7 Common PPC Campaign Mistakes | How to Avoid Them

7 Common PPC Campaign Mistakes
Frequent PPC Campaign Mistakes and How to Solve Them

This post will tackle some common PPC campaign mistakes. Some of which are more significant than others but all will have an impact on the most important issue…your BUDGET. It’s wise to combat these PPC campaign mistakes before you get too deep into your account.

Use these seven tips to help get past the PPC campaign mistakes that can be easy to miss.

Failing to Correctly Set Your Account Settings

A well organized PPC account goes along ways.  Its settings can help you manage and control how your ads will be shown on the search engine results page.  Make sure location targeting, language, bid type, ad rotation, among other things are all set to your preference.

Not Setting Daily Budget Strategy

What good is a PPC campaign if your ads are depleting your budget before noon? Unless all-clicks are converting, a depleted budget limits your ads from being seen by potential customers.  You could have the perfect landing page, but no one will see it.

A simple solution is to utilize ad scheduling to keep your ads available for bidding during peak market times or use the standard delivery option for even spend over time.  This will help stretch your budget out.

You can also pause or remove keywords that are too expensive and aren’t leading to conversions.  This can free up some money put towards your daily budget.

Failing to Check Destination URL’s

This is one of the most simple PPC campaign mistakes. You will lose customers if they constantly click an ad that directs them to an irrelevant landing page.  You pay for that click and get nothing in-return.

Quality score can also be affected, causing a higher cost-per-click for those irrelevant clicks.

Stay organized and double check URL’s before ads go live.  This takes a little more time, but overall, will save you money and customers.

Creating Ads that Aren’t Exactly What Your Landing Page Shows

A PPC campaign won’t be successful if you ad copy says one thing but your landing page tells the searcher something different.  For example, as a real estate investor, if your ad states the searcher can get an offer in 24 hours but your landing pages says one week, there’s a disconnect.  The searcher might not take you serious and possibly won’t return to your website.

Keep customers happy.  Write ads that perfectly match your landing page.  This will also keep your quality score up and your cost-per-click down.  If ads and landing pages are in a good flow and you’re getting quality clicks, but no conversions, then it might be time to test your landing page.

Incorrectly Using Dynamic Keyword Insertion

Dynamic keyword insertion (DKI) can be a effective way to generate good ads. If properly set up and tested. But, some campaign managers fail to test to make sure the ads make sense.  Don’t create ads that sound terrible and make you look bad.  Double check your DKI is in the correct format, didn’t use competitor terms, and be careful of using broad match keywords.   A easy fix to this PPC campaign mistakes is take the time to double check your ads.

Not Customizing Ads

Write your ad copy to target market personas.  If your best customer is one that needs quick cash for selling their house, then write ads directly to them.  

Use location customizing.  Some ads are very generic and don’t add anything personal.  If you buy houses in Miami, test out ad copy with Miami in the text.

If there’s a buying cycle for your company, test copy in the different buying cycles.  Just be aware of customer intent.

Customizing ads should increase CTR and in-return increase conversions.  Easy solution… know your market.

Not Deleting Non-Performing Keywords

It’s easier for small campaigns to see keywords that just aren’t cutting it.  This takes more work with large accounts.  Two simple ways to eliminate bad keywords; look over you campaign at least once a week and do a quick scan each time you add a new keyword.

Low performing keywords are most likely too general.  These keywords can create a user experience that isn’t closely related to your message.  This can cause lower click through rates, higher cost-per-click and a lower quality score.

Set rules for keywords.  If click through rates are poor, get rid of them.  If they aren’t converting and wasting your money, get rid of them.

Not Taking Advantage of Negative Keywords

It’s extremely easy to get caught up in creating perfect ads.  But, don’t forget to block searches that are unrelated and costly. Negative keywords can assure ad copy is very targeted.  To find negative keywords; perform a search for general negative key terms, check your search terms report, and include words that you have market knowledge of.

Conclusion

I hope reviewing these frequent PPC campaign mistakes will help you avoid poor traffic and unrelated clicks resulting in higher costs.

The PPC Management team at SoaringSEM would be glad to manage your campaign, so you can focus your Real Estate Investor efforts in buying and selling properties.  Check out our PPC service packages.