Staying profitable as an electrician requires generating a steady stream of hot leads you can turn into paying customers, but being a highly skilled electrician isn’t enough. You need a strategy to put your services in front of potential customers precisely when they need electrical work, and that’s what pay-per-click (PPC) ads are for.
Pay-per-click advertising gives you a direct route to the top of search results, ensuring visibility exactly when potential clients are actively seeking your services. And unlike traditional advertising, PPC ads can use precision targeting to reach leads that are most likely to convert.
As of 2024, the average conversion rate for Google Ads was 6.96%, which is considered above average. With a high conversion rate and plenty of users, it makes sense to run ads on Google. It’s also worth looking at other platforms, like Facebook and Bing (Microsoft Ads).
Although many businesses get results, success is not automatic. Running a PPC ad campaign can be a great source of leads, but it can also become a money pit if you don’t do it correctly. Here’s what you need to know when your goal is to generate paying customers through PPC without wasting your marketing budget.
Before diving into specific strategies, it’s important to understand the basics of PPC ads. PPC is an advertising model where you pay a fee every time someone clicks on your ad. It’s a quick way to get traffic to your website. And unlike search engine optimization (SEO), you’ll start seeing results immediately. Generally speaking, the system will display your ads for users who search for phrases related to the keywords you designate. If they click, you pay.
Electrical work is a competitive market, and unless you have a huge marketing budget for SEO, it’s hard to get visibility in the search results. Running paid ads on Google and social media platforms bypasses the need to pay for SEO to start getting traffic. Since ads show up at the top of the search results, leads looking for electrical services will see your ad right away. And when you target the right keywords and phrases, you’ll catch leads who need your services now.
Now let’s get into how to build a successful PPC campaign.
Clear objectives are the foundation of every PPC campaign, so set advertising goals that align with your business goals. For example, it could be as simple as figuring out how many new customers you want each month and then setting goals to acquire that many new customers through PPC ads.
Targeting the right search queries is arguably one of the most important aspects of running a PPC ad campaign. Not all keywords related to electrical work will generate paying clients. You want to focus on phrases that indicate a strong intent to hire, like “emergency electrician near me” or “licensed electrician in [city].” Some other examples include:
· “Residential electrician”
· “Commercial electrician”
· “24 hour electrician”
· “Electrical contractor”
· “Electrician services”
· “Same day electrician”
· “House rewire”
· “Electrical inspection”
· “Electrical maintenance”
You can create variations of these phrases with other phrases like “near me” or using zip codes, counties, and cities.
Once you have a list of keywords and phrases to target, you’ll also want to build a list of negative keywords. Negative keywords are terms you want to exclude so your ads don’t show up for those searches. These are terms that are going to waste your ad spend if you get clicks. Some examples include:
· “DIY”
· “How to”
· “Free”
· “Discount”
· Other services, like “HVAC,” “handyman,” “plumbing,” and “drywall”
· Informational queries, like “how to wire an outlet” or “wiring diagrams”
It also helps to add negative keywords for cities, zip codes, or neighborhoods you don’t service, especially if they’re within your general area.
Your ads need to resonate with your ideal lead, so your copy matters. You need a strong headline to capture attention and a compelling call-to-action (CTA) that gets them to click. A strong CTA can increase your click-through rate by 2.8%.
You already know your best leads need electrical work, but you still need to write convincing copy that creates a sense of urgency. For example, you could emphasize what sets your services apart, like having 24/7 availability. Your CTA should encourage immediate action, and the following phrases are a great place to start:
· Call now for a free estimate
· Call now to schedule your service
· Book now
· Get a free quote
· Call now for immediate service
Well-crafted copy will get you more clicks from customers who will actually sign up for your services and become paying customers.
An example of good ad copy that will generate clicks from people who need your services:
“Need fast, reliable electrical repairs? Licensed electricians. Same-day service available. No hidden fees. Call now for a free quote!”
An example of ad copy that may attract casual interest:
“Fast, affordable service. Licensed and insured electricians. Call us today.”
