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Far too many people jump into a PPC ad campaign expecting immediate, positive results. I’ve been there; a lot of us have been there. You set up your campaign, deposit a generous budget, and expect the dough to start rolling in.
But when it doesn’t, then what? You had your hopes so high.
Don’t just quit. Take a step back, and figure out why you didn’t succeed. There’s a reason digital advertising is so popular. It does work. But you have to do it right.
If your PPC campaign has failed, try some of these next steps to recover.
Check your campaign settings. Take an objective look at your keywords. Are you using enough, or perhaps too many? Are your ad groups focused and well organized? Are you using negative keywords? Are you using the correct match types? Are you doubling down on high performing keywords and pausing under-performers?
Do you have a message mismatch? Look at your ad copy and your ad’s landing page. If you’re advertising “FREE SHIPPING,” but are still charging $9.99 for shipping, of course your campaign is going to fail.
Go through every aspect of your campaign --the targeting options, account structure, ad copy and headlines, bidding strategy. Make sure there’s nothing glaringly wrong.
If you’re getting a lot of clicks, but none of them are converting, you may have a problem with your landing page.
Is your call-to-action front and center? Try making it bigger and more prominent. Use flashier colors, and ones that may appeal to the reader. Dropbox is known for having one of the best landing pages in this respect. Their CTA stands out in all the right ways, thanks to their minimalist design and color choices:
Maybe your wording is unclear. Try tightening your copywriting. Getting your customer to click through may merely be a matter of using concise, persuasive wording. Notice how Dropbox uses words like “free” and “safe, synced, and easy to share.” They also keep it short and tight.
Set up a few different landing pages to test different techniques for your business. Performing split tests on your pages helps you narrow down what works best for your customers.
Alright, so you’ve perfected your entire PPC campaign and identified your most successful landing page. What else could be wrong?
The answer could lie in what you’re trying to sell. Try tweaking your offer, whether it’s the headline, imagery, the terms of your free trial, etc.
Trying to get app downloads? Maybe your app needs a better title, icon, or description. Want people to download your ebook? Make it more interesting, and give the customer a reason to want it. If nobody wants your offer, no amount of advertising is going to help you.
Are you buying PPC advertising solely with Google AdWords? Try advertising in a few new places.
Maybe your customer isn’t privy to clicking on search ads. No matter how well your ads are written, no matter how amazing your product is, you simply won’t get that person’s attention from a Google search.
Test out a few other outlets to see what works best. Advertise through social media, with display banners on websites, or in mobile apps. Consumer psychology is finicky, and every customer is different, so maybe you’ll be more successful on one of these outlets.
Maybe PPC just isn’t the best fit. If that’s the case, consider giving pay per call advertising a shot.
In very high involvement industries, pay per call tends to perform better than PPC. In industries where customers tend to have questions or need personal assistance before making the purchase –think local SMBs, financial services, education, insurance, etc. --pay per call campaigns are highly effective.
You can easily try call-only campaigns through Google AdWords, plus you’ll benefit from higher quality traffic and higher conversion rates.
Before you quit completely, try outsourcing your advertising. A professional, or even a new set of eyes, might breathe new life into your campaign.
There’s a good reason that digital advertising is so popular. It works. Don’t be discouraged because it’s not working right away. Give it time, optimize, and keep testing new things.
