Mobile & Tablet PPC Campaigns

So you have set up a PPC campaign for your business, and are targeting all devices.  Great!  Now your PPC ads will show whenever people search for your keywords, regardless of whether they are on a laptop, PC, mobile or tablet.  Not always.  You may notice that the search results on a mobile and tablet are displayed differently to a desktop device.  This means that quite often, there are fewer PPC spots available for you to show in, therefore the bids need to be higher to ensure your ads get shown.

 


You'll see that there are only 2 paid for ads at the top and 3 at the bottom.  Therefore competition is strong and to make sure you are in top spot you'll want to increase your max CPC.  That's fine, but will also mean you are higher than maybe you want to be on desktop searches.  The simple solution is to duplicate your campaign so one targets just desktop campaigns and the other targets mobile and tablets.  You could even have a separate campaign for mobile and another for tablet.  This is great if you have large campaigns and big budgets.  You can dedicate more time and play around with the targeting for larger campaigns.  If your budgets are smaller then you can still target different devices for different campaigns, but you may spend longer than you want changing bids and altering settings.

Here at PaulSearch we can sort all this for you.  We can manage all aspects of your Pay Per Click campaign and ensure you are getting as much exposure as possible for your budget.  Please visit the website, or email info@paulsearch.co.uk if you have any questions.

Good PPC Ads Are Key

Once you've found the keywords you want to be shown for, the next step is the writing of the PPC ads.  The ads are the first interaction of your brand, so they've got to be unique and stand out as much as possible from all the competition. 

The purpose of the ad is to get the user to click on your ad and buy.  Therefore the ad has got to be relevant to the search query and have a clear call to action.  It's also good to get some kind of brand message in too.

Easy? Hmmm well it would be if you were given lots of room, but you only have 25 characters for the headline and 2 lines of 35 characters.  Not so easy now!

Here at PaulSearch we are experts in writing PPC adverts.  We ensure that as much of the keyword as possible is in the ad, ideally at least in the headline, but also in the descriptions too if we can.  We'll also try and add the brand or brief message, as well as a call to action.  This is a very tricky thing to get right, and we understand that business owners are often too busy to give enough time to their PPC campaign.  They might try it, throw a bit of money at it, then stop advertising on search engines using pay per click as they think it doesn't work.  If this sounds familiar then you need our help!  We'll mine all the keywords for you, and just as importantly write the ads for you as well.  This could mean that there are only 1 or 2 keywords that will be in a group with a specific ad.  This is perfectly normal, and often encouraged.  It's also good practice to have more than one advert in each ad group.  This will give Google the option to choose which ad to show.

We have two packages available at PaulSearch.  The first is Set Up.  This will mean we build the campaign from scratch for you, including all keywords, ad groups and writing of the ads.  Then we pass it over to you to manage yourself.  If you aren't sure how to run a PPC campaign, don't worry we can also manage it for you.  Please contact us at info@paulsearch.co.uk or visit the website www.paulsearch.co.uk for more info.

Do You Geo Target?

Most campaigns that I've managed in the past have been national or even international, but there have been some, where the client doesn't want to target a wide audience, but they'd rather target a particular town, county or radius of them.

That's no problem at all.  PPC is really flexible when it comes to who you want to see your Pay Per Click ads and who you don't.  National PPC campaigns are great if you are an online retailer that ships nationwide, but not so great if you're an estate agent that focuses on a couple of towns within a region.  

The Google AdWords system allows advertisers to easily target anywhere in the world.  It can be an individual town or a few towns miles apart.  So, lets take an estate agents as an example.  They only sell and let houses within a 20mile radius of Telford, Shropshire.  That's not a problem for the AdWords system.

It works on the IP address of the users computer and what they search for.  So someone in Telford would search simply for "estate agents" and the ad would show. But someone in Manchester performs the same search and the ad won't get shown.  If the keyword in the campaign is "telford estate agents" then the ad would get shown if the person was in the radius area, or in Manchester.  The Google AdWords system understands that although that person isn't in the radius set, the ad should still be shown because that person is looking for something local to that area.

