Common PPC Mistakes & How to Avoid Them

PPC advertising is an awesome marketing tool that can deliver considerable results to those who implement it correctly.

However, when running a marketing campaign it’s easy to misstep and use a specific practice wrongly, without even realizing it sometimes.

Here is a list of the most common PPC advertising mistakes and what to do about them.

Table of Contents

1. Not using keywords in your ads

This is a rather simple one, but with all the talks and conversations going about the seeming irrelevance of keywords nowadays, it’s worth a mention.

While it’s true that Google prioritizes valuable content over keywords and might even show up results for certain queries that don’t even have keywords, it doesn’t have anything to do with your ads.

When running a PPC campaign, the best way to reach your target audience is with the help of keywords, so make sure you keep utilizing them.

2. Failing to match the ad content with the landing page

Many marketers think that it’s okay to tweak the ad content and present something else on the landing page. It’s a common mistake since, logically, people might want to find out more about the product/service offered in the ad.

Well, the truth is that consistency is the most important aspect when it comes to PPC and online marketing in general.

Whatever you say in your ad, especially if it’s mostly promoting a sale, the exact same thing should be said on the landing page or you risk losing your potential buyer.

If a user clicks on your sales ad, it probably means that he is ready to buy, and when he doesn’t see the same content on the landing page, it’s a bad sign.

3. Bidding on short tail keywords

It’s important to think your keyword strategy through before proceeding with its implementation.

Every industry has its list of most searchable keywords, but it will be much wiser to figure out the long tail keywords for your campaigns. The fewer search queries your target keywords get, the less you will pay per click.

Additionally, your ads will be ranked higher in SERPs if the search query is closely matched to the keyword.

Choose your list of 100 best keywords and then use your website analytics to find the 200-250 most relevant, long tail versions.

4. Not tracking your ads

If you want to understand whether your PPC campaigns deliver any sort of results at all, you need to be tracking your ads. Moreover, you need to track them separately from all other marketing activities that you might be doing.

An easy way to do this is simply to integrate PPC campaigns with your website analytics. This way you can track every visit to your website from a specific (or a group of) keywords and understand the ROI of your PPC budget.

5. Not utilizing the negative keywords feature

Google and other major search engines offer a paid feature that companies can (and should) utilize in order to create a list of keywords for which their ads will not be shown. The most common example of a negative keyword is the word “free”.

You certainly don’t want to be paying for clicks from people who are looking to get your product with a $0 budget. It might seem like an additional cost at first, but in reality, it will save you from so many headaches that you’ll be thankful you read this here.

6. Not understanding the target customer

It’s easy to create several versions of an ad, insert a few keywords here and there, and launch a PPC campaign thinking that it will be successful. However, in reality, it might not work out so well if you don’t have any idea about your target customer.

Know your customer and create ads that are aligned with their interests. Use the right keywords, understand the local demographic, and make sure to keep experimenting with different versions of the same ad. This way you can get the most out of your pay-per-click budget.

7. Not setting a daily budget

As previously mentioned, running a PPC campaign without setting a budget is like having an open-ended credit card. It’s easy to get carried away and end up spending more than necessary with no real gain from it.

Make sure you set a daily (or weekly/monthly) budget for your PPC campaigns and then track the performance of your ads to understand the actual ROI. This way you can adjust your budget and tactics as needed.

8. Not having a competitive strategy

When it comes to PPC campaigns, the more competitive your keywords are, the higher price you will have to pay for them. It’s important to have a well-thought competitive bidding strategy that allows you to bid on relevant keywords while still staying within your budget.

A good practice is to start with low bids and then gradually increase them as you get more data on their performance. That way, you can create an efficient bidding strategy that will be cost-effective and profitable in the long run.

9. Not testing your ads

Testing is essential for getting the most out of your PPC campaigns.

You should track changes in ad copy, landing page design, and keywords to see what works best in different scenarios. This way you can make sure that your ads are always performing at their best and delivering the results you want.

10. Not being patient

PPC campaigns take time to show significant results; it is not an overnight success story.

Therefore, you need to be patient and give your campaigns enough time to show their true potential.

Don’t expect results right away, but track the progress over time and make necessary adjustments as needed.

Final Words

Creating a successful PPC campaign is not easy, but it’s definitely worth the effort.

With the right strategy and careful planning, you can run an effective PPC campaign that will bring in valuable leads and generate ROI for your business.

Just make sure to avoid the common mistakes above and you’ll be well on your way to success.