No matter how long you’ve worked in PPC advertising, there is always one aspect that intimidates us more than others. For some, it’s designing a new ad campaign. For others, it’s finding time to pump out new content. Despite all the usual things business owners fret about, the most intimidating of all can be summed up in a single question.
In fact, it’s the most commonly asked question on PPC to date:
“How do you budget for a PPC campaign?”
There’s nothing quite like hearing your client ask things like “What should my budget be?” or “How much do I need to spend to secure guaranteed results?” The funny thing is… there is no way to “guarantee” results in the world of advertising. In many ways, it’s like poker. Sometimes you win, and sometimes the best you can do is show up, put on a brave face, and adjust your budget to accommodate for occasional losses. Marketing is the art and science of promoting goods and services through the careful study of market research and popular trends in advertising.
In many ways, marketing is just another form of gambling. It’s a habit that requires consistent study and analysis of popular trends, and not a single business owner can afford not to play. And while no one worth their salt would ever “guarantee” unrealistic PPC results, we can assure you that there are proven methods to improve your PPC performance with time. Tips passed down from successful companies across the nation that will aid you on the path to personal success.
The real question is: Are you brave enough to bid on yourself?
Table of Contents
- Set Realistic Goals
- Keep Track of Keywords and Hashtags
- Don’t Forget the Neighbors
Keep Your Head in the Game
1. Set Realistic Goals
This is the most important of rules! It’s good to be ambitious. It’s okay to feel so sure about yourself that you choose to go all in from the get-go. Remember: No matter how much you may be willing to spend on an ad campaign, the real key to successful marketing is consistency. Be consistent. Set PPC goals that make sense. You don’t want to spend your entire budget on the first month only to cut your investments on the next one. If you know it will take 5-6 months to see growth in sales stats, create a budget that will sufficiently accommodate your promotional content for each of those months. Allocate just enough to see results within the time frame you’ve selected. Start with smaller, more attainable campaign goals that focus on:
- Promoting Brand Awareness.
- Customer Engagement.
- New Lead Generation.
Keep it simple. If cost is an issue, the last thing you want to do is go over budget. Crunch those numbers and be honest about what you can afford. You can always reassess your advertising budget when the time comes to launch a new series of ad campaigns.
2. Keep Track of Keywords and Hashtags
This is one of the most excruciatingly overlooked steps in digital advertising. While marketing professionals are often fully aware of the advantages that come with using keywords and hashtags in digital media, there are unfortunately many more who muck up those results by using them incorrectly.
For instance, say you own a bookshop who just received its latest shipment of dystopian fantasy novels. You might choose keywords that pinpoint the name of the book, the name of the author, the city your shop resides in, etc. Well, after a few weeks, you’ll find that those same keywords might not be performing as well as they did before. What do we do then?
When you use fewer, more relevant keywords and hashtags, your content will usually perform far better than those who appear to be drowning in attention-grabbing text. Quality over quantity, as it were. Make a list of words and phrases that are relevant to your business. If a keyword has “high search volume,” this means there will often be a lot of competition concerning the use of that keyword. This will inevitably raise the cost of your expected bid, therefore raising the cost with every keyword. So, start simpler.
While it is ideal to post content at least three times per day in addition to all the usual ad responsibilities, “quality over quantity” is always the better option. You can update the list of keywords as you go, make adjustments when terms no longer serve you, and revisit old favorites when the time is right. It’s all a matter of knowing which cards to play.
3. Don’t Forget the Neighbors
As tempting as it is to advertise your business to quite literally everyone in the known world, to make such a move is quite literally like jumping out of an airplane, hoping that your parachute will somehow find the safety of some dreamy island off the coast of the Pacific. It could happen, but the odds are… not great. No matter which planning system you end up choosing to manage your ad campaigns with, it’s up to you and your marketing team to actively engage with your community as you continue to build your business. You can start by:
- Keeping track of popular search trends in your area.
- Catering your ads to include common languages spoken in your community.
- Perform weekly updates on target filters.
Set yourself up for success! Set a reminder to check up on popular trends and update your content every week. With thousands upon thousands of people using keywords incorrectly, it’s up to us to remain vigilant when it comes to ensuring the success of our business through the efficiently applied use of SEO. This is the best possible option for business owners with physical store locations.
Remember.
We cannot possibly serve our community if the neighbors can’t find us.
Keep Your Head In the Game
The best thing about PPC advertising is that there are no wrong plays. No matter what happens down the road, you can always adjust your budget to better accommodate the results that you seek. There are going to be days when you reach your daily budget way too soon because certain keywords performed exceptionally well that day, and there will be others where you’re tempted to fold because you’re just not meeting the goals you expected.
Remember: Anything worth having is worth the work that goes into earning it. Set realistic goals, use those keywords correctly, and don’t forget the neighbors! Odds are, you’re not going to stumble across a royal flush the very first time you sit down to play. It takes time, practice, and patience. If all that feels too overwhelming at the moment, no worries. Two Trees PPC is here to help you hold down the fort at that very eventuality.
The real key to optimizing your PPC budget is consistency. It’s up to you to curb excessive spending by doing the research and putting in the work. The more you’re willing to invest in the game, the closer you’ll be to winning it all.
One day at a time.