The images you use with your ads matter just as much as the copy, but don’t go overboard trying to capture attention with chaotic or random images. Sometimes the best imagery is just bold text with a simple visual. If you aren’t sure what images to use, test some out and see for yourself.
Use retargeting to reengage leads
Retargeting, also called remarketing, is when you show ads only to people who have previously interacted with your ads or visited your website. Remarketing will keep warm leads aware of your services and can eventually get them to convert. Sometimes people need to see ads from the same company or advertising the same service a handful of times before they’ll convert.
The best part about retargeting is being able to craft your ads with different messages that only retargeting leads will see. This allows you to employ some advanced marketing strategies that utilize highly specific copy.
Use social proof in your ads
Trust is one of the top factors that a homeowner uses to hire an electrician. According to a Podium study, 93% of customers say online reviews impact their decision to buy. Take advantage of this and include customer testimonials in your ads. It will show prospects that other people have had positive experiences with your company and are satisfied with your services. Give people a reason to feel good about clicking your ad or calling you right away.
Get activity on your Facebook ads
We just covered the importance of social proof, and getting activity on your Facebook ads can be an extension of that. This works best for local companies that have an active presence in their community, so if you don’t already have a following, you’ll need to create one first.
If you have a decent amount of followers on Facebook, and you interact with people in your community through your business page, engage with people on posts about your services and then boost those posts to turn them into ads. Boosted posts work a little differently than ads, but the result is the same – locals will see them, and the more positive engagement you have on those posts, the better it makes you look.
Design effective landing pages
Strong, compelling ad copy is important, but once people click on your ad, your landing page is responsible for converting them into a phone call. An effective landing page has the following elements and qualities:
· The content matches the ad’s message and offer, creating a seamless experience
· It’s not your homepage (homepages are too general)
· Specific copy that speaks directly to your customer’s needs
· A clear CTA that instructs the user to act now
· A clearly visible phone number
· Trust signals, like badges and certifications, testimonials, and customer reviews
Your services are location specific, so make sure your ads reach the right geographic audience. Whatever platforms you advertise on, set your ads to reach people in your service area, whether it’s done by zip codes, specific cities, or a set radius around your main address.
You don’t need to spend a fortune, but you do need to set a decent daily budget to get seen. By fine-tuning your keywords and phrases, you can ensure you don’t waste your ad spend. Begin by setting your daily budget to at least $50 per day, if not $100. If you go lower than $50, your ads won’t show up as often (because you’ll be outbid by other electricians) and that will mean fewer clicks.
When you’re new to PPC, you’ll need time to play with your bidding strategies to see what works. Your options include manual CPC, enhanced CPC, and automated bidding strategies like target CPA.
· Manual CPC: You set the maximum amount you’re willing to pay for each click. This seems easy at first, but it limits you in the end. You’ll need to babysit your bids constantly or you risk overpaying or underbidding and never getting seen. This method works best if you know the exact worth of a click.
· Enhanced CPC: With this method, you still set your bids manually, but the ad platform will nudge your bids up or down depending on whether the system thinks a click is more or less likely to convert. The system uses past conversion data to make these decisions, but it’s not perfect.
· Automated bidding: This method gives the system total control over your cost per click. You basically tell the ad platform what you want to pay for each lead and it will increase your bids up to that amount if it thinks a user is highly likely to convert. If a particular user is less likely to convert, the system will either lowball the bid or skip the auction altogether. This method saves time and scales better, but can waste your budget if you don’t have proper tracking and keywords.
If you’re still new to PPC, stick to manual CPC. However if you’ve been using PPC for a while then enhanced PPC might make sense. And unless you’re a PPC pro, it’s best to skip the automated bidding or hire a marketing agency.
You can’t improve what you aren’t tracking. A successful PPC campaign rests on how well you track your efforts. From the start, monitor your click-through rate (CTR), conversion rates, and cost per conversion to know how your ads are performing. It’s equally important to split test your ads to test different ad headlines, images, copy, CTAs, and even landing pages.
