Lowering Your CPC

There are ways that you can work towards lowering your cost per click and in order to maximize your exposure and minimize your advertising costs, focusing on achieving the lowest CPC should be a very important part of your Adwords marketing campaign.

There are a couple of ways that you can do this:

Increase Your Bid

There are many reports on the market that indicate that the best way to decrease your CPC is by initially bidding high, attempting to reach the first or second placement in Sponsored Listings. 

Then, after a couple of days check to see if the minimum required bid amount has decreased.  If so, you can modify your campaign to decrease your bid and retain top position due to your higher quality score.

Move Slow & Steady

Other reports indicate that starting off small and moving your way up is the easiest way to get started, and will ultimately lower your risk of losing money.

By starting off at a lower bid you are able to gradually increase it as your results improve. 

Apart from the maximum amount you are willing to pay per click, you will also have to set your daily budget within your Adwords account.

Your Daily Budget is the amount that you feel comfortable paying each day for exposure within Google’s search engine.

I suggest that you set a small budget when you begin, increasing it over time as you become more familiar with writing ad copy, selecting keywords and bidding.

This means that you should set a low end budget that you can afford without going too low and losing potential exposure to your advertisements.

Many new Adwords users start off with a $10.00 daily budget and increase it gradually over time.

Just keep a watchful eye on your campaigns and if you see one that is doing well, begin to increase the maximum bid on those keywords, while also increasing your daily budget.

Personally, I always begin with a higher max bid, usually at $.40 – $.55 so that I can begin to beef up my quality score and generate targeted traffic from my campaigns.

As your quality score increases, you should lower your maximum bid for each campaign until you are settled into a comfortable position and paying less per click.

For example, starting out with a $.55 click (slightly over $.50 to beat out anyone setting their max at $.50 a very common amount), you could begin in position #3, but as your quality score improves, you could lower your maximum bid to as much as $.30 and maintain the same position in the sponsored results.

Pay Per Click 101

PPC marketing is one of the easiest methods of building brand awareness and jump-starting the launch of a brand new website or product.  PPC,  (Pay Per Click) marketing offers incredible exposure for both start-ups and seasoned entrepreneurs, alike.

There is a downfall when it comes to promoting your website through PPC marketplaces and that is the risks involved with creating campaigns that end up costing you a fortune while producing very weak results.  This is why so many PPC “newcomers” bail out after spending money on campaigns without having a solid plan of action in place.

If you truly want to be successful with PPC marketing, you need to know exactly how to create highly targeted campaigns that will speak directly to your target audience, while increasing your CTR (click through rate) and lowering your CPC (cost per click).

When it comes to the cost of marketing via the PPC marketplaces, primarily Google Adwords, the assigned costs is dependent on your overall quality score.  

Google implemented this scoring system as a way of rewarding marketers who take the time in carefully planning out their PPC campaigns so that their advertisements receive a high number of click throughs from their target audience.
This means that the more focused you are in creating highly targeted PPC campaigns, the lower your overall costs will be.  

So, how can you get started and what do you need to know in order to create relevant advertisements that drive in traffic and weed out worthless click through’s that will only end up costing you money?

Here’s a quick overview of what PPC marketing is really about:

For starters, choosing the right keywords for your PPC marketing campaigns is critical. Keywords are what your potential prospects enter into the search engines in order to locate information and content similar to what you are offering.

This means that you absolutely need to drill down into your niche market to determine exactly what your customer base is entering into the search engines.  Conducting keyword research prior to creating your PPC campaigns is essential if you want to boost your quality score and maximize your click through rate.

You would use these keywords in every campaign you create, both within the actual creation of your PPC advertisement as well as within individual campaigns.  Whenever you assign a keyword phrase to a PPC campaign, it appears within Google’s search results whenever a potential prospect has entered in the same keyword phrase.

As a quick example, by visiting http://www.Google.com and entering in “Twitter Marketing”, you will see from my example below that the advertisers that appear within the Sponsored Ad Listings are all targeting that specific keyword phrase and offering information and resources focusing on marketing products and services using the Twitter network:

Here are a few terms that you should become familiar with before getting started with your first PPC campaign:

Display URL

 

This displays the website address that, when clicked, directs people to that specific site.

