PPC for Small Businesses in San Diego

Pay-per-click (PPC) marketing is a common and effective way for small businesses in San Diego to identify and attract new customers and clients. Unfortunately, far too many companies that try PPC do not find the results they are looking for.

The strategy requires in-depth knowledge, along with careful data collection and analysis to determine the best path forward. Questions arise about sufficient budget, keyword choice, and many other factors that go into a successful campaign.

If done incorrectly, PPC can end up far too expensive and even ineffective when facing strong competitors. Large companies and worldwide brands have both dedicated marketing departments and massive investment options to dominate these ads. Yet, you too can find ways to get attention with help from a reputable and experienced San Diego PPC Agency.

Success with PPC depends on five main strategies.

If you want to learn how Digital Authority Partners can increase your PPC effectiveness, watch this video!

1. Choose Keywords for Ads Carefully

Powerful keyword phrases form the foundation of all PPC strategies. If you do not take enough time and make sufficient effort to research all keyword options carefully, you will either never spend money on clicks or spend far too much of it for clicks that do not help you. This is not a time to guess or go on instinct. Keyword choice depends on careful research, data collection, and ongoing analysis.

Although many factors go into keyword choice, the three most important include those relevant to your products, services, target audience, and brand; ones with a high search volume but limited competition; and keyword phrases that ultimately suit your budget. 

It may take quite some time and help from experts who understand strategic planning to get the list of keywords you need. Also, it is important to note that this is an ongoing process, and you will have to find new words and phrases as time goes by. Consumer search habits and trending terms or topics change all the time.

2. Create Structure Based on Goals 

First, determine your goals with every PPC campaign. While general goals like "more revenue" always form the foundation of business success, you must get more specific and organized if you want your ads to attract clicks and convert. 

Who is your target? New customers, existing clients, those who have never heard of your brand before, or people who needed an extra nudge to take action? What action do you want them to take?

All these things and more contribute to the organizational structure of your entire PPC marketing strategy. Platforms like AdWords allow you to create groups, individual ads, and other options to help with this. The more organized you are, the easier it is to track which keywords get results and how you can tweak your campaigns for more success in the future. 

3. Write Ad Copy with Conversion in Mind 

Every ad displayed for a PPC campaign on a major search engine or social media platform needs a short yet powerful written blurb that gets attention. This text must include targeted keywords and semantic terms, align with what people are searching for specifically, and promise a solution or benefit for searchers.

The days of ad copy with "Wow!" or similar meaningless attention grabbers are long gone. Google and other platforms promote relevancy above all else. People click on ads that offer relief from a particular pain point or an offer they cannot refuse. An emotional element, unique value propositions, and scarcity can all help push your positive results higher.

4. Build Strong and Effective Landing Pages 

When an ad works, the immediate goal is to get a member of your target audience to click the link and end up on a landing page. This customized page may be the home page of your business website or another option. In most cases, it makes more sense to create a unique landing page specifically tailored to the ad strategy. Instead of sharing all the information about your business, product, and services, and displaying large graphics that give limited information, a PPC-specific landing page should match the ad copy.

With conversion as the goal, you want a landing page aligned with the keywords you bid on in your Google campaign. Also, a landing page must have a special offer that is very difficult for interested people to refuse. A prominent call-to-action is also a necessary element. Something as simple as a "Buy Now" button may get the job done.

5. Decide on a Sufficient, Workable Budget

Financial success requires an investment. Every click you get from someone interested in your ad costs money. Unfortunately, many beginners bid too much or end up setting their overall expense limits too high. On the other hand, setting extremely low budgets and ad spend amounts means you will fail to compete with bigger marketers. You may never get any action on your PPC campaigns at all. 

If you feel outclassed when you hear that recommended budgets top $500 per month, you may struggle to make pay-per-click work for you. With current trends to use AI or ML systems to manage these campaigns, individuals handling their own tiny businesses may not get the results they want. One of the best options is to turn PPC over to an experienced team that has knowledge and tools you do not have on your own.

Final Words

Remember that it takes ongoing effort to make pay-per-click work for you. Track your campaigns, keep an eye on competitors, and test different ads to see what works best. Markets always shift and marketing strategies must change with them if you want the same or better results. Some options include adding new keyword phrases, using A/B testing on copy and landing pages, and upgrading special offers to attract more attention from your target audience. 

PPC marketing for small businesses in San Diego does not have to leave you confused, non-competitive, or poor–  with nothing to show for it. With careful keyword research, strong ad copy, landing pages that convert, and a budget that suits your goals, it is possible to make this popular marketing method work for you. The right San Diego PPC agency can help.