Guide to Improving your Pay Per Click (PPC) ROI

Don't throw your marketing budget down the drain

By Justin Palmer

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If left to itself, pay per click ROI tends to go down the drain. Why? Competition thickens, bid prices skyrocket, and click fraud runs rampant. So what can you do to stop the bleeding? Below are some advanced Pay per clicks tips to give your campaign a much needed boost.

Include Keywords in the Display URL: For example, if you were targeting the keywords "seo tips", create a display url of www.yoursite.com/SEO-Tips. Google, Yahoo, and Live search all allow you to create a display url that differs from the destination one. By using the exact keywords the user types in, you'll embolden the keyword in the ad, thereby creating an enticing eye magnet.
Separate Out Your Keywords: Don't group dissimiliar keywords together under one ad group. When you do this, it makes it harder to tell which keywords are performing best. Separte them out as much as feasibly possible, then adjust your bids accordingly.
Watch Your Positions: If you rank in the top 3 organic positions for a keyword, you're probably better off bidding for the 4 or 5 spot with PPC. This is much easier with Adwords then it is with Yahoo or Live search because Google allows you to bid for a certain position. It's not always perfectly accurate, but it's better than nothing.
Test different Ad Styles: You'll never know which writing style will trigure the most clicks unless you test them. Pit an informative style versus intriguing ad copy, or soft sell versus a hard sell. Give them some time, then analyze the results. Don't simply look at which one received the most clicks. Most likely, you're better off basing your decision on which converted the best.
Follow through with your Landing Pages: Always display the same keyword on the landing page that the user typed in. Think about it. Why did the user click on your ad? Because it contained their keywords! Ensure that they stay on your site by following through with a consistent message.