Would you like to see more sales and signups from your landing pages? If you’re not happy with your conversion rate, you can certainly improve your results. However, it takes a commitment to a long-term strategy to see significant results that stick.
Creating a high converting landing page requires more than just writing some quick sales copy and publishing it on a webpage. From start to finish, creating a landing page takes research, planning, testing, adjusting, and more testing.
Optimizing a landing page to convert at a high rate requires multiple revisions sandwiched between multiple tests. Landing page optimization is an ongoing process. Even highly optimized landing page can be further improved. Unless you have a 100% conversion rate optimization there’s always room for improvement.
If you’re tired of minimal conversions and you’re wondering what you can do about it, you’re in the right place. This article will explain several ways you can increase your landing page conversion rate.
As a brief summary, to increase your conversions you need to identify opportunities for improvement and then implement the necessary changes. You can identify improvement opportunities by performing tests, which will all be explained below.
Here are X landing page tests you can run – and X changes you can make – to improve your landing page conversion rates.
Optimizing your landing page to increase your conversion rate optimization will rely on testing. Although you should hire a professional marketing agency to set up your tests, here’s a general idea of how it works.
Once creating landing page, that landing page is considered your “control.” Then, you create copies of your control page and change 1 or 2 elements on the page – preferably just one change at a time. Then, you market those pages through ads to the same target demographics and see which pages convert better.
When you identify the highest converting page, that page becomes your “control” and you can tweak additional elements to test those changes. This process is repeated on a regular basis.
Here are 4 landing page elements you’ll want to create variations for when running your tests. Since PPC ads begin the process of conversion, that’s where you’ll want to start optimizing first.
Traffic to your landing page will almost always come from PPC ad campaigns. There are other possible sources, but most people stick with PPC ads. Whether you’re using PPC ads or another ad source, start testing variations of your headlines and copy.
Headlines are the most important part of any ad. An effective headline will capture someone’s attention and influence them to click. The easiest way to capture attention with a headline is to promise to solve a big problem. Granted, your landing page copy will need to make good on that promise if you want conversions.
Your landing page visitors/website visitors will be heavily influenced by whatever they are exposed to right before arriving on your landing page. In other words, your PPC ads aren’t just a way to get clicks – they’re actually the beginning of the process of persuasion.
You can use your PPC ads to create a state of mind that will make visitors more perceptive to your marketing messages on your landing page.
Persuasion expert and author Robert Cialdini explains how this works, in detail, in his book Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade. However, he gave plenty of useful information in an interview with Forbes.
In the interview, Cialdini explained that researchers generated a higher participation rate from people by asking a question to get people thinking about how they are helpful people. When asking for help with a marketing survey, only 29% would participate. When asking a pre-suasive question, “Do you consider yourself a helpful person?” 77% of people agreed to participate.
If you’re running your own tests outside of a marketing agency, be willing to continually test ad headlines and copy. Improvement is an ongoing process that takes time.
In addition to your ad copy, your ad images (where applicable) have the potential to influence conversions. Before you start randomly testing images, read what other people have discovered to save yourself from having to reinvent the wheel.
For example, most people have learned through trial and error that proper contrast is more important than specific colors. Although, blue tends to be a good choice for a specific color scheme.
Wherever your ads display images, keep your images simple and relevant to your ad. Avoid gradients and complex graphic details that will make your image hard to see.
Your landing page design consists of the following:
There are seemingly endless variations you can create to test landing page elements. Unless you’re running a large budget marketing campaign, it’s important to start with one element at a time. For example, you might create variations of your landing page performance that includes all testimonials at the bottom of the page and another variation that sprinkles testimonials throughout the content.
Just like you’ll test your PPC ad headline and copy, you’ll want to test your landing page headlines and copy. Remember that people tend to scan copy rather than read it from start to finish. Because people scan, powerful, influential headlines will help your conversions.
