PPC for beginners – overwhelming, right? Many newbies will agree. But, you can skip the struggle if you acquire some solid knowledge about Pay Per Click (PPC) fundamentals and terminology.
PPC for beginners could fill an entire book, but this high-level overview serves as an ideal place to begin.
In this article:
Understanding PPC: For Beginners
What Is PPC and How Does It Work?
3 Benefits of PPC for Businesses
Setting Up Your First PPC Campaign
Choosing PPC Ad Platforms
Understanding the Account Structure
Doing Keyword Research for PPC
Writing the Ad Copy
Maximizing Your PPC Campaign Performance
Targeting Options
Negative Keywords
Remarketing
Tracking
Evaluating ROIFAQ: How can I successfully set up my first PPC campaign for optimal results?
4. Writing the Ad Copy
Creating engaging text ads is an art form. There are two major elements in a text ad. Within the allowable space, you can do quite a bit to hook prospective customers.
The headline: The headline is the very first thing people see on your ad – make it scroll-stopping. You can use up to three 30-character headlines max.
sample text ad.
Image credit: Google Ads Help
The description: This is the meat of the ad. You can use different assets to engage potential customers. Everything you include should demonstrate value, benefits and trust. And don’t forget to throw an eye-catching call-to-action into the mix.
With the basics explored, let’s get into some promising ways to maximize your PPC campaign return.
Understanding A Quick-Start Guide on Search Ads PPC: For Beginners
What Is PPC and How Does It Work?
Pay-per-click advertising (PPC) refers to online advertising where competitive bidding takes place for each click that goes out. Different firms bid to show ads to users on their chosen ad platform. You pay absolutely nothing unless someone clicks on your ad. That’s where the term “pay-per-click” comes from.
See also: 4 Practical Ways Beginners Can Succeed in PPC Ad Management
3 Benefits of PPC for Businesses
In this microwave society, simply coming up in the search results isn’t enough. You need to be seen first. Here are three reasons that PPC is such a gamechanger:
Traffic boost: Want traffic fast? PPC delivers faster than many methods out there. For many businesses, it’s the first segue into digital marketing, used to send search traffic to their site while they build their SEO presence in tandem, which is a longer game.
Precision targeting: Age, location, interests—you can segment your audience however you see fit. Tailored ads lead to better engagement rates and loads more bang for your buck.
Data: Every click tells a story. You can use insights from each campaign to sharpen future strategies or pivot entirely if needed.
See also: 8 Ways PPC Services Take Small Business Advertising to the Next Level
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Setting Up A Quick-Start Guide on Search Ads Your First PPC Campaign
As you set up your first PPC campaign, consider the following initial steps:
Search Engine Advertising
Search engines like Google offer PPC advertising through their ad platforms. Take Google Ads, for example. Here, keywords are king. Ads pop up in the search results when someone searches for what you have to offer. It’s straightforward and effective.
sponsored ads in search results.
Sponsored ads in the search results displayed at the top of the page
Display Advertising
Display ads come up when users peruse third-party websites. They are commonly shown in the form of ad banners, popups and videos.
Display ads can support the ad practice of retargeting (or remarketing), which keeps your brand top of mind when people have previously expressed interest in your brand by visiting your website.
bank of america display ad.
Bank of America display ad on a Forbes.com page
Social Media Ads
You can advertise on popular social media networks and create super-targeted ads based on the vast amount of data that social networks collect from their users.
HubSpot ad in Facebook
Of course, the power move is to use a mix of everything, keeping in mind which platforms and which ads are best at which stage in the customer journey. But many businesses simply start with one ad platform and expand from there.
Step 1: Put yourself in your target audience’s shoes. Think like them. What problems are they trying to solve? How do they describe their issues or needs? Create a “seed list” of keywords related to your business and your audience’s needs. You will use it for further research.
Step 2: Use tools designed specifically to perform keyword research. Google Keyword Planner is a classic go-to, but don’t stop there. SEO tools like our SEO Tool Set®, SEMrush and Ahrefs offer deeper insights into not only which keywords to target but also how competitive they are.
Maximizing A Quick-Start Guide on Search Ads Your PPC Campaign Performance
The average ROI for PPC ads is estimated to be $8 for every dollar spent (per Google). But getting to that number involves serious PPC skills.
As you launch campaigns, keep in mind that they require active management from start to finish. Don’t assume they will just run themselves!
Below are some promising ways to perfect your approach and maximize the efficacy of your ads; though this isn’t an exhaustive list, it’s a fantastic start:
Targeting: Make sure the right people see your ads.
Managing negative keywords: Keep refining those negative keyword lists. They’re key players in preventing wasteful spend.
Remarketing: Retarget your ads to past website visitors to keep your brand at the top of target audiences’ minds when they browse online.
Tracking progress: Take inventory of which keywords are drawing in high-quality traffic and leads or those that could cost too much/little.
Evaluating ROI: Learn to maximize your return for every penny spent.
Remember: Even miniscule changes can add up over time to produce substantial results.
1. Targeting Options
Target your ads only at people who need what you offer with precision by employing effective targeting techniques. Here are just a few approaches you could try:
Demographics: Age, gender and location are good starting points when targeting audiences.
Interests and behavior: Truly understanding your intended audience and what makes them tick is integral to your success.
Milestones: Reach out to people who have reached a major milestone.
This is just scratching the surface. When you use Google Ads, you can dive deep into audience segments.