 

While this address can appear to be different than the actual destination URL, I suggest using the true URL that your visitors will be directed to.

 

Destination URL
This is the actual URL that your visitors are sent to when clicking on your link.

 

 

In addition to the four main parts of your advertisement, there are a few terms that you should familiarize yourself with including:

CPC: Cost Per Click and/or CPA: Cost Per Action 

 

Adwords charges its advertisers for every click that their advertisement receives.  You are not charged for exposure regardless of how many times your ad is displayed in search results.

 

Cost Per Click:

 

This is the amount you’ll actually pay for a click on your ad.

 

The AdWords Discounter automatically gives you the lowest possible price in order for you to maintain your ad’s position. Your actual CPC will be equal to or less than the CPC bid you specify for your ad group, keyword or placement.

Cost Per Action:
Your cost-per-action, or CPA, is the current amount that you are willing to pay for a specific action to be completed on your site. This cost generally varies depending on product and on type of action. You set your own fixed CPA for each action when you create a pay-per-action campaign.

Landing Page

 

A webpage where customers will ‘land’ when they click your ad. The web address for this page is often called a ‘destination URL’ or ‘clickthrough URL.’

CTR: Clickthrough Rate

Clickthrough rate (CTR) is the number of clicks your ad receives divided by the number of times your ad is shown (impressions) via Google search only. Your ad and keyword each have their own CTRs, unique to your own campaign performance.

A keyword’s CTR is a strong indicator of its relevance to the user and the overall success of the keyword.

Maximum Bid

Your maximum bid is the higher amount you are willing to pay per click.

Minimum Bid

This is the amount that you assign to each keyword that you target within your campaigns.  The minimum bid essentially, represents the lowest price you will pay per click.

Quality Score

Google Adwords attaches a quality score to advertiser accounts, which is determined by your CTR (Click Through Rate: see above). Other factors that directly impact your Quality score is how relevant your advertisement is, past performance, etc. 

Depending on your quality score, your minimum bid requirement may be lower than another user with a lower quality score. This means that you should do your best to increase your quality score and maintain it.

 

Campaign

Campaigns are used to give structure to the products or services you want to advertise. The ads in a given campaign share the same daily budget, language and location targeting, end dates, and syndication options.

Within each campaign, you can create one or more ad groups. While a campaign may represent a broad product class, the ad groups within that campaign can be more focused on the specific product you want to advertise.

Conversion Rate

Our conversion rate is the number of conversions divided by the number of ad clicks. Conversions are only counted on Google and some of our Google Network partners.

Creating Your Account 

If you have yet to create an account, head on over to http://www.adwords.google.com/select to get started.
Click here for information on how to quickly set up your PPC account.

Creating A Killer PPC Ad

To start, you want to tailor your advertisement as closely as possible to what your audience is looking for and is likely to respond to.

Your keywords will obviously play an important part in how often your advertisement appears and what keywords trigger your ad.

You want to use as highly targeted keywords as possible, another thing that many new PPC marketers overlook. 

Rather than stuff in as many keywords as you can, hoping that if you cast a wide enough net you are bound to attract visitors, you want to minimize your keywords so that you are only integrating relevant phrases that will yield better results in terms of converting these visitors into buyers.  

Each PPC advertising consists of four important elements:

Ad Title

Ad Body

Display URL

Destiination URL

Ad Headline:

When it comes to writing your ads title (headline), you want to be careful to use a compelling, strong headline that will attract attention and motivate readers to click through to your website.

If you struggle with coming up with ideas for strong headlines, spend some time evaluating what your competitors are using and then craft your advertisement’s copy to be similar in nature (don’t copy!  Just use it for inspiration and to help you get started).  As you become more experienced with writing PPC advertisements, you will find it easier to develop strong headlines that really communicate with your target audience base.