The most important heading on your entire landing page is the top heading. Work on that heading first and then optimize the remaining headings.
For the most part, the changes you’ll make to your landing page will depend on what you’re testing. However, there are 5 basic changes you can make to your landing page that will optimize your conversions.
Distractions make it hard for visitors to know what to do next. Should they play the video or click on a link you provided in your sales copy? Or should they keep reading your sales page?
It’s important to create your landing page to be free from distractions. You’ll probably want to create a custom page template to start with a blank slate. It seems natural to create your landing page from an existing web page as a template. However, doing that will create multiple distractions for your visitors.
Landing pages need to be free from distractions. Distractions divert visitor attention away from your sales copy and can kill your conversion rate.
What counts as a distraction? Technically, anything that stops a visitor from reading your copy or pulls them away from the page is a distraction. Elements like:
Any and all links you insert into your sales copy on your landing page should place whatever item you’re selling into your visitor’s shopping cart. Aside from links in the footer, any other links will hurt your conversions.
Avoid linking to content in your landing page sales copy. You don’t want visitors to land on your sales page, click a link, and start wandering around your website or someone else’s website. You want visitors to stay on your sales page until they make a purchase.
Every link you publish on a sales page is one more opportunity for visitors to bounce without making a purchase. Don’t give visitors a reason to wander away from your sales page.
Navigation menus are the worst distraction for visitors on a sales page. If a visitor sees a navigation menu, they might start exploring your site instead of reading your sales copy.
You’ve probably seen landing pages with navigation, and there are exceptions. For example, navigation is okay if your landing page is a self-contained mini-website designed to provide visitors with important information. In that context, navigation is helpful.
On dynamic landing pages designed to generate sales or signups, a navigation menu will be a distraction and kill your conversions.
If you use your main web pages as a template for your landing page, make sure to eliminate the sidebar. Sidebar content will distract visitors and if it’s clickable, they’ll end up bouncing.
No matter what the content, sidebars don’t belong on landing pages – not even if the content is related to your product. If you have so much information that you want to present it to visitors in a sidebar, your landing page is already too complicated.
With few exceptions, landing page should be straightforward, simple, and clean. No navigation, no non-sale-related links, and no sidebar content.
Do you know the difference between a content writer and a copywriter?
If you’ve hired a content writer to write your landing page sales copy, you’ve hired a professional in the wrong industry. You need a copywriter, not a content writer. While both types of writers can be highly skilled, they’re entirely different professions.
Get your landing page copy written by a professional copywriter. It’s important to find a copywriter and not a blogger or content writer. Although content writers and bloggers can be phenomenal writers, high-level writing skills can actually prevent someone from writing effective sales copy.
Effective sales copy requires speaking directly to a well-defined target market using persuasive copywriting techniques that often defy grammar, punctuation, and other writing ‘rules.’
Say you’re an SEO firm selling an SEO Mastery Course that teaches entrepreneurs how to get high-level results. Your sales copy will directly influence your conversion rate and it won’t be based on perfect grammar.
You could have a landing page with well-written copy, perfect grammar and punctuation, and your conversions might still be low. Why? Good sales copy isn’t defined by the same standards as a good blog article. In fact, effective sales copy often uses incomplete sentences, incorrect punctuation, and a conversational tone that would make any English teacher whip out a red pen.
The point with sales copy isn’t to write perfect copy – it’s to persuade the reader to take a specific action. That often requires breaking the rules of grammar, punctuation, and style.
“Our SEO Mastery Course will show you how to get big results. Our expert SEO professionals will teach you how to increase your ranking in the search engines using several powerful techniques not available to the public.”
“If you’re like most entrepreneurs, you’ve learned a little SEO, but it’s not enough. You want agency-level results without the price tag. You don’t mind doing the work – if only you knew the secrets.
Imagine learning 2 closely-guarded SEO techniques that will make leads pour in faster than you can follow-up with. Imagine generating instant sales from leads who have no prior contact with your brand. Marketing pros do it all the time and you can, too.
