In the past few years, pay-per-click advertising has become more complicated and time-consuming to manage. Rules and best practices can seem to change daily, and it’s quite easy to get lost in the mix or follow a trend that isn’t as beneficial as hoped.
PPC Campaigns need to be carefully researched, planned, diligently monitored, and updated consistently to show real, solid results. With that in mind, here are five strategies to help update your ecommerce PPC campaigns for 2017.
Try Google’s New Ad Extensions
Some marketers mistakenly think Google AdWords Extensions increase the price of their clicks and campaigns. In reality, they make it easier for you to attract more clicks and phone calls to your business. With Google AdWords Extensions, you can include things like star ratings, contact details, and locations to every impression. This can make your AdWords campaign stand out and hopefully make it easier for potential customers to find you on a crowded search results page.
Experiment With Retargeting
Increased competition between online stores means more choices for your average customer. Unfortunately, when looking at different options and websites, a buyer might become distracted or forget to come back to your online store and complete their order. With retargeting ads, you can give shoppers a second and third chance to make a purchase by reminding them about your website or product as ads on other websites. Keep in mind you’ll be paying for those extra clicks and impressions, but many retargeting campaigns generate a very high ROI (return on investment) and are well worth the investment.
Run a PPC Campaign on Facebook
Facebook is a relative newcomer to the world of pay-per-click advertising, and its platform is based on demographics and interests rather than keywords. Still, if you can put together the kind of image-based advertising that will attract the attention of your target audience, you could find a very low-cost way to reach more buyers. The newness of Facebook’s advertising model means you don’t have as much competition, so there are some marketing bargains to be found if the time is taken to research them.
Look Closely at Image Ads
Speaking of image ads, Google now allows you to promote your products through image ads on its search listings, too. If you have high-quality shots that clarify what you have to offer, this can be a great way to boost sales. People tend to shop based on what they see more than what they read, so image advertising and ecommerce go together naturally. Never underestimate the appealing imagery has on shoppers and their decision-making.
Monitor Your PPC Campaigns, Dive Deep Into Your Web Analytics
Although not a PPC tool in itself, when you update your ecommerce PPC Campaigns, it’s always a good idea to get up close and personal with your web analytics and online marketing data. It’s crucial for you to know which campaigns, keywords, and strategies are paying off. You can’t get those insights without first getting to know the relevant metrics of your online store and then reviewing them over time to gauge your progress.
Ecommerce and Internet marketing are always changing, but the last few years have brought some particularly important developments. So, if you’re still holding onto your favorite PPC Campaigns and strategies from a few years ago, it might be time to branch out and try something new in 2017 and beyond.
Want to grow your online store, generate more traffic and grow sales? Why not contact us to schedule a consultation and account review. Call 518-842-3242 today to get started!
