PPC Internet Marketing Campaigns - Setting Goals and Deliverables
By Gregory Smyth
Pay per click (PPC) campaigns are often seen as beginner's search engine marketing. Companies rarely engage outside help to execute these types of campaigns, and that is perhaps why their reputation as a valuable part of a web marketing strategy has suffered. In reality, PPC campaigns can be one of the biggest earners and create the most revenue of any section of an internet marketing strategy - as long as you execute your campaigns with an understanding of the basics of marketing. The technology is advanced, but to maximize your ROI, you need to start with some old-fashioned concepts.
Goal-setting is crucial for PPC campaigns. You will need to keep that focus throughout your PPC campaign or the results will suffer greatly. So, it's worth putting in the effort at the beginning. Try to identify goals that can be measured - for example, you may be aiming for a certain percentage increase in site traffic or to certain pages on your site. You'll need to analyze what is currently happening in order to put a number on these goals and technology like Webtrends and other e-commerce consulting gems can help here. The measurable aspect of your goals might include:
- Traffic statistics
- Better search engine results for a specific day or period (Valentine's Day, etc)
- Increasing online sales by a certain percentage
- Increasing traffic from search engines
- Extending your customer base to a new demographic
Set a number, a percentage and/or a time period for each of your goals - you may have more than one. Professional advice from a search engine optimization service or internet consulting business will help you determine what is achievable and realistic. Goal setting will also include a re-think of your target audience and the companies that represent your online competition.
Identifying your product clearly is a major factor in achieving both PPC and general internet marketing success. You need to know exactly what you offer to potential customers and communicate your offering in 50-70 characters. You need to go beyond the physical product or service. As the management at Wonderbra say, they don't sell underwear, they sell self-confidence for women. Landscape gardeners don't make over people's yards, they create peace and serenity in people's environments. You need to identify the benefits as well as the features of your product or service offering. Internet marketing services, and search engine marketers in particular, will help you exploit these features and benefits to their full potential.
One part of a successful PPC and internet marketing campaign is setting an appropriate budget. This should be set at the same time that you set your goals, and search engine optimization experts are the professionals best placed to help you identify what results you can expect from what budget. Preliminary testing can also provide insight into the budget required to achieve your goals.