When you take our SEO Mastery Course, you’ll learn some of the top SEO secrets marketing gurus keep from even their top students. When you implement these strategies, you’ll get breakthrough results you never thought possible.”
Both versions of copy are well-written, but the copywriter’s version is specifically written to persuade the reader to buy the SEO Mastery Course.
The biggest difference is in the style and tone. Content writers are trained to create informative, factual, well-researched copy. Copywriters create persuasive copy using specific techniques to influence the reader.
The best solution is to hire one of the A-listers like David Deutsch or John Carlton. However, you may not have a 5-figure budget.
If you’re on a budget, work with a marketing agency to get access to copywriters. If that’s out of your budget, start poking around online to find copywriters for hire.
When you find a possible copywriter, ask to see a portfolio, and if possible, e the stats for how well their copy performs. Good copywriters get paid royalties for their work. They should be able to provide statistics on how well their copy has performed for past clients. If a copywriter doesn’t know how well their copy performs, keep looking for someone who can provide you with that information.
Good typography is critical for conversions. Although, with typography, less is more. You don’t want visitors to notice your typography – you want all typography to blend into the experience of reading your sales page or watching your video.
Simplify your typography as much as possible. Use a web-safe font face, preferably Arial or Times New Roman. Don’t use background colors other than white or off-white with black or dark gray main text. It’s okay to use colors in your copy and as headings. However, avoid the high-contrast color schemes that use black or dark backgrounds with light text.
If you really want to dive into the art of persuasion using typography, read up on the 2012 experiment run by Errol Morris published in the New York Times. In the experiment, 40,000 readers read a passage from a book and were asked if they agreed with the passage by stating ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ The experiment utilized 6 different typefaces and determined that:
Typography can be a tedious element to optimize, but if you have the time and dedication it’s worth the effort.
Simplifying your landing page design and colors, and reducing the number of elements used will support an increase in landing page’s conversion rates / page speed/page load time. Ideally, your landing pages should be as plain as possible – almost boring in terms of design. Plain or ugly landing pages convert better than fancy landing pages.
Why do ugly sites convert more than fancy sites? Technically, it’s because plain and ugly sites contain little to no distractions and just offer the ‘meat and potatoes’ of the content. In other words, a website’s value is more accessible on an ugly site than a fancy site. There’s no eye candy, which is perfect for conversions.
When you create plain or ‘ugly’ landing pages, you’re stripping away all the bells and whistles and presenting pure content. It’s a natural way to prevent yourself from creating unnecessary barriers to the sale.
Another element that might seem strange is using large ‘buy’ buttons. At first, it might seem cheesy and spammy to use huge ‘buy’ buttons that take up most of the viewport. However, just like the ugly site phenomenon, large ‘buy’ buttons increase conversions.
If you’re not sure about using large ‘buy’ buttons, you can always split test your buttons against your highest converting page.
Optimizing your marketing strategy is the final component required to increase your landing page conversion rate. Here are 4 changes you can make to your marketing strategy to get better results.
How well do you know your market? How long has it been since you researched your market? Have you researched your market or are you guessing?
Finding your target market is a lot like generating a keyword list for SEO; both require extensive research and your opinion might not be accurate. For example, many business owners make the mistake of thinking they are their own target audience market. So, they craft marketing messages that appeal to them. In reality, their main market is usually an entirely different demographic.
No matter what your product is, only research can pinpoint your target market. Even when your market seems obvious, you can always go deeper. For example, if you sell socks, your obvious market is everyone. However, you won’t sell many socks marketing to everyone with a general message. Even when you sell a product as universal as socks, you still need to define a smaller group of people so you can craft specific, targeted messages to the group.
Market research will open the door for you to discover more about your market than you can gather from your own thoughts. With in-depth market research, you can discover multiple sub-niches that are also individual markets you can target with even more detailed and tailored marketing messages.