Ad extensions are extra bits of information you can add that make them more enticing without paying more per click. For example, on some platforms, you can add a phone number, your location, a list of services, or special offers without having to cram everything into your main ad text. One big benefit of this feature is that Google rewards ads that it thinks are more useful with better positions and a lower cost per click.
Types of PPC ad extensions include:
· Sitelink extensions. Adds extra clickable links under your main ad that can be used to direct leads to your highest-converting landing pages.
For example:
“Electrical Repairs | Panel Upgrades | Emergency Services | Free Estimates”
· Call extensions. Adds your phone number to your ad. On mobile, users can click to call you. These ads should only be run during business hours since it will generate phone calls.
· Location extensions. Shows your business address and a map link. It will boost your credibility if you link your Google Business Profile in this type of ad.
· Callout extensions. This adds short, non-clickable text snippets that highlight features.
For example:
“Licensed & Insured” | “Same-Day Service” | “No Hidden Fees”
· Structured snippet extensions. These are similar to callouts, but are grouped under a main header like “Services.” This is great to show leads the variety of services you offer. For example, a “Services” header might list “Wiring, Rewiring, Electrical Inspections, Smart Home Installation”
· Price extensions. This will show the price of a specific package or service. For example: “Electrical Inspection – Starting at $99”
· Promotion extensions. This highlights sales or special deals, like limited-time offers or holiday discounts. Promotions are great when you include a deadline to create a sense of urgency.
Ad extensions can help you get more clicks, boost your ad rank, reduce your cost per click, filter your traffic, and boost your trustworthiness. At the very least, you should be using sitelinks, call extensions, and callouts.
Getting a PPC audit will help you get better results. If you’re unsure about your strategy, experimenting, or you aren’t getting good results, an audit from a professional PPC agency can help you pinpoint exactly what isn’t working and offer a more effective strategy.
Generating leads with PPC doesn’t require throwing mountains of cash at Google and hoping for the best. It’s about reaching the right people at the right time – people who need electrical work now – with a message that gets them to call you. Done right, paid ads will bring you a steady stream of hot leads, booked jobs, and predictable cash flow.
At PPC.co, we specialize in building high-performing PPC campaigns for electricians who want to grow their business. When you work with us, we’ll craft ads that attract people ready to hire you today.
Ready to see how it works? Contact us today to request a free proposal. You don’t need more clicks – you need more calls. Let’s make it happen.
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When you’re running pay-per-click (PPC) ads, it’s easy to assume clicks mean genuine interest, but most car shoppers are just kicking tires online. Seeing your inventory once doesn’t mean they’re ready to buy anytime soon or even at all. If you want to reach the portion of clicks that come from serious buyers, you need to use retargeting.
The reality is that even prospects who intend to buy a car will bounce before contacting you or visiting your lot in person. And if you don’t have a way to keep them aware of your business, when they’re ready to buy, they’ll buy from a competitor. Running retargeted ads will keep your dealership in their awareness even after they bounce.
According to a 2022 Cox Automotive Car Buyer Journey Study, the average person spends more than 14 hours searching for a new car, which includes visiting around 5 websites before making a purchase decision. The sites they visit include automakers, dealers, third-party sites, and pre-owned car lots with online inventory. Your prospects aren’t going to buy right away, so to get the sale you need to reel them back in. If you’re not using retargeting – also called remarketing – in your PPC campaign, you’re missing out on hot leads.
Buying a car isn’t a small decision. People compare makes, models, and deals and look for dealerships with great reputations. Getting a single click from a potential car buyer isn’t enough to make the sale. And when they bounce, there’s no guarantee they’ll remember you exist. You’re paying for all those initial clicks, and if potential leads never come back you’ve wasted your ad spend. When you use retargeting, you’ll have another chance to turn their curiosity into a conversation, and that’s why remarketing is an essential component in every PPC ad campaign.
