Results are all that matter with PPC. So stop searching for the latest creative hack and start following these 10 proven campaign, copywriting, and landing page formulas instead.
1. Use SKAGs
Instead of using 10-20 keywords per ad group, Single Keyword Ad Groups focus ad groups on a single keyword.
The net effect is better message matching, easier ad-to-keyword targeting, increased click through rates, higher quality scores, which collectively result a lower cost per click.
2. Visitor Intent Matters
Visitor intent-to-temperature dictates what to offer which person at what time, and why.
- Visitor intent: What someone is already thinking/feeling.
- Temperature: Their interest level.
Proper traffic segmentation is the key to a high-converting CTA. This helps you ‘bucket’ them based on three basic temperature levels:
Cold: Cold traffic knows nothing about you. Send them to blog posts, white papers, videos, etc. to warm them up before they’re ready to buy.
Lukewarm: These visitors are beginning to actively search for you/your offer. This type of traffic most often responds to webinars, video courses, case studies, and even SWAG.
Hot: These visitors are ready to go. This traffic type isn’t necessarily about higher conversion rates, but higher conversion value. Try up-selling for higher margin products, cross-selling for higher average order values, or increasing average retention length.
3. Use the Ad Grid
One-hit PPC wonders are a dime a dozen. The trick is being able to replicate your results over and over again. The Ad Grid helps you do this by tailoring each offer to your visitor’s intent.
Here’s how it works:
- Identify target audiences.
- Lay out a few “hooks” for each audience.
- Write targeted copy.
- Craft your ad creatives.
- Analyze the campaign’s results.
- Scale accordingly.
4. Mind the Iceberg Effect
You obsess over keywords. But you pay for search terms. This is called the Iceberg Effect. The top of the iceberg is the keywords. The stuff below is the search terms.
Ideally, the search-term-to-keyword ratio is 1:1. If you have 100 different terms for a single keyword, your search-to-keyword discrepancy is too high, which means you’re wasting money on low-quality, unrelated topics.
5. No Beating Around the Bush
Advertisers tend to be clever when they should be clear. You’ll be better served by getting right to the point. The primary search term goes in the headline. Social proof goes in the body. Simple CTA goes at the end.
Boom. Done.
6. Laser-focus Local Ads
If you’re not going national, go (hyper) local. That’s how people are already searching, right?
You can ad laser-focus to local-based ads with mobile and “near me” queries. For example, one test from Engine Ready proved that phone numbers with local area codes perform way better than toll-free alternatives.
7. Retarget With RLSA
Some CPC’s top a few hundred bucks per click! Since only a tiny percentage of those clicks actually turn into customers, the Cost Per Lead is insanely high. Retargeting helps reduce that cost.
CMO.com reports that “retargeted visitors are 70% more likely to convert compared to ones who aren’t.”
8. Remember PAS
Here’s a perfect Facebook ad example from Michael Hyatt that illustrates PAS in action:
Here’s what’s happening above:
✅ Problem: You’re promoting something but you don’t believe you know how or have the time.
✅ Agitate: It takes time to build a following. And even more time to get them to engage with your offer.
✅ Solution: Free 30-minute webinar to give you the know-how on how to build an engaged online audience.
9. Copy Length is Tricky but Doable
Figuring out the correct length of a landing page is trickier than trying to figure out why Ben Affleck insisted on playing Batman. Copyhacker’s advice, however, is darn near perfect for it:
10. Conversion Scent
Over-prioritizing message match can sometimes take your eye off the ball. You miss the big picture-stuff that otherwise influences results. “Conversion scent” extends this concept to include all of the subliminal stuff that affects someone’s experience.
When someone clicks on an ad, the resulting page they land on should retain the same look, feel, and ‘scent’ so people instinctively know they’re where they should be.
Keep it simple: use dynamic text replacement to keep your messages consistent.
Conclusion
You don’t need to be a creative savant to create high-performing PPC campaigns. You just need to follow what already works. There’s a lot of work involved, but the results will be worth it.
