I’ve never been a big fan of paid search engine marketing. All too often, I encounter companies that think that all they have to do is set a Pay Per Click budget and it will magically drive relevant traffic, bolster conversions, and be profitable.
Unfortunately, as with most marketing tactics, there is no magic involved. Paid search requires the same type of strategic thinking and preparation that goes into your direct mail, email marketing, or banner advertising campaigns.
The problem is that too often this thinking and preparation does not happen and instead you end up with a completely unprofitable campaign that is only driving non-converting, non-relevant traffic.
Here are five big mistakes that will lead to an unsuccessful Pay Per Click campaign:
Not Using Specific PPC Landing Pages
The beauty of search engine marketing is that you are targeting people who are in the process of searching for information (or a method to purchase) about your product. Therefore, it is imperative to provide a customized and relevant experience for the user when they arrive at your ads and site.
What not to do:
- Don’t drop searchers at your home page
- Don’t drop them into unoptimized sub pages
What to do:
- Create as many landing pages as necessary to target searchers and provide relevant content for their keywords
- Use a strong Call To Action in order to drive conversion
Not Understanding Your Business (and how search fits in)
As with all marketing campaigns, it is important that you have a strong grasp of the numbers behind your business. PPC Campaigns can be a great tactic if you make sure to understand the life-time value of conversions, the cost per acquisition that you are willing to pay, and the return on investment that is necessary for the campaign to be judged as successful.
What not to do:
- Go blindly into your new PPC campaign
- Assuming that increased traffic means success
- Ignore your metrics
What to do:
- Understand what keywords are most relevant to getting the right people to your site
- Understand how much a conversion is worth to you (life-time value)
- Understand what the maximum cost per acquisition is for your business and campaign
- Understand your search ROI
Defining Unrealistic Goals
Sadly, there is no magic involved in Search Engine Marketing. The goals for your campaign need to be based in reality for your site, your product, and your industry.
What not to do:
- Be too broad or narrow with your keywords
- Assume that Pay Per Click and Paid Search is the cure all for your marketing plan, it is only a piece of the bigger puzzle
- Expect high traffic and conversion rates without doing the legwork in creating good ads and strong landing pages
What to do:
- Do research and set realistic traffic and conversion goals
- Expect to get as much out of the campaign as you are willing to put in (preparation, refinement, creative)
Poor Lead Capture Forms
The method by which you capture lead information can make or break your conversion rate. Even though we always want to capture as much information as possible, it is important to realize that as the number of fields increase, your conversion rate will likely decrease. For this reason, it is necessary to capture only the most relevant and necessary details that will allow for a successful follow up.
What not to do:
- Make a page that just has a lead capture form (no call to action or additional information)
- Expect to capture ALL user information with your form
What to do:
- Only capture the necessary information — you can follow up for additional details
- Make it easy for someone to convert — don’t make the user jump through hoops to give you their information
- Make the benefits of their submission readily apparent
Making Fundamental Marketing Mistakes
Search Engine Marketing is still part of the marketing world. As I mentioned earlier, it isn’t magic, so don’t treat it like it is. SEM requires the same strategic thinking that any other marketing campaign requires.
What not to do:
- Stumble blindly into your PPC campaign
- Set your campaign up and forget about it (it needs monitoring and refining)
- Not understanding your customers, competition, and/or goals
What to do:
- Understand who you are targeting, their habits, what they search for, and what it will take for them to click through your ad and convert
- Use strong ad creative, use PPC tailored landing pages with strong calls to action
- Test, Test, Test — Make sure your test alternate ad copy and different bid positions
- Measure and analyze your results on an ongoing basis so that you understand where your opportunities (and weaknesses) lie
- Refine your campaign as often as possible based on the data that you collect
Final Word
Much of the above sounds pretty basic… and really, it is. But, often these items get overlooked in the process of getting a PPC campaign up and running.
Put on your marketing hat, plan your strategy, and do everything that you can to prepare for success — Avoid all short cuts!