For now, just structure your advertisement so that the title attracts attention and the body lures them in.  Be careful not to use confusing terms or misleading copy. Remember, you are paying for every click you receive so you want to really focus on generating traffic only from a very specific customer base.

Ad Body Text:

Your advertisements body text consists of two lines that can include up to 35 characters within each line. 

Your advertisement body is where you quickly describe what it is that you are offering.  With Google Adwords (and most other PPC marketplaces), you are limited by the space that is available, so it’s very important that you use these 35 characters in the best way possible.   

Focus on using ‘action based keywords’.  These are words that trigger an action in a reader and prompt them to click on the link.  

Tip: One thing to keep in mind is that you should always implement your primary keywords into both your advertisement’s title and body text.  

Display URL:

The display URL is the website address that your visitors are directed to once they click on your link.

While this address can appear to be different than the actual destination URL, I suggest using the true URL that your visitors will be directed to. Once again, use your keyword phrase within your URL whenever possible.

Destination URL:

This is the actual URL that your visitors are sent to when clicking on your link. 

When creating your advertisements, there are a few methods that you can use to attract more attention and exposure to your overall ads:

1: Ask Your Audience A Question

Example Ad:

Thinking About Going Bankrupt?
Dont’. Discover the proven strategies to
avoiding bankruptcy and restoring
your credit quickly and easily. 
www.Bankruptcy-Avoidance.com 

2: Offer A Solution To Their Problems

Example Ad:

Instant Cure For Recurring Acne
Find out how a single home remedy
will eliminate painful blackheads
and prevent future flare-ups. 
www.Acne-Solution-Now.com

3: Provide “Social Proof”

Example Ad:

Over 15,110 People Can’t Be Wrong
Our complete course to making a
living online has helped thousands.
It’s your turn. Click below.
www.WorkAtHomeProvenSystem.com

4: Showcase  Results

Example Ad:

Tanya Lost 79lbs In 7 Months
How much will you lose?  Follow
our simple fat-loss system to transform
your body faster and easier without starving. 
www.No-Starving-Fat-Loss.com

5: Offer An Alternative Solution (Cheaper, faster, etc)

Example Ad:

Still Paying A Fortune For Hosting?
Sign up for our free trial plan and save
over $240 yearly on your hosting while
still getting top service, around the clock. 
www.Lower-Cost-Hosting.com

6: Address Their Fears & Concerns

Example Ad:

Avoid Being Scammed Online
Download your free copy of our 
“Scam Report” that reveals the top
online scams, schemes and gimmicks.
www.Scam-Report-Download.com

Setting Up Your PPC Account

The first step in becoming a PPC marketer is to create your Adwords account. You may already have an account if you spent some time fiddling around, trying to get a feel for how the system works.

When it comes to setting up your PPC account, there are a handful of steps that are required in order to have everything up and running successfully. 

1) Creating your PPC marketplace account.

2)   Create/Compile a list of relevant keywords

3)    Customize your account and profile areas.

4)   Create your campaigns and assign specific keywords.

5)    Create your ad copy, titles, link, body.

6)   Monitor, split test and consistently tweak your campaigns until they are producing the best results at the lowest cost possible.

If you already have a Google Adwords account, go ahead and log in as I will show you a few things you may want to modify or customize depending on your goals.

If you are new to Adwords, head on over to: http://adwords.google.com/select  and create your account now.

Step 1: Creating Your PPC Account

Click on the “Start Now” link to begin the quick and easy registration process. It will only take roughly ten minutes to set up your account before you will be ready to customize it and create your campaigns.

On the next page you will be given the option of either creating a Standard account, or a Starter account. 

I recommend creating a Standard account to ensure that all of the features are available to you.

Before you are able to create an Adwords account, you need to have an existing Google based account, and if you don’t, you will need to create one prior to joining Adwords.  Google-based accounts include gMail.com services, Orkut and iGoogle.com. 

If you do not currently have one of these accounts, you simply choose “I do not use these services” and you will be given the opportunity of creating an account with Google, or using an alternative email address (other than a gmail one) if you wish.

Once completed, you will be directed to an account confirmation page that will indicate that your Google Adwords account is being created.  

