As hundreds of thousands of business owners have seen a change during COVID-19, their marketing strategies have also been shifting. 

On average, pre COVID-19, small to large businesses were spending $10,000 a month on Pay-Per-Click- (PPC) ads and industries such as retail were  spending up to millions of dollars annually on PPC ad campaigns alone! 

However, during COVID-19, the retail, travel, bars, restaurants, conferences, sporting events, gym facilities and other industries are all seeing a very fast downward trend with no indication of when this trend will start to rise again. With so much changing each minute, hour and day, it is even more time consuming to start monitoring and managing a PPC ad campaign than ever before. 

This is why our pay per click Dallas experts are here. We compiled a list of our top recommendations on how to improve your overall campaigns and SEM strategies! 

Copy is everything 

With PPC ads, copy is one of the most critical components of a successful campaign; however, during this time of crisis the copy of an ad is even more critical than before. 

As WordStream said, “if your ad copy sucks, you’re not going to see the return you hoped for.” Amen to that one!  Ad copy is just like click-bait, and we hate to say it, but it is true. Click bait is what brings those potential consumers into the landing page from search engines. 

The most important thing to remember is that no one clicks on a PPC ads because they think the ad is cool. A person clicks on an ad because it helps them to finish something. Whether it is purchasing a product, learning more about X topic, finding an outsourced agency and the list continues from there. 

No matter the type of ad that is running- the goal in mind is to always bring in the best leads with the budget that the client has set in place. If the client is yourself and you have an internal team working on PPC ads, how is their campaign going? 

The copy should have the discount first and foremost or what brings in your searchers. Here are two great examples of PPC ads when a searcher types “PPC management” into Google. 

Why are these ads good? “Zero BS, 100% results, always.” What are business owners searching for? No bull crap and results. The landing pages take them right to case studies that show previous client’s results and the contact us page. Simple, effective, but could be better! The small sentence underneath should hit an emotional trigger for a potential client. 

What would really drive them? You are zero BS and 100 percent results, always, but how? 

This is where the second ad really starts to outshine and show the importance of copy. While this ad is further down on the SERP, it is still a decent ad! This is because it gives the price, and the copy provides any needed information. No set up? Reporting? Google analytics? B2B Lead Generation? See how that starts to get even more attention. 

Copy is EVERYTHING and so isn’t proper keyword research! 

Keyword research 

Here we are again, folks. Our Digital Marketers and SEO Experts are speaking about keyword research again. Do we ever stop? No, never. This is because without keywords, the ad isn’t worth it. This is because keywords and keyword phrases are going to dictate where your PPC ads are going to appear in SERPs. 

If a consumer is searching for “ppc management” and this phrase comes up in “digital marketing” consumers could be confused why this phrase is showing in digital marketing and not PPC ads. A business should have “ppc ads in X” “ppc management X” “ppc experts in X” are some examples of keywords and phrases that should be used.

When a business adds other keywords that aren’t as relevant for the ad itself, that is called negative keywords. 

Pause negative keyword ads 

Negative keywords in the pay per click Dallas world does not mean that these keywords are bad, it just means that these keywords aren’t relevant to the ad itself or the searches. The thing with proper PPC management is that a negative keyword list should be created. While all ads might use X keywords, not all of them need it. 

It all depends on the product and/or services that are being marketed. A great example is to negate “free ppc management”. If the PPC management is free, do not purchase their products or services. 

Plus, negative keywords can be other keyword phrases in industries that a company did not know. While you would search for “x” keywords when typing in your company’s name, that does not mean those phrases or keywords are relevant to actual search queries. 

With Pay-Per-Click management it is important to find a company who understands that sometimes negative keywords get in the way of the ad and to simply shut off this ad. This is because an ad that is not relevant is not bringing in leads which is a waste of time and money. It is really that simple. With that, COVID-19 has changed the landscape of internet usage and will it continue to change once this is over? 

Understand a change in search behavior 

Where is your target audience? While Google is the largest search engine holding up most of the market shares, there are target audiences on Bing. Before COVID-19, any business would want their PPC ads to run on several search engines if necessary to reach their target audience where they are searching. 

Now, with desktop searches increasing again after being on a downward trend for quite some time, this could change the type of ad in two ways. The copy of the ad and the keywords used. Search phrases on desktops are traditionally longer than search phrases on mobile devices. 

Would you change the keywords completely? You might need to. 

Not only are searchers on their laptops again, but their search phrases are changing as well. Yes, they are searching for products and/or services, but they are also searching for answers.

Source: 

From wondering how to make their own face masks to how to connect with a recruiter during this moment, the types of searches have changed and the devices they are on have changed. How does a business stay on top of that? 

Unless you have an in-house team member who can handle PPC ads, you cannot. A company needs a team of experts behind them like our pay per click Dallas experts. Call us today to learn more about our services and PPC management process!

How can I improve my SEM?

Search Engine Marketing is a time consuming process, but one way a company can improve their SEM is to understand their CTR.