PPC Advertising 101 How To Run an Internet Marketing Tools Campaign

Most of what I have taught you thus far focuses on generating free Internet traffic through optimizing your site to rank high within the search engines organically. However PPC advertising has many benefits and advantages that make it an important if not integral part of any effective Internet Marketing strategy.

Whenever anyone whom I consider an Internet Marketing newbie tells me they are going to start an AdWords campaign, my first thought is “He is going to lose his shirt”. And most of the time, I am right on. Statistically, almost 95% of PPC advertisers lose money on their campaigns, meaning they spend more than the revenue they generate from the visitors they are attracting. So then why in the world am I endorsing PPC as an important and potentially lucrative Internet Marketing strategy? Because if done correctly, PPC can do wonders for your website traffic and thus, your bottom line. The information I am going to share with you here is worth hundreds if not thousands of dollars or more. After you finish reading this you will know more about PPC then 98% of advertisers, and that is what is going to put you among the 5% that realize huge profits, and not the 95% that end up going broke.

How PPC Advertising Works

All PPC advertising systems work in the same basic way. Potential advertisers create an account, write some ads, compile a list of keywords, set a maximum cost per click (CPC) they are willing to pay, and set a daily spending limit. Ads are then displayed automatically whenever a web surfer performs a search on one of the keywords the advertiser has listed. How often and in what position an ad is displayed depends on two factors. First and foremost is the CPC that has been set. PPC systems work on an auction style format so whoever has bid the most on a particular keyword will get the top spot, followed by the second highest bidder, and so on. The second and less important factor in determining placement of ads is the ad’s conversion rate. Conversion rate is simply the number of times an ad has been clicked on, divided by the number of times it has been displayed. High quality, well written ads generally have a higher conversion rate and are given more weight by the PPC system.

I mentioned before that PPC has many benefits and one of the biggest is time. You can have an AdWords campaign up and running in minutes and begin receiving the first visitors to your site in less than an hour! Compare this to the time it takes to properly optimize your website, get indexed, and rank well enough in order to get clicked on and generate traffic organically. When I say you can begin generating traffic in less than an hour, I’m not talking about just any traffic. I’m talking about HIGHLY TARGETED visitors to your site, actively searching and looking for exactly what you are offering.

We are going to talk mostly about Google’s AdWords throughout this article, but the same principles apply to other systems as well. Keep in mind that I fully endorse AdWords and while you make hear others say that you shouldn’t use Adwords because it is more expensive than other systems, remember that you get what you pay for. If done the way I teach, Adwords will actually SAVE you money in the long run and provide a much better return on your investment than any other system out there.

Setting Up Your Campaign

Getting started with AdWords is much easier than you might think if you are new to PPC. Setting up an account is as simple as going to and registering your basic information. Once you have completed that first step, you will be taken to the campaign setup screen. This is where you will enter the name of your campaign, the website you are promoting, etc. From here, we will go to the Ad groups section where you will create your Ad group. This is just used to create different variations within your main campaign for tracking purposes. The next two tasks are the most important, creating your ads, and generating a keyword list.

The difference between a well constructed written ad and a poorly written one can be like night and day when it comes to clicks and ultimately conversions. A few basic things to keep in mind when writing your ads: Always try to use your main keyword within the title of the ad. It has been proven that people are more likely to click on an ad that contains the exact term they just searched for (makes sense doesn’t it?) Give people a reason for wanting to click on your ad BUT make sure it is not misleading. You don’t want unnecessary clicks if they are not going to lead conversions. The goal is to make sure that we are getting clicks from people that are actually looking to purchase what we are selling. Make your ad clearly states what it is your site is offering so that only those interested in exactly what it is you have will click. This will cut down on “window shoppers” and ultimately lead to a much higher conversion rate. Remember, getting a lot of clicks is no big accomplishment… It just means a lot of wasted money if the clicks don’t equal sales.

There are two parts to a PPC ad; a riveting title/heading and a compelling description. The title is the key to attracting the searcher's attention - if it contains the keywords that are being searched for, the keywords will show up in bold and help make the ad more visible. Focus on the user and the benefits your website/product will provide. If it helps, you can make a bulleted list of key terms that highlight your business and spread them throughout your ads. Use the title to grab the searcher's attention, and then reel them in with your ad description.