Most products and services have more than one target market. However, some markets are more profitable than others. Still, if you can target multiple niche segments of your market, you’ll increase conversions.
Specific marketing messages tailored for your market segments will increase conversions. Here’s how that works. Say you’re selling frozen black bean burritos. You can market your burritos to people who love black bean burritos and you’ll generate decent conversions.
You can also market your frozen black bean. burritos to people who don’t have time to cook and you’ll probably get more sales – even from people who aren’t too thrilled about black beans. Why? When marketing to that segment, the product is convenience. When marketing to burrito lovers, the product is the black bean burrito.
This is where having a professional copywriter will help you the most. They’ll know exactly how to write unique sales copy that reaches multiple market segments.
You’ll get landing page conversion rate when your marketing message is effective. To be effective, your marketing message needs to be targeted. Sales and conversions will increase as your marketing message more specifically targets your market. However, it’s important that you direct your marketing message to a specific target au market rather than creating a general marketing message.
The world’s top A-list copywriters get results because they write sales copy that targets specific markets. They’ve perfected their craft over many years and often earn tens of thousands of dollars – plus royalties – for writing just a few paragraphs.
For example, the late copywriting master Dan Kennedy was routinely hired by large corporations to see if his copy could outperform the company’s control piece. When Kennedy was allowed to run with his ideas, his copy outperformed the company’s control by a landslide.
However, Kennedy ran into the same problem with nearly every company that contracted him. He would go into a marketing meeting and people would toss out random advertising ideas based on the product’s features. If the company was selling a perfume, they’d toss out creative ideas for a product name, what colors to use, how to package the product, and what kind of music to put in the ad.
Nobody in the marketing meetings would talk about the target market.
In these meetings, Kennedy would redirect the conversation and get people talking about the target rather than the product.
Thinking of the target is the only way you’ll develop effective marketing messages. Effective copy speaks directly to the target rather than about the product.
The difference between copy that speaks to a target and copy that talks about the product is a small, yet critical distinction. Here’s a simple example:
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The difference between these two marketing messages is huge. The first message that simply discusses the product’s features is not a targeted message and won’t be that effective. There will always be some people who will buy items without targeted messaging, but it’s a small number.
The second message speaks directly to a target market consisting of busy people who don’t have time to make coffee in the morning, but can’t function without their coffee. This isn’t the most specific target possible, but it’s targeted enough to give you an idea of what specific targeting looks like.
Once your landing pages contain professionally-written, targeted sales copy, there’s one more step to ensure success. Your traffic source needs to be highly targeted as well.
It’s easy to manipulate people into clicking on PPC ads. However, that tactic will only decrease your landing page conversion rates.
Your PPC ads create an expectation for what the content will be your landing page. When people click on your advertisement, they expect the target page to be relevant to the ad. If the content doesn’t deliver on the promise in your ad, or if the content was hyped up in the ad, your visitors will bounce.
Additionally, if you’re running PPC ads to random demographics, you’re wasting your marketing budget. There are people who click on ads that look casually interesting even if they’re not part of that market.
The solution is to first work on defining your target market’s demographics. Then, optimize your PPC ads to be displayed for your target market. Ultimately, you’ll increase your landing page conversion rates when you target the right people with relevant and influential messages.
Although there are separate components, it’s all one continuous experience, from your PPC ad to your landing page.
You can’t increase landing page conversion rate by only optimizing your landing page. Increasing conversions is a trifecta that includes optimizing your landing page, your PPC ads, and your target demographics.
The tips and strategies outlined in this article will help you optimize your PPC ads and landing pages to generate higher conversion rates. However, your ability to get conversions will always hinge on how well you know – and target – your market.
Don’t skip market research, and don’t confuse market research with checking out keywords using Google Analytics. Market research is a fundamental aspect of marketing that has been somewhat lost in the DIY marketing revolution of the last decade or so.
