"Pay per Click" - Targeted traffic if you know what you're doing?

"Pay per Click" - Targeted traffic if you know what you're doing?

Over coffee this morning, it hit me like a caffeine freight train that lot's of people are embarking upon pay per click ads (like: Google, Yahoo, MSN search etc) and are not achieving the kind of success they deserve. In fact, some folks are so paralyzed by the thought of 'paying for clicks' that they have never even tested the PPC waters.

After a few more java jive gulps, I decided to launch a multiple week tips post on the topic. In fact, over the next few weeks I plan to share what I consider the best tips for running a successful pay-per-click search engine campaign. I consider a 'successful' campaign one that generates blog, site or landing page visitors that are likely to respond to your ad offer and visitors whose clicks don't cost you more money than you have in your bank account :-)

Unless you have very deep pockets, or you're completely nuts, or you have a solid money-making conversion rate, paying big bucks for clicks that don't pan out is busines seppuku .

Is it possible to launch a pay per click campaign that produces results without causing a divorce? Maybe. What ensues here and over the upcoming weeks are my time tested strategies to put any pay per click campaign on a path toward affordable results.

Search engine campaign tips:

1. When thinking up keywords, use examples of specific things your product is used for: 'clean floors', clean countertops', 'wash floors', 'mop floors', 'polish stove top', 'remove grime', 'shine appliances', 'disinfect bacteria', 'hide furniture flaws' etc.
2. Explore variations: 'soy milk', 'soymilk', 'soy-milk'
3. Add plurals: 'protein bar' and 'protein bars'
4. Use abbreviations and acronyms
5. Use US and UK spellings
6. Keyword phrases may be questions: 'how to repair bad credit', 'when should I diet', 'how do I lose weight', 'where are discount cosmetics', etc.

Keep in mind that if you run any PPC search engine ad campaign over a few weeks and you get zero or very low sales or sign-up results, the culprit is most likely NOT the traffic you're generating from your ad, rather it is your site, your landing page, your product, your service, your price or some factor other than your PPC targeted visitors . The first thing I'd look at ( when faced with dismal results ) is your landing page. I've seen many a site that look like a one eyed hooker with fish-net pantyhose. Go figure.

In my previous blog post I included a link for additional marketing tips. You will find lots of help for your PPC campaign there.

To make certain you don't miss this series of PPC tips, you might consider subscribing to my RSS feed.

Best of Luck with Charmelle !