Once the system has created your account, you will be asked to confirm your request by logging into your email account and validating your Google Adwords account by clicking on the link contained within.

Once you have done this, your account will be created and you will be able to log into Adwords.

The first time you log into Adwords you will be given the opportunity to update information relating to your target audience, as well as whether you plan to advertise to specific groups by location or language.   

Before your Google Adwords account is completely set up, you will have to enter in your billing details, however you can do this at a later time when you are ready to bring your campaigns to life, and activate your advertising.  With Google Adwords, you are required to pay a one-time fee as well, although it’s a very small amount and will more than pay for itself in no time at all.

When you do activate your account, after setting up campaigns, tweaking your ad copy and developing a solid landing page, you will see your advertisements go live within the Google Adwords marketplace, minutes after you activate them.  

If you plan to feature your advertisements within Google’s partner company however, all of your advertisements will be reviewed prior to being activated, to ensure that they comply with Googles guidelines. This usually only takes a few hours, but can take up to two business days.

Step 2: Creating Your First PPC Campaign

Within each campaign that we create, we target it towards specific keywords that are entered into Google’s search engine by potential customers.   These keywords are grouped together and assigned to each campaign that we select.

These keywords need to be direct and highly relevant in order to yield the best results, which is why keyword research is such a critical aspect of successful PPC marketing. 

Whenever a visitor to the Google.com search page, enters in any of my assigned keywords, it will trigger the Adwords system to feature my ad. 

When this happens, my campaign will appear within the “Sponsored Listings” area within the PPC marketplace (within the top search results, and within the side bar). 

As for where my listing will appear in relation to other advertisers who may be focusing on the same keywords, that all depends on what I am willing to pay for each click made to my ads.  

The higher my maximum bid, the higher placement my advertisements will receive. Google does not charge us for our advertisements appearing within the marketplace, but only when a potential customer clicks on one of our links.

To get started in creating your first PPC campaign, log into your Adwords campaign and click on the “Campaign Management” tab at the top.

Look for the area titled “Active Campaigns”. Within that area you will see a drop-down menu that includes “Create Online Campaign”. That is where you go create your first Adwords campaign.

Once inside that area, you will be given the opportunity to create a keyword-targeted campaign or a Placement-Targeted campaign.  

With keyword targeted campaigns your ads will target specific keyword groups and when those are entered into the search engine, your ads will be triggered to appear. 

You will always be required to assign one ad group to each campaign but can assign multiple ad groups as well, if you wish. 

Ad groups allow you to target specific groups of keywords, and I recommend including only 5-8 keywords per group.

You are ready to create your advertisement copy/body and publish your ads.

Check out my article on “Developing A Killer PPC Advertisement” for more information on how to carefully structure your ads for maximum exposure.

Common PPC Mistakes

In order for you to be successful with pay per click marketing, your campaign has to be well thought out and carefully planned from start to finish. You need to really hone in in your target audience and able to effectively motivate them into clicking through on your links and visiting your website or landing page.

After all, your CTR will ultimately determine what you are paying for every click to your advertisement.

To help you avoid the common pitfalls that new PPC marketers make, I’ve included a listing of mistakes that you want to avoid:

1: Not Properly Targeting Their Customer Base

You also want to take into consideration, the actual geographical location of your target audience. Depending on whether your product is digital or a physical item, or if it’s available in multiple languages will determine who you are targeting and advertising to people who may not understand or benefit from your product will end up costing you, unnecessarily. 

For example, if you have created an info product that is available only in English, setting your PPC campaigns to include countries where English is not a primary language may still attract click-through’s but they are not likely going to result in a sale. 

To avoid mis-targeting your audience, make sure that  your geographical area settings within your PPC campaigns is configured to include a specific customer base (USA, Canada, UK, etc) and once you have tested the viability of your product in other areas, re-configure your PPC campaign to include additional areas or countries.

2) Not Using Targeted Keywords

One common mistake that new PPC marketers make (and even some seasoned ones) is in adding in bulk keywords that are not tailored towards their target market, or bring in traffic that is looking for something very different from what they are offering.