PPC ad retargeting for car dealerships shows your ads to people who have already clicked on an ad or visited your website. When implemented strategically, it keeps your dealership visible across multiple platforms and follows those people across the web. For example, when you run retargeted ads on the Google Display Network, your display ads will show up on the blogs, news sites, and apps your prospects frequent.
You can also run retargeting campaigns on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. As long as your prospects scroll through their daily feed, your ads will show up for them if they’ve already interacted with you. YouTube also offers retargeting options with video ads that play right before the content. In fact, don’t underestimate the power of YouTube video advertising. According to data from Wyzowl, video ads convince 84% of people to buy a product or service.
Not everyone searching for a new car will respond to the same bland, boilerplate message. For example, someone browsing luxury SUVs isn’t going to click on an ad that says, “Low APR on all models!” That’s where remarketing shines. It lets you tailor your message to what each user actually wants, which increases response rates.
With retargeting, you can segment your audience based on their interests and behavior. For example, someone comparing financing terms won’t be swayed by flashy sports car imagery. With retargeting, you can show truck shoppers truck ads and sports car shoppers sports car ads. It sounds simple, but it’s one of the most powerful marketing methods of all time. People are far more responsive to messages that feel personal. You may have caught their attention with a general ad at first, but once they start browsing those SUVs on your website, you can retarget them with SUV ads.
When you use retargeting, you can provide different calls to action (CTAs) to users based on how they’ve engaged with your web pages. A visitor who spent a lot of time on your truck inventory pages can be served ads for your latest truck deals. Someone who checked out your lease specials can be hit with ads that talk about financing offers. It’s deceptively simple and brutally effective. Relevance is everything. When your ads reflect what the prospect was already thinking about, it feels personal and resonates.
A next-level tactic is using engagement depth to determine how strong your call to action should be. For instance:
· Multi-page viewers and long dwell times. These are warm leads and can be retargeted with stronger CTAs like “Book a test drive” and “Get a quote today.” They’re close to converting and just need a little push.
· Single-page bouncers. These are people who just peeked at your site. They can be re-engaged with lighter touchpoints like a general promotion or model comparison guide to reel them back in.
· Abandoned lead forms. If someone started filling out a form but didn’t finish, retarget them with a reminder and a stronger offer to sweeten the deal (e.g., “Complete your form for $500 off!”).
This level of nuance turns retargeting into a conversion machine and allows you to show the customer exactly what they want to see.
People don’t buy cars from whatever dealer they find first. That’s too risky. They buy from dealerships they trust and that feel familiar. You can build that sense of familiarity and trust through retargeting. For example:
· Consistent branding across ads. Using consistent branding, design, and messaging throughout your ads reinforces your dealership’s identity.
· Frequency builds familiarity. People need to see a brand between 5-7 times before they’ll remember it. Retargeting puts your dealership in front of people over and over again. Even if they don’t click right away, it’s helping to establish your credibility.
· Social proof works. When you use social proof like customer testimonials or awards in your ads it builds trust with your prospects.
Trust is earned over time, and retargeting will help you get it.
If you’re not using retargeting, your competitors definitely are. Car dealerships operate in one of the most brutally competitive markets out there, with national chains and franchise giants dominating search results and flooding ad channels with endless budgets. If you’re not showing up again and again, your competitors will, and they’ll scoop up all your leads.
The good news is you don’t need a massive marketing budget to get results. Retargeting allows smaller, local dealerships to play smart rather than trying to play big. When you focus on local PPC with hyper-targeted remarketing, you can reach a smaller, more qualified audience – people who are actually in your area, browsing your inventory, and likely to buy soon.
And unlike those cookie-cutter campaigns from national dealers, you can make your messaging feel personal and specific to your local community. That’s an edge big budgets don’t have.
Every visitor who leaves your website without converting is a potential sale but not necessarily lost. With smart retargeting, you can bring them back into your funnel and stay top-of-mind while your competitors waste money shouting into the void. Persistence wins the sale and retargeting is how you stay on the map.
