Pay Per Click Best Practices Version 1

Written by Jack Knollson | 07 January 2010

When you boil it down, Pay-Per-Click Advertising has two obvious advantages: (1) It can be set up quickly. And, (2) it works great for testing out keywords and/or learning about what your future buyers are actually looking for. Original Publication Date: January 24, 2008

1. Take all unclaimed (but related) phrases – (Long Tail)
Ask every customer what you sell and they will all give different answers. The same is true when they search for you. The top keywords in your field will be expensive to purchase, but the unconventional ones will bring in the best ROI.

2. Buy the popular keywords, but watch the budget
Pay-per-click advertising can get expensive really fast. A good rule to follow is: Avoid the broad terms, don’t worry about the top spot, track results and cancel everything that does not produce quality leads and/or sales.

3. Manage by the numbers, not by your emotions
Google Adwords and other bid management tools will tell you what is working and what is not. Maybe your favorite keyword doesn’t work or costs too much. Always follow the numbers no matter how counter-intuitive it may be.

4. Remove distractions from landing pages
There are dozens of techniques that make a landing page successful, but the first is to remember that people visit websites asking, “What can I do here,” not “what can I learn.” If you provide only one thing to do (no distracting links), odds are they will do it.