How to Set Up A PPC Campaign

The important factor that affects your PPC campaign is the amount you intend to spend and your target keyword.

Obviously, the larger PPC search engines like Google Adwords, Yahoo! Search Marketing and MSN have the widest coverage, so the cost for bidding on their keywords is going to be more expensive than if you try the smaller, niche PPC search engines.

Yahoo! Search Marketing (formerly Overture) provides a free search tool that not only provides you with a wide range of keywords, but also a tool which indicates the current bidding price for those keywords. However, you’ll find a better free tool here: http://www.pixelfast.com/overture/. This tool will help you determine how many and which keywords you should plan on using in your campaign.

NOTE: This free tool gives you a good ROUGH guide. However, it does not give you sophisticated, accurate research. For example, it combines singular and plural and also combines word order. It shows the same number of searches for “cheap books” and “books cheap”, which is nonsense. You need to know which phrases people are REALLY using.  For in-depth reviews of keyword research tools, see KeywordWorkshop.com.

If you are new to the industry, it’s advisable to take it slowly to begin with. Set yourself a small budget and choose keywords that are well searched for and as cheap as possible.

* The first step is to choose the PPC search engine you are going to use. You can choose from the “Big 3” – Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing or MSN, or one of the smaller PPC search engines.
* When choosing your keywords, choose wisely (the more focused and targeted the better) and keep bids within your budget. Just because a keyword has the most searches does not necessarily mean it will be the most profitable.

For example: the keyword “batteries” might have a large number of searches, but it is too general. How do you know if the visitor wants the batteries your site is going to sell? More targeted keywords and phrases, even with fewer searches can be profitable. Example:  the keyword “buy rechargeable AA batteries” is much more focused and more likely to result in a sale.
* Tip: Do not target only keywords with the highest number of searches, especially if you are just starting out. These will be the most sought after keywords and phrases for PPC and they will cost you more to bid on them. Don’t be afraid to use keywords from the middle, and even lower end on the list. Fewer click-throughs that convert to sales are much better than paying for a lot of click-throughs and fewer sales. Remember, you want quality targeted traffic.
*  The next step is to design and implement your ad. This will depend on the PPC search engine you have chosen. Incorporate your keyword or key phrase into the Title and if possible, either the main keyword or a secondary keyphrase into the description.

Create a number of versions of your ad so you can split-test them to see which one works most effectively. PPC Marketing requires a good deal of tweaking – especially when you are starting out – so tweak, test and monitor until you find the right word combinations that not only draw you visitors but make the sale.