There are many opportunities to make mistakes on your pay per click campaigns which can cause you to quit marketing online. Pay per click marketing is not designed to deliver overnight success, sales or leads. Good PPC management takes time, careful consideration during the implementation process and steady daily observation in order to deliver desired results.
The top ten list below will provide you with a list of pay per click mistakes which you can avoid before you launch your ads on Google, Yahoo, or MSN\Bing.
Failure to properly create good pay per click campaign structure. Pay per click campaigns need to be set up by campaign, ad group, keywords, and ad copy.
Setting geo-targets. If you have a very limited target demographic, it is highly advised that geo-targets are set according to the geo-location where you would like your ads to be shown.
Using broad match or standard match (Yahoo only) for all keyword terms. Not all keywords are created equal. Setting up all keywords to match for broad search results can cost you a lot of money. Set up your keyword matching options to target exact match, phrase match or broad match where appropriate.
Writing poor ad copy. If possible, make sure to add the keyword insertion option. When you include the keyword insertion option you will increase your quality score on Google and Yahoo. Keep in mind that keyword insertion may not work for all keywords you have selected.
Choosing destination pages (landing pages) which do not contain relevant page copy. Poor destination pages which do not fully describe your product\service with a strong call to action will lead to poor performance.
Setting keyword bids to high or too low. Some keywords are more expensive than others. Be sure to bid strategically for important keywords which target your audience.
Writing misleading ads. Usually Google, MSN\Bing, and Yahoo will catch you on this...however, misleading searching individuals will damage your reputation and end in a ball of flames.
Setting up Google analytics or some other form of online tracking for conversion analysis or marketing measurement. Without adding good tracking to your website how can you really know how your campaign has been performing? Track your leads and sales with some type of analytics.
Setting pay per click expectations and goals. Knowing what your goals for your pay per click efforts are and website goals will greatly improve your chance for success if you have goals set up pre-launch.
Don't give up. Pay per click takes time to find the correct ad and keyword combination. Optimizing for the best results can take more than a week or two. Be prepared to dedicate at least three months in order for continued optimization and bidding to positively affect your pay per click results.