Geo targeting is a great way to limit who sees your ads and obviously means your budget won't go down as quickly.  It does mean though that the number of clicks your website gets will be vastly reduced.  

This is something we understand at PaulSearch, and is one of the questions we ask when we set up new campaigns.  Once set, the towns, cities, or radius selected can be changed at any time.  That's not a problem.  The great thing about PPC is that you can change pretty much anything you like, as often as you like! Pay Per Click is quite a complex thing, which is why here at PaulSearch we take that hassle away from you!

Quality NOT Quantity

Back in the day, when Google were pretty much unknown, the way PPC worked was based on one thing, bids.  Over time the search engines got clever and to keep people using them they realised that they had to update the systems they used and make the search results more relevant to the user.

This is where we come across the PPC Quality Score.  This has been around for a while now, but basically means that it is not just max bid that counts now in the world of PPC, but also how relevant the ads are that get shown.

Quality Score is several factors that in theory if you get right, can mean you are in a higher position than other advertisers and yet pay a lower cost per click (CPC).  These factors include your click through rate (CTR) the page that the user hits when they first hit your website, how relevant the keyword is to your website page and how relevant the ad is to the search query and also the historical performance of the keyword and campaign.

You've heard the word relevant several times there.  This is key to any Pay Per Click campaign that anyone runs.  Most of it is also common sense too.  Who what's to spend money on a click that takes the user to the wrong page of their site and risk loosing them? Or why show an ad for a certain product or service but not mention that product or service in the ad?  In the whole relevancy battle that Google have it is of course to make sure users get what they are looking for as simply as possible, then they will return.  Returning visitors means more clicks for Google and therefore more revenue for them!  

It's not all one sided though.  They reward advertisers who follow these rules with lower CPC's, and therefore the cost per acquisition (CPA) will no doubt be lower.  So it really is a win win situation.

Here at PaulSearch we take relevancy very seriously.  Why pay more than you need just because you don't have time or are too lazy to put the effort into the PPC campaigns?  We ensure that keyword groups are very well matched, and if it means that there is only one keyword in the group, so it can have it's own targeted relevant ad, then so be it.  We want our clients to feel they are receiving the best service.  Not all PPC marketeers are like this unfortunately! Interested in hearing more?  Then why not visit the website at www.paulsearch.co.uk and we can start a campaign from scratch or help improve an existing campaign.

Yahoo! & Bing Merger Complete

For those of you that didn't know, Yahoo! and Bing have merged their search results.  This was a strategic partnership to try and take on the monster that is Google.  It was first tested in the States, but has now been rolled out to the UK, Ireland and France, with the rest of Europe to follow.

It means that the results both in PPC and natural listings will be the same in Bing and Yahoo! search engines.  This is great news for pay per click advertisers!  It means that you will only need to submit the campaigns on one of the engines for it to appear on both.  Personally I would use Bing.  Bing have a PPC desktop tool that integrates nicely with Windows packages (being a Microsoft product that should be expected). 

Will this change the way people search?  At PaulSearch we doubt it to be honest.  It was more a marriage of convenience as both companies knew that on their own they would struggle against Google.  It's better to pool resources and systems to get the best of both worlds and minimise risk.

Bing does have the added advantage of being a Microsoft product, and with nearly all computers having Windows, they are at a distinct advantage.  Realistically though people don't "Bing it" they "Google it".  Mobile is also the fastest growing way to access the internet.  More Android phones are being sold than ever before.  Who developed and owns the Android system?  Yup you guessed it, it's Google!  If I worked at Google I wouldn't be worried about my job anytime soon.  At www.paulsearch.co.uk we  aim to give our PPC clients the widest possible reach which means if their pay per click budgets allow, we get our clients in the Yahoo! and Bing lists too.  The PPC traffic levels aren't massive, but we've found that the CPA is often a lot lower than that of Google, though there aren't as many sales.

What is PPC?

So, you've heard of Google and how they are making tons of money.  You've heard of online advertising, and you've heard of a system called Pay Per Click (PPC).  But what is it and how does it work?

Well, wonder no more! Pay Per Click (PPC) is advertising on search engines where you are only charged when your advert is clicked. For most search engines these are the top 2 or 3 results and the ones down the left hand side.

