Run a Successful PPC Campaign on a Budget with These 5 Tips

If you think your small business can't afford a Pay-Per-Click ad campaign—think again. You really need PPC because of Google’s ongoing algorithm changes (see our previous blog on marketing tools that boost conversions), and you actually can run a high-converting PPC campaign on a small budget with these tips:

1. Market Research

Conduct ongoing research to learn about your target market's needs, desires, thinking and how they search. This data helps you squeeze more out of a small marketing budget—for PPC or any other type of marketing. Use surveys, consumer focus groups, mobile marketing research and especially keyword research...

2. PPC Keyword Research

Visit the Google Keyword Planner with your fresh market data (SECockpit, Term Explorer, 7Search, Soolve and Long Tail Pro are also good keyword and phrase research tools). Test various combinations of potential keywords directly with Google to see which ones get the most average monthly traffic. You can look at the “suggested bid” column and use it for your Google AdWords account.

3. Use “Exact Match”—not “Broad Match”

Put your ad in front of those customers who are most likely to click through and purchase. Don’t waste your money by casting too wide a net on people who are just casually curious. Make every penny count by using the keywords your research shows are most effective with truly interested shoppers.

4. One PPC Ad Format at a Time

It's tempting to spread your PPC ads all over YouTube, Facebook, Google, etc. all at once, but you'll lose important data if you do. Focus on just one venue at a time—start with Google since more than 90% of people start looking for products and services there anyway. As you launch your campaign, you can use the generated data to make better decisions on future Google PPC ads, and ads on other platforms.

5. Constantly Re-Evaluate the Data

You’ll need to use PPC on a regular basis to get new customers—but don’t keep using the same PPC campaign. Boost your impact each time by studying past PPC campaigns and evaluating the data—constantly adjust to improve conversions. Google AdWords has great conversion tracking tools to help you figure out what's working best, and you can link that account to your Google Analytics account for even deeper insight into your data.

If you have any questions, just contact your Optuno website development team and ask!

About the Author

John B

John has the resume of a Silicon Valley hotshot but rather spend his time fishing and working from his hometown in Miami, Florida. He’s been involved with web development and marketing since 2008 (that’s before Instagram was founded if you needed perspective). John spent years freelancing and running his own marketing agency before joining Optuno in 2018. He has since earned his spot as one of the head project managers and marketing coordinators here at Optuno. Thanks to his decade of experience, diligence, and problem-solving abilities, John has become a valued asset for both our staff and customers. He’s as pragmatic as they come and if you have questions, he has answers. John knows how to get straight to the point and when it comes to web development and marketing, there’s nothing he hasn’t seen before.