To be blunt, search ads can get expensive fast, especially when clicks can cost a couple dollars per click. Pouring money into cold traffic is gambling on people who may not be ready to engage. Retargeting changes everything.
Display retargeting clicks typically cost a fraction of what you’d pay for search ads using competitive keywords. You’re no longer paying top dollar to get someone’s attention from scratch – you’re nudging people who already know who you are, and those people are more likely to respond. This makes retargeting one of the most cost-effective ways to use your advertising budget.
· Lower CPC, higher intent. Retargeting costs less per click, but you’re targeting people who already visited your site and showed interest.
· Better conversion rates. Familiarity breeds trust. Retargeted visitors are statistically more likely to convert than new users who just clicked an ad out of curiosity.
· Higher ROI. Since retargeting reaches warm leads, the cost of acquiring a lead is usually lower, which means your overall cost per lead is lower and you get better ROI.
If you’re skipping remarketing because you think it’s just something “extra” that doesn’t make a difference, you’re not saving money – you’re losing easy wins. Instead of perpetually chasing new, cold traffic, invest in converting the traffic you’re already getting. That’s exactly what remarketing does.
Generic ads are fine for first impressions, but once someone has browsed your inventory it’s time to get specific with dynamic retargeting. Here’s how it works:
When a prospect views a specific vehicle on your site, you can use retargeting ads to show them the exact vehicles they viewed and others like it down to the year, color, trim, and mileage. For example, if they looked at a black 2005 BMW 535i, that’s exactly what they’ll see in the ad – the same photos, same specs, all across sites like YouTube, Facebook, news platforms, and more. This reminds your prospects of exactly what they want.
Dynamic retargeting works by integrating your live inventory feed with your ad platform, like Google Ads or Meta. This means the vehicles displayed in your ads will always be up to date and won’t feature cars you sold last week.
Beyond personalization, dynamic ads are an incredible tool for creating a sense of urgency:
· Leverage scarcity. With these ads, you can leverage the power of scarcity by stating that your inventory won’t last. Using messages like “Only 1 left” or “Recently reduced” signals that the opportunity won’t last.
· Show what’s popular. If a particular model is getting a lot of views, let your prosects know. People don’t want to miss out on a good deal.
· Trigger action with FOMO. Fear of missing out is real, and when people see the car they want again – with a reminder that it might sell soon – they’re more likely to come in for a test drive.
By using retargeted ads, you can increase conversion rates by up to 200% compared to standard display ads. These ads feel more like a helpful reminder than an outright advertisement.
If you’ve never run paid ads before, it’s easy to assume your only options are basic keyword targeting and generic follow-up ads. But today’s ad platforms give you a buffet of hyper-specific targeting capabilities to fine-tune exactly who sees your ads, where, when, and how.
One of the most effective PPC retargeting tactics for car dealerships is location-based targeting. With radius targeting, you can serve ads to people within a specified distance from your dealership, like within 10-15 miles. These will be prospects who are not only likely to visit your site but could realistically walk into your showroom today. Don’t waste ad spend on clicks from people three states away.
Then there are device-specific campaigns. If your analytics show that 75% or your traffic comes from mobile (this is common), you can launch a mobile-only retargeting campaign with click-to-call buttons, mobile-optimized landing pages, and a map and directions built right into your ads. This will improve the user experience and increase conversion rates.
Timing also matters. When you schedule your ads you can control when they appear. Run them during lunch breaks, in the evenings, or on weekends when people have more time to browse car listings and are more likely to make big purchase decisions.
Other strategic targeting elements include:
· Demographic targeting. You can tailor your messages based on age, income level, and household status. A 25-year-old college grad and a 45-year-old parent are not shopping for the same reasons even though they might buy the same car.
· Behavioral triggers. You can create audiences for your retargeted ads based on repeat visits, clicks, video views, or interaction with a specific feature like a trade-in calculator.
· Lookalike audiences. Build new audiences that resemble your best customers. Platforms like Meta and Google are really good at identifying similar users based on their behavior online.