PPC sponsored links are adverts that appear when someone searches for a keyword or phrase that an advertiser wants to appear for.

For example, if you are a Spanish holiday company, you’d want your PPC advert to appear for searches to do with holidays in Spain. You would bid in an auction for all the keywords that relate to your business. You would only pay for each click you received, and depending on how much you want to pay depends on how high up the listings you are. There are other factors involved too, but that’s the basics.

The key is to only bid on searches that you want to be found for, and remember there are lots of different ways in which people look for things on the internet.

PPC is a great way to get in front of someone that is actively looking for your product or service. They are in the market for what you offer, so in order to get that sale, they need to find you easily.  The natural results in search engines are great, but if the algorithm changes it could knock you down the results, or even out altogether, and could take months to bounce back.  Pay Per Click is an alternative and maybe a stop-gap to those long term solutions.  The PPC ads are almost instant and can get you great quality clicks from people that want to buy what you have to offer.

So that's all there is to it!

If you're still unsure or what more info, why not visit www.paulsearch.co.uk and we'll help you understand it more.  We can even run your PPC campaign for you, with set up too.  That way you won't need to worry about how it all works, all you'll need to do is watch the increase in traffic to your website, and conversions that it will drive!

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Google Doodles Go Sport Crazy!

So Google have changed their logo every day these last 2 weeks to keep in with the Olympic theme.  Over the last few days they've gone the next step, and created mini games in the logo.

This has led to less productive days in many offices around the country I bet.  Inter-department challenges and taking the competitive edge to the next level!  Google often change their logo to celebrate various milestones in history, but these weeks in July and August have kept the country competing, even if it is just at their desks during their lunch hour (or when the boss isn't looking!).

Here at PaulSearch we've had a bit of a play, and the best score we can come up with on the penalty shoot-out is a mere 35.

We hope you've all had fun playing these crazy games and not spent too much time not doing what you should have been! 

Hello & Welcome!

Hello and welcome to the PaulSearch blog!

You've found this blog because you are interested in all things Pay Per Click (or PPC as it's better known). So who are PaulSearch you might ask?

Well, it all started many years ago.  I worked in a High Street bank, where life was alright but not too exciting, when I found an advert in the local paper to join a online marketing company.  It sounded interesting, so applied and went for the interview.  To my surprise, I got the job!

It was weeks before I actually knew what it was the company did...everyone asked what I did, and all I could answer was "something to do with Search Engines".  This answer got some very odd reactions.  "You don't know what it is you do?" they asked.  

Once I did understand what the company did, remember that back in 2002 search marketing was very new and no one had really heard of Google, I really enjoyed it.

The company grew and grew, and I grew with it.  It was a private company with a great team.  The MD was fantastic and the only salesman we had.  He had a hit list of companies he wanted to work with, and to be honest, pretty much got every one!

Fast forward a few years, and I moved around a bit, working for some of the largest Search and Media Agencies in the country. They had all types of clients, ranging from blue chip multi-nationals to smaller independent companies, some spent £1000’s a day, some £10, the spectrum of previous clients is immense.  The great thing about PPC is that it can work regardless of the size of your business.

My knowledge of Pay Per Click management goes back to the days when only experienced internet users searched on Google.  Most people used Yahoo or MSN.  How things have changed!  Now if you’re not in the Google results you’ll be missing out on a ton of traffic.  Bing has now merged with Yahoo and with the advent of social media; even Facebook has got in on the act and has a PPC offering.

I am based in a town called Telford; it’s in Shropshire, between Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury, north of Birmingham.  But that shouldn’t limit me working with you!  PPC campaigns can be run anywhere, at any time.  That’s one of the many great things about running a Pay Per Click campaign.  Even now, when I can see sales being recorded it gives me a buzz, a little geeky some would say, but hey, I take pride in my work and that shows by the efforts I make to manage PPC campaigns.

So, if you are thinking of Pay Per Click advertising, then why not get in touch? Use the contact us form on the website, email or phone using the contact details.  I’m sure we can get your company, products or service in the search results and increase traffic, sales and revenue by using Pay Per Click advertising.