It’s understandable if you’re on a tight budget and you can’t afford to pay a research firm for information on your target market. However, not having access to that information will hold you back. However, there are things you can do on your own to discover more about your market.
Are your conversions lacking? Does DIY marketing sound too exhausting? Get more conversions effortlessly by partnering with PPC.co. We’ll help you create a powerful PPC ad campaign that reaches your most profitable target market and we’ll create landing pages with professionally-written copy that sells.
Contact us today and tell us what you need. We’ll help you creating landing pages or high converting landing pages & get the landing page conversions you deserve.
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When you’re a plumber relying on a steady flow of leads to be profitable, it’s not enough to get your leads through word-of-mouth alone. That may work if you’re only a two-person team, but if you plan to grow your business, you’ll need to start marketing your services, specifically with PPC advertising.
Pay-per-click (PPC) ads are a beneficial form of advertising, but they can be a source of leads or a money pit for plumbers. When done right, PPC helps plumbing companies generate targeted leads looking for services, but poorly-crafted PPC campaigns can burn through a budget without results. The good news is with smart targeting, strategic bidding, and continual optimization, plumbers can generate qualified leads at a cost that provides a positive ROI. Here’s how pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is done for lead generation for plumbing businesses.
The biggest mistake plumbers make is targeting a broad area rather than a specific local area. Hitting your target audience by demographic and location will be critical to be most efficient in your PPC ad spend. Even when your company serves customers throughout several counties, you’ll want to create ad campaigns that target each individual city or county. If your ads are reaching people outside of your service area, you’re paying for clicks that won’t turn into paying customers.
An easy way to prevent this problem is to use location targeting inside of your PPC account to set your target location by zip codes, cities, or a custom radius around your main location. This will ensure your ads will only be seen by leads you can actually convert.
You’ll also want to explicitly exclude areas you don’t serve. For example, you might serve a whole county with the exception of a couple cities or neighborhoods because of traffic congestion or licensing issues. Make sure to add these locations as exclusions in your ad campaign settings to avoid wasting money.
The keywords that will bring you the best leads are keywords that signal high intent to purchase. This includes terms like “emergency plumber near me,” “24-hour plumber,” “toilet overflowing fix,” or “fix for busted pipe.” The people who search for these terms aren’t just casual browsers. They’re people who need a plumber immediately.
This type of expert keyword research isn't necessarily rocket science, but it's critical for your rankings in search engine results pages.
Prioritize these keywords and increase your bid to capture more of these leads.
Avoid using the kinds of keywords that will attract people who aren’t likely to hire you for plumbing services. For example, terms like “DIY toilet repair” or “how to fix (fixture)” will rarely lead to calls. People who search for these phrases are usually just looking for ways to fix their own problem, so filter them out.
When people need a plumber, they want to call and get someone out fast, especially if their basement is flooding or they’re dealing with a busted pipe in the house. Google offers call-only ads that let users tap to call you immediately from search results rather than click to visit your website, where they’d need to search for a way to contact you. This ad type alone will increase your conversions.
It’s crucial to use ad tracking tools like Google’s call forwarding or third-party platforms that track which ads generate your phone calls. Knowing what ads are driving your best leads will help you do more of what works and eliminate what doesn’t.
Since most leads will want to call you immediately, only schedule your ads to run when you’ll be available to answer the phone. If you don’t offer 24/7 emergency services and don’t answer your phone at 2 AM, don’t schedule your ads to run until the start of your business day.
Depending on your location and services, you might get more calls on weekdays or weekends. To find out your peak, check your reports to see when you’re getting the most calls and then adjust when you run your ads based on your actual performance data.
Don’t create complicated, wordy ads. Use simple, clear, and direct headlines that speak directly to the problems your leads may be dealing with. They’re going to be drawn to ads that promise to help them with real problems. For example, write headlines like “Broken water heater? Get 24/7 help,” “Clogged drains fixed fast,” and “Overflowing toilet? Get help now.”
