Examples include the number of clicks made on your ad, information about the users who have clicked, the costs you have incurred, and much more. The tracking data serves as a tool for evaluating your marketing campaign’s performance and is critical to your ongoing decision making.

• Assess Competitor Activity: PPC marketing gives you various ways of analyzing your competitors. For example, Google Ads offers reporting through Auction Insights that shows information such as who else is bidding on certain keywords. This may be critical in better optimizing the prices you are willing to pay to remain competitive. Perhaps a competitor is bidding on some keywords that you overlooked?

• Use PPC As Part Of A Comprehensive Marketing Plan: PPC should be part of your company’s overall marketing strategy. PPC has an advantage over many other forms of advertising, such as the ability to clearly quantify a campaign’s cost-effectiveness. You may also consider expanding your business by networking in your local community, content marketing, email marketing, and many other marketing activities.

• Successful Marketing: Make the most out of your online efforts with help from FieldRoutes. The team of experienced professionals create customized marketing strategies for field service companies. We know the industry well, and we understand how to maintain your organization’s presence across the many channels that exist today.

Contact the experts at FieldRoutes™ to schedule your demo.