Using targeted keywords is essential in any successful PPC marketing campaign.  Every keyword you implement into your advertising will either directly help you or hurt you.

If you are a PPC newcomer, it’s always best to start off with a very specific group of keywords that define your market and are likely to yield results, even if the overall exposure you’ll receive within the PPC marketplace will be limited

Get your feet wet by carefully entering into the PPC marketplace with a solid keyword swipe file in hand and as you become more experienced, you can enlarge your scope by incorporating additional keyword phrases.  Just make sure to closely monitor your results and eliminate any keywords that are not converting impressions into click-through’s.

It would be wise to categorize your keywords, each category featuring a specific theme and where each theme has an ad that targets a specific audience. This is one guaranteed way of enhancing PPC conversion rate.

You may also want to create various ad groups for your website, and come up with multiple ads for each group to establish a solid keyword group that maximizes your overall exposure and CTR.  

Separating your keyword phrases/groups will make it easier for you to determine what advertisements are yielding results and which ones need to be removed or tweaked.

You should also consider using “negative keywords” to eliminate freebie seekers. By implementing negative keywords into your PPC campaigns you can ensure that your advertisements are not triggered when specific phrases are entered into the search engine.

Examples of negative keywords used in PPC campaigns:

free
Freebie
warez
torrent 

3) Mis-directing Your Visitors

A very common mistake is in WHERE you direct your visitors.  Certain PPC campaigns will do better by directing visitors to a squeeze page, while others that are focused on pre-selling visitors can do well funneling your visitor directly to your sales page.

You need to evaluate your overall market and the type of visitors that your ad is attracting.  Are you focused on the desperate buyers market? (People who are looking for an instant solution to a troubling problem?) If so, directing them to your sales page while they are anxious to purchase your product might be a better idea than running them through a squeeze page cycle.

Just the same, if your ads are more generic in nature and are ‘warming up’ your customer base, directing them to a squeeze or landing page where you can capture their information and follow up at a later date might increase the profitability of your advertisements.

PPC Marketing & Keywords

Most people fail in PPC advertising not because they don’t have the strategy but because they lack true relevancy in what they’re trying to sell. Keyword relevancy can never be emphasized in PPC campaign as only then will it improve the results and ultimately make the campaign lucrative.

A common mistake most PPC advertisers make is using a lot of keywords for a single campaign, essentially ‘keyword stuffing’ their campaigns.

You might think that the more keywords you use the better but it would be futile to use a lot of keywords that are irrelevant to the campaign. This way, you’ll end up paying a lot per click than an individual who has few but relevant keywords. 20 is the best number of keywords to use for any PPC campaign.

You might be new to PPC advertisement and wondering what are these ads? They are the ones that appear on the top and bottom of a page once you perform a Google search and are known as sponsored advertisements. You might as well have come across Google ads on some websites.

On search engines like Yahoo and Google, you only get to pay once your ad is clicked on by the individual performing the search. It however can be confusing because you get to bid for the keywords you use.

Keyword bidding is deciding the amount you wish to pay per click, which will be determined by the relevance of the keywords. Majority of individuals bid highly per click hoping that their ad will appear on the first page once a search is performed. Granted, everyone would wish for their ad to show on this first page. Lets take an example of Earn Money as the keyword which say it costs currently $2.50. If you use applicable keywords in your campaign, you can bid anything between $.80 – $1. 

Before writing the ad, you ought to create a few keyword variations for example Earn money easily, Earn money now, Earn money online and Earn money from home. All these four examples have included the keyword money. You might as well include a broad match search, which Google recommends including the keywords placed in brackets and their quotes. The cost per click for these can be lower. A broach match search example is like [search for something].  With the variations, you can now start writing your ad.

Keep in mind that relevancy is your secret weapon while writing the ad because you’ll lower your cost per click at the same time get better rankings on the search engine pages. Every dream of an advertiser is to get top rankings in the search engine pages and that should also be your target. By following the advice given in this article, you might be able to achieve that target and get the profit that you’ve been after.