In your ad copy, it helps to use location-specific phrases. For example, you might write “Serving Phoenix homes since 2001.” Doing this helps build trust and establishes relevancy.
For Google Ads that send visitors directly to your website, you’ll need to optimize your landing pages for conversion. The following elements are essential:
· Landing page copy that matches your ad. To create a seamless experience, don’t send leads to your home page. Send them to a landing page that matches your ad. For example, if your ad targets people with a clogged drain, ensure your landing page speaks to people with a clogged drain.
· An easy-to-find phone number. Your phone number should be readily visible on every page of your website, including all of your landing pages. The ideal place is in the top right corner of every page header.
· A click-to-call button. It’s easier for mobile leads to click to bring up your phone number in their dial pad rather than forcing them to write down a phone number they’ll need to then dial.
· A call-to-action (CTA). Leads need to be told what to do. Be direct and tell them to call you now for an estimate or to schedule a service call.
Your search ads will only bring you potential leads. Your landing pages are responsible for converting potential customers into paying customers.
To maximize your ROI without wasting money, you’ll want to set a realistic daily budget and scale it only when you know you’re ready. Most local service providers stick with a $10-$50/day budget, but it depends on the industry and your location.
Over time, you’ll find that some campaigns are working better than others. A varied performance can be caused by a variety of factors, and you’ll need to take a close look before making any changes. For example, underperforming keywords and plumbing ads that don’t get many clicks should be paused. However, if your ads are getting clicks, but limited conversions, you’ll want to tweak your landing page copy and/or your offer.
Sometimes irrelevant keyword searches will display your ads, so if you can come up with a list of keywords related to services you don’t provide, you can limit where your ads show up. For example, if you don’t offer sewer camera inspections, make “sewer camera” a negative keyword. If you don’t service septic systems, make “septic” a negative keyword. Doing this will prevent clicks from irrelevant leads.
Local Service Ads appear at the top of Google’s search results above the typical PPC text ads and organic listings. LSAs are pay-per-lead, not pay-per-click, which makes them even more profitable. With LSAs, you only pay when a lead contacts you directly through your ad, either by calling you or messaging you. This is a much safer way to manage your ad spend and generate qualified leads. It’s also an easier way to capture bottom-of-the-funnel leads who need emergency plumbing services.
To set up these ads, head over to Google’s LSA page and click “get started.” You’ll be prompted to go through the setup process, which includes confirming your business eligibility. To complete the process, you’ll need your business license, general liability insurance proof, and at least one Google Business Profile with positive reviews. The system will then ask you to choose the zip codes or cities you serve, list the types of services you provide, and set your weekly budget. Once you submit the form and pass Google’s screening process, you’ll start showing up in results for searches related to your business.
Try to get as many positive reviews on your Google Business Profile as possible since businesses with better reviews tend to rank higher with Local Service Ads. Also, keep in mind that Google tracks your response times, and the faster you reply, the better placement you’ll get. Unlike PPC ads, you can request refunds from leads that aren’t relevant, like leads requesting the wrong services or who are outside your service area.
It’s important to take advantage of these ads because it’s an easy way to get your business listed at the top of search results pages when people search for terms like “plumber near me.” It’s easier than waiting months for SEO to kick in, and it will bring you immediate leads. People will see your reviews and your Google Guaranteed badge, which will boost your credibility.
Getting your business verified by Google will give you a green checkmark next to your business name in your Local Service Ads. It tells customers that Google has personally verified your business, you’ve passed a background check, your insurance has been verified, and Google Ads will back your services with up to $2,000 in reimbursement if a customer isn’t satisfied with your services.
Getting this badge can boost your visibility and credibility, which can get you more clicks, leads, and paying customers. It will also help you rank higher in the list of LSAs.