2. Negative Keywords
Negative keywords are words or phrases you don’t want your ads to show up for.
Conversion Tracking
You can monitor your conversions in multiple ways on Google Ads. Just set up conversion actions in Google Ads and then install the Google tag on the backend of your site.
For more on this, see the Google Ads help file about conversion tracking.
It’s not uncommon to struggle with building your first PPC campaign. But it’s essential to get a handle on the best practices, as ill-crafted ads often translate to lackluster results and wasted budget. By following expert advice in areas like tracking, ad extensions, landing page optimization, bidding, ad copy creation and more, you can circumvent these challenges and claim substantial success.
PPC campaign success hinges directly on landing page optimization. It’s critical to ensure that the landing page you lead traffic to is painstakingly relevant to your advertisement. It needs a crystal clear message, captivating graphics and a CTA that’s incredibly easy to complete (a purchase button or sign-up form, for example). Cultivating a seamless and intuitive user experience is the objective here.
It’s also critical not to overlook tracking and analytics during your PPC campaigns. Tools like Google
Analyze what doesn’t work: Start by looking at terms that bring traffic but no conversions — these could be potential negatives.
Spy on competitors: Check out high-performing queries for them that aren’t relevant to you — another source of inspiration.
Leverage tools: Use platforms like SEMrush or Ahrefs to dig deeper into search trends and find unwanted terms sneaking through.
Using negative keywords effectively means which will eventually lead to an increase in the cost … fewer wasted clicks, better targeting and improved ROI. But it does require regular check-ins. You want fresh eyes on what’s working (or not).
3. Remarketing
Remarketing or retargeting gives you another chance at turning previous visitors to your site into customers.
Google Analytics
To further analyze your PPC ads, you should link your Google Ads account and Google Analytics (GA4) account together.
(If you have yet to set up Google Analytics, read Google Analytics 4: What It Is and How To Get Started).
This allows you to track what happens after a click when someone gets to your site, allowing you to get the big picture of ad performance.
Data matters because knowledge isn’t just power — it’s profit.
Analytics will help you out. Review click-through rates (CTR), cost per acquisitions (CPAs), conversion rates and more to see what’s working well and what changes need to be made. Continually keep an eye on these metrics as you craft and update your strategy.
To further augment your PPC ads and boost their impact, consider ad extensions like callouts, sitelinks, structured snippets and more. All of these components work to provide increased value to your prospects and raise your conversion rates.
Then there’s the concept of competitor analysis, where you seek to cultivate a solid grasp of what industry competitors are doing. SpyFu and Ahrefs are two insightful tools that give you a snapshot of their advertising strategies and overall performance. Businesses that use these tools and resources benefit from learning from their competitors’ successes and failures and can alter their campaigns accordingly.
Continually tweaking and perfecting your ad strategy is a necessity. Given how dynamic the digital ad environment is, you’ll need to make periodic adjustments for the best possible ad performance. Remain alert to changes in the PPC industry and be ready to adapt quickly based on what’s taking place now.
Experiments
Try running experiments to evaluate what cu lists works best and ditch what doesn’t.
5. Evaluating ROI
Digging into the data helps you better understand what’s really working. In general, you’ll allocate more budget to campaigns that drive conversions at lower costs per acquisition (CPA). This sounds straightforward because it is.
A well-oiled PPC machine runs efficiently, meaning every dollar counts toward reaching people who are genuinely interested in what you have to offer.
Know Your Numbers
The cost-per-click (CPC) varies wildly based on the platform and your industry. Do the math. This way, you can budget like a pro.
Review Your Goals
Are you reaching your goals? More brand awareness? A sales increase? Knowing this shapes how you allocate funds across campaigns.
Remember: Your settings could make or break things right from the get-go; think location targeting or choosing between manual versus automated bidding strategies.
Starting from scratch in PPC as a beginner can feel daunting, but having just a tiny bit more knowledge about your advertising choices, how PPC accounts function and ways to boost your success can give you a bit more confidence to get started.
Need a professional to build out your PPC campaigns? Looking for better results from your PPC efforts? Our PPC experts can help.
Schedule a free consultation
FAQ: How can I successfully set up my first PPC campaign for optimal results?
Building a PPC (pay-per-click) campaign that gets you results is an involved task. It requires a sophisticated strategic approach. But don’t worry – I’ll take you through every facet of campaign creation to help you create a campaign that hits the mark.
When crafted well, PPC campaigns are capable of driving large volumes of traffic straight to your site. The process typically involves everything from preliminary research to progress tracking and more, all of which are integral to your overall success.
To start, you’ll perform keyword research to find the unique terms and phrases potential customers use to locate services or products like yours. You can gain access to deep keyword insights with targeted resources like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or SEOToolSet.
As you’re targeting keywords, be specific; it’s the long-tail keywords that tend to attract the best leads, even though they have lower search volumes. Going this route can yield considerable results.
Choosing the right keywords alone isn’t nearly enough; you also need some strong ad copy that catches the eye and clearly explains what you offer. The most successful ads pull at searchers’ emotions, promise to solve a big problem and have a meaningful, persuasive call-to-action.
Test out multiple versions of your ads to decide which ones resonate with your target demographic. You want to set yourself apart from other businesses in the search engines.
We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention strategies around PPC bidding, a central part of this mode of advertising. You can use one or more of numerous tactics – manual and automated bidding are a couple of them. Manual bidding affords you the most possible control, which is great if you already understand keyword values.