The bottom line is that retargeting doesn’t have to be broad. With the right strategy, it becomes a smart, cost-effective system for reaching the right prospects at the right time.
Have a sale, lease offer, or year-end clearance? Retargeting can amplify the urgency to act now. By offering short-term discounts and financing deals, you can tap into the urgency people feel when presented with time-sensitive offers. Emphasize the end date using a countdown timer or final deadline to create FOMO (fear of missing out).
With this type of retargeting, you can align your ads with your email messaging to increase conversions even more. For example, if you sent out a promotion to your email list, they’re likely to see your retargeted ads and be reminded of the deal you’re offering.
Retargeting is the PPC secret weapon most car dealerships don’t take advantage of. Using this strategy can make the difference between a one-time curious visitor and a buyer ready to schedule a test drive. If you’re spending money on clicks without retargeting your visitors, you’re wasting your ad spend.
At PPC.co, we specialize in high-performance white label PPC campaigns that include smart retargeting from day one. Whether you’re launching your first campaign or looking to tighten up your existing ad strategy, we can help you capture more leads, drive more traffic, and move cars off your lot. Let’s turn those clicks into closed deals – contact us now to get started.
When it comes to selling web hosting, you’re competing in a fierce market with thin margins and corporations with big budgets. According to data sourced by Hostinger, the top 10 hosting providers account for 33.6% of the global market, which is expected to reach $355.81 billion by 2029. And the top three cloud providers combined hold more than 60% of the cloud infrastructure market.
That’s some fierce competition. But when you take a closer look, some of the bigger companies have a slew of dissatisfied customers looking for alternatives, and many first-time buyers will sign up for a good deal if a web host seems legit. That leaves plenty of room for smaller hosting companies to thrive. In fact, your hosting services and customer support might outshine some of the big players. But when you run paid ads, you’re all competing in the same space. That means you need to level up your advertising strategies to capture your share of the market.
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising can be a powerful tool for acquiring hosting clients, but it can also be a fast way to tank your marketing budget. Make just one mistake and you’ll end up paying for clicks that don’t convert. To win, you need more than just good ads – you need a laser-targeted strategy, messaging that hits your market’s triggers, and landing pages that convert. You need to deliver the right ads to the right market at the right time. Here’s how it’s done.
Not everyone searching for web hosting is the same and treating them as such will yield poor results. For instance, someone searching for “cheap web hosting” is going to make a price-driven decision, and someone searching for “WordPress hosting” wants to skip technical tasks. Although they might all end up purchasing the same hosting plan, you need to reach each group based on what’s driving their purchase decision. Your messaging – from ad to landing page – needs to guide each user down a path that speaks directly to their goals, fears, and expectations. This is done through segmentation.
To execute this, determine what groups of user intent you want to reach. For example, common groups in this market are bargain hunters, small businesses looking for reliability, companies governed by data privacy laws, and non-techies looking for managed hosting.
When you run an ad campaign, you’ll set up a different ad group for each user intent so you can target them with their specific message. Ads displayed to each group will drive traffic to a corresponding landing page written exclusively for that persona. For instance, ads for “cheap web hosting” will lead to a landing page that highlights your low prices and special deals for paying years in advance. Ads targeting small businesses will lead to pages promoting 99.9% uptime, email tools, and reliability. The better you know your segments, the easier it is to tailor each funnel.
Before you even think about creating your first paid ad, you should already know what your competitors are doing. And yes, even major hosting companies are your competitors regardless of the market you’re trying to reach. However, not everyone is happy with the big hosting companies so there’s space for smaller fish, but you have to play your marketing hand right. That starts with knowing what you’re up against and where there’s room for improvement.
Study your competitors deeply. Look at their websites, paid ads and landing pages, email newsletters, and everything else in-between. Once you visit their website, you should start seeing their paid ads across various channels, including Facebook and Google. Study the layouts, the copy, the headings, the pricing models, and look up their customer reviews.
