Along with search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) is considered one of the most effective advertising methods for driving more visitor traffic to a website. Although it is a fairly simple process, too many small business owners make mistakes that are detrimental to their ad campaigns. You can improve your PPC campaign by avoiding these mistakes.

• Choose specific keywords, not ones that are “broadly matched” – one of the more common mistakes that are made today is that they set their keywords and keyword phrases to be broadly matched. This means that people who are not your target audience and use similar (not the exact) search terms will land on your website.

• Match your ads to your landing pages – the easiest way to hinder the sales conversion process is by sending a PPC ad viewer to a home or landing page that is not relevant. In the long run, this will result in a higher cost-per-click or CPC. To avoid this, make sure that your ads take them to a relevant home or landing page.

• Target your ad campaigns effectively – many business owners do not target their campaigns effectively and reach the proper audience. You can increase the effectiveness of your ads by specifying who sees them.

• Test your ad copy and then test it again – you won’t be able to maximize your ROI (return on investment) unless you test and re-test different versions of your ad copy to see which yields the best results. Most of the PPC platforms that are available allow you to rotate different ads through split testing of specific keywords and keyword phrases.

• Use the content and search networks for your ad placements – if PPC ads appear in blocks on webpages this is referred to as content placement whereas PPC ads that land in the SERP’s result from search network placement. New online entrepreneurs typically use both types of ad placement as well as the same keywords and keyword phrases. Unfortunately, using both types may result in irrelevant placements that cost you money.

Net Advantage Media specializes in a variety of services of business marketing tools that help small and medium-sized companies in the greater NYC and Long Island areas. Call us today so that we can show you how to improve your PPC advertising and realize a higher ROI in the process.