Pay-​per-​click strategies for marketers

BY Adam Ambro
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Developing the right paid search campaign is no easy feat. There are so many factors to consider: from when to run the ad, who to market it to, how much to budget for pay-​per-​click and more. Once a pay-​per-​click strategy is in place, it’s arguably more difficult to adjust and tweak it as you start to see the results. There’s always room for improvement, and thanks to an article from WordStream, there are helpful tips for your clients’ PPC strategies.

Pay-​per-​click statistics

It’s been reported that consumer search behavior is linked to age, but compelling content is just as important to pay-​per-​click campaigns. Because according to Wordstream, a staggering 94% of consumers will skip over search ads and click on organic results. Additionally, 41% of pay-​per-​clicks go only to the top three ads on the page. This means that your clients’ ad copy and ad rank matter more than ever.

To that end, you can use AdMall’s Digital Audit, powered by SalesFuel. This report lists which keywords your client has purchased in the past 12 months and their cost per click. The report also displays the top organic search phrases used in the past year and the percentage of searchers who landed on your client's site.

Additionally, AdMall’s AudienceSCAN profile for ‘sponsored search results responders’ shows that 30.4% of US adults have seen a sponsored search result within the last 30 days that led them to take action. Having these “did you knows” going into your sales meeting with your client will show you’ve done your research and the value you bring to them.

Who should your client market to?

As previously mentioned, figuring out who to target for your clients is a huge piece of this pay-​per-​click puzzle. But, at times, those audiences can be unreliable. Wordstream says that 60% of consumers intentionally provide incorrect form information. On top of that, 81% of people have abandoned at least one online form and won’t return to complete it. Their recommendations are:

  • Keep form fields to a minimum. Forms with less than seven fields are more approachable to prospects since they are easier to complete.
  • Use lead form extensions in Google ads, or lead ads in Facebook, since they will prefill the information for users, making form responses less likely to be fake.
  • Let’s not forget targeting! If your client has an audience that is eager to convert, they will be happy to fill out the form. Prequalify the audience by testing more precise parameters. Sure, a smaller audience segment may cause a slight drop in leads, but it will boost lead quality.

Wordstream also points out that “near me” searches increased 100% between 2019 and 2020, so this should be a pay-​per-​click strategy your clients should focus on. Two strategies they recommend are:

  • Employ a local PPC strategy that relates to your audience. People want products or services to be closer and more instantaneous.
  • Double check the geotargeting strategy and ad customizers. Using tactics like dynamic keyword insertion in the ad copy will help your client’s ads better match local queries.

PPC Budgeting

Lastly, and maybe most importantly, is budget. Every sales rep knows the importance of a budget because it will make or break the campaign pitch. Wordstream says that 40% of advertisers say their PPC budget is lower than they want it to be.

  • 29% say they pay $750-$2,499 a month on advertising
  • 20% pay $2,500-$4,999
  • 12% pay $10,000-$19,999
  • 11% pay $5,000-$9,999
  • 10% pay $0-$749

These numbers suggest there’s plenty of opportunity to work with marketers that spend on the lower end of the dollar range. These  smaller advertisers may be unaware that they can compete with larger businesses when they use the right pay-​per-​click strategies.

Photo by Vojtech Okenka from Pexels


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