Next, use sites like Reddit and Trustpilot to find out what customers don’t like about your competitors. You’ll want to use that information to create compelling ads. For example, if you find a bunch of complaints about poor customer support, advertise 24/7 human support as part of your value proposition (as long as you actually offer it). If another competitor is hitting customers with hidden fees and annoying upsells, advertise transparent pricing and no surprise fees. If people complain about a confusing, highly technical user interface, make it known that yours is user-friendly.
You don’t want to copy your competitors’ ads – you want to outthink them by leveraging their missteps to create better hooks. Tech giants have million-dollar marketing budgets, and you don’t need to outspend them if you can outmaneuver them.
You only have around 0.4 seconds to make a user stop scrolling to look at your ad. Once they click, you have another 2.5 seconds to capture their attention. Whatever is on the other side of that click needs to be good. But to even get that far, you need to capture attention fast.
It’s said that the average person scrolls through the equivalent of around 300 feet of content every day. If your headlines aren’t scroll-stoppers, they won’t get any attention. But headlines that capture attention aren’t necessarily clever – they’re clear, compelling, and speak directly to what your market wants. For example, a web hosting ad headline that reads “Premium Web Hosting” isn’t compelling. On the other hand, “Launch Your Site in Minutes – No Tech Skills Required” will reel in clicks.
The idea is to craft headlines that help people imagine their problem has been solved, whether it’s a faster launch, no tech headaches, or peace of mind. But it has to be accomplished in a split-second or users will just keep scrolling.
There was a time when web hosts sold packages by advertising better server resources, like more RAM and unlimited disk space, bandwidth, and MySQL databases. That type of advertising worked because most hosting packages offered extremely limited resources for a high price. Today, disk space and bandwidth aren’t an issue and most consumers don’t even know what basic server specs mean.
Avoid advertising your hosting services by highlighting server resources and other tech specs. It’s not going to entice people. Even tech jargon that seems self-explanatory won’t be to your customers. For example, “Scalable VPS architecture with isolated containers” sounds smart, but it’s just noise to the average buyer. Sure, you should include that on your product pages so people who understand the lingo know what they’re getting but keep it out of your PPC ads.
You only get so much space for your ad copy, so make it count. Use it to generate clicks from people who want to buy your hosting services now. If you advertise tech specs and rattle off tech jargon, you’ll get clicks from tire kickers and people who are just curious. To get clicks that count, use conversational language, short sentences, and clear calls to action (CTAs). If your grandma wouldn’t understand it, neither will your customers.
Don’t just sell space on a server. When you sell confidence, freedom, and simplicity with urgency, the value of your offer automatically increases and that’s what will generate relevant clicks.
You might have a solid offer and amazing hosting services, but unless users feel compelled to click now, they probably won’t. That’s why you need to create a sense of urgency to click. It’s what creates momentum and cuts through hesitation, pushing potential customers into action. If your ads don’t communicate a reason to act today, you’re giving users an invitation to bounce, get distracted, or go to a competitor.
Create an irresistible offer that gives users a reason to act now, like a limited-time offer. However, this type of offer needs to be believable. You can use a count-down timer that tells people “This offer ends at midnight” or “Only 15 spots left.” These tactics work, but only when they’re done with integrity. If users come back a week later and see the same “limited-time” deal, you’ll lose credibility and you might end up on the FCC’s radar. So use scarcity and time sensitivity sparingly and follow through.
Instead of using gimmicky offers, try these proven approaches:
· Time-sensitive pricing. Most hosting companies offer dramatically discounted rates for the first year and additional discounts for paying up front for multiple years. This works well for price-conscious shoppers. Just be transparent about the cost after the discounted time period ends.
· Free domain registration. Nearly every host offers free domain registration for the first year. You could do the same or offer free yearly domain renewal for the life of the account for the first 100 signups. This adds a layer of exclusivity while giving users a reason to act fast.
· Free site migration. Most people don’t know how to transfer an existing website to a new host. Even technically inclined people struggle with this. Offering free site migration within the first 72 hours of signup can drive sales from users frustrated with their current host, but hesitant to move.
· Access to priority support. People want to know they’ll be taken care of, and offering basic support isn’t enough. Plenty of companies advertise 24/7 support that turns out to be sub-par in reality. Customers know this. But when you make people feel like a priority, it catches their attention.
Your potential customers have urgent problems to solve, but they don’t wake up with the intention of researching hosting plans. Most likely, your ads will show up for them when they’re not even thinking about hosting, but they’ll click if you promise to solve their problem.
Here’s how to work this into your ads:
Use phrases like:
· “You can’t afford downtime.” If they’re with an unreliable hosting provider, you’ll capture their attention by emphasizing that switching now means immediate uptime.
· “No more battling with complex interfaces.” Highlight how your setup is stress-free. Many users have an aversion to learning complex interfaces like Plesk and cPanel.
· “We’ll transfer your site by the weekend for free.” That’s an instant win for users who fear the pain of switching hosts.
The bottom line is that urgency that connects to real pain points will always outperform generic flash sales.
Deals are everywhere, and consumers tune them out because they know they’re just sales gimmicks. Get their attention by phrasing your offers as an opportunity rather than just another deal. Make people feel like they’re getting something special by using phrases like “this offer ends Friday” or “only available to the first 50 new customers.” Reinforce the idea that hesitating means missing out and remember to follow through by closing your offers when they’re advertised to end. You can always wait a week and run another offer.
Choosing your keywords is one of the most important components in developing a winning PPC strategy. But the words you target matter. You need to know the different keyword match types and how to use them. Because it’s not just about getting clicks – it’s about getting relevant clicks that convert.
You want to target keywords that indicate buying intent, not curiosity. If you go for vague, broad keywords like “web hosting” or “build a website,” your net will be too wide and you’ll invite clicks from curious people rather than committed buyers. These keywords are high-volume, high-competition, and don’t support conversions.
Web hosting PPC keywords that indicate buying intent, like the following:
· “Best WordPress hosting for ecommerce”
· “Affordable VPS with cPanel”
· “Web hosting for real estate agents”
· “Fast hosting for Shopify stores”
These are examples of searches that tell you exactly what the user needs. When someone searches for these phrases, they’re already close to pulling out their credit card. General terms will generate a lot of impressions, but the clicks will just drain your advertising budget.
Be cautious about bidding on phrases like “cheap web hosting” unless your business model is built around affordability. The big hosting companies already offer extremely good deals, and if you can’t compete with that, don’t advertise cheap hosting. People will see that you’re more expensive and bounce. Or, they’ll sign up for an account and require constant support from your team.
Build a strong negative keyword list to prevent your ads from showing up in irrelevant searches. Terms like “free,” “jobs,” “review,” “DIY,” “website builder,” “help,” “learn web hosting,” “courses,” “reviews,” “designer,” and “how to” might trigger your ads without generating conversions. If people use these terms in their search, they’re probably not looking for a web host.
Another tip is to include specific niche hosting you don’t offer that wouldn’t work on your existing plans. For example, exclude “forex hosting,” “HIPAA hosting,” “Git hosting,” and “Minecraft hosting” if you don’t offer these options.
If you’re stuck for ideas, don’t guess. Use Semrush to analyze your competitors’ ad campaigns; find out what keywords they’re bidding on and how much they’re spending on PPC. It may not be entirely accurate, but it will give you a good idea of where to start.
Don’t forget to check in with your reports to find out what searches are triggering your ads. If you find random phrases like “how to host a party,” trim down your keyword lists and add the irrelevant phrases, like “party,” to your negative keyword list.
At PPC.co, we’ll help you build an advertising ecosystem that captures your ideal market. From market research to laser-focused landing pages and optimized funnels, we help web hosting providers turn clicks into loyal customers. Whether you’re tired of campaigns that cost a fortune or you’re just getting started with PPC, contact us now and let’s build a PPC strategy that actually pays off.