To get this green checkmark, you need to get approved for Google LSAs. Once you’re approved for LSAs, you’ll get the “Google Guaranteed” checkmark badge automatically. Just make sure you renew your insurance policy on time, maintain a high review rating, and keep responding to leads quickly. If you don’t maintain these things, Google Ads might remove your badge.
You can’t improve what you don’t track. Track your critical metrics, including call tracking, form tracking, and chat tracking. Run regular reports and check in with your ad campaign performance on a regular basis. It will take a little bit of time to gather enough data to make informed decisions, but the sooner you catch underperforming ads, the sooner you can make necessary changes.
It’s important to split test ads to see what elements drive the most conversions. Split testing, also called A/B testing, is where you run two nearly identical ads, but with one small difference between them. The difference could be a headline, colors, an image, the main copy, or the CTA. Once you run the ads long enough, take the winning ad and change one more element to test. Repeat this process by changing just one element at a time to see which version performs better. Use Google keyword planner to help navigate this. When done correctly, your clicks should increase over time.
Getting satisfied customers to review you is crucial, and as previously discussed, it can impact how your Local Service Ads show up. Reviews can also impact how you show up in the Local Pack. The more high-quality, genuine, recent reviews you have, the more likely you are to show up in search results. You’re also more likely to get clicks.
Positive reviews act as social proof that helps customers choose which business to call. You could have the best ad copy in the world, but if your competitor has 150 five-star reviews and you only have 6 reviews from 2019, customers will choose them over you.
It’s easy to get clicks, but getting real leads from search engines– the kind that book your plumbing services – takes work. For plumbers, a strong PPC strategy can make the difference between getting steady jobs or wasting cash. By targeting high intention search terms, targeting narrow service areas, and optimizing your ads, you can create high-performing ads that deliver real results without burning through your marketing budget.
Lead generation is critical for your plumbing business, but when done without a positive return on investment, it's foolish.
Whether you’re new to PPC ads, or you’re tired of wasting money on ads that don’t generate calls, we’d love to help you get real results. Our PPC experts specialize in helping local service businesses in the plumbing industry just like yours attract high intent plumbing leads, reduce wasted ad spend, and grow predictable revenue.
Contact us now for a free evaluation for your lead generation strategies, PPC campaigns and search engine optimization services – we’d love to help.
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is the lifeblood of modern digital marketing, a finely tuned machine designed to separate serious advertisers from those who enjoy setting their money on fire. At its core, PPC is about buying attention—whether it’s from Google Ads, Facebook (or should we say Meta?) Ads, LinkedIn’s overpriced clicks, or whatever ad network is currently promising “unprecedented results.” The trick, of course, is making sure that the attention you’re paying for actually turns into conversions, and not just a collection of clicks that lead nowhere.
This guide is for marketers who already know the basics and are ready to squeeze every last drop of ROI from their PPC campaigns. If you’re looking for a “Beginner’s Guide to Google Ads,” this isn’t it. But if you’re tired of watching your ad spend disappear into the void and want to start running PPC like a ruthless efficiency machine, read on.
There’s nothing quite as tragic as a PPC campaign with no clear objective. Running ads without goals is like throwing darts blindfolded—sure, you might hit the board occasionally, but mostly you’re just making a mess. Before you even think about setting up a campaign, define what success looks like. Are you driving leads? Pushing e-commerce sales? Increasing brand awareness (ugh, we’ll get to why that’s usually a waste of money later)? If your goal is just “more clicks,” congratulations—you’ve just fallen for the ultimate PPC scam: paying for traffic that doesn’t convert.
Every campaign should have a quantifiable, measurable outcome tied to business KPIs. That means actual revenue, leads that don’t ghost you, or at the very least, cost per acquisition (CPA) that doesn’t make your CFO break out in hives.
Google Ads is the undisputed king of PPC, but let’s not pretend it’s the only game in town. Depending on your audience and objectives, Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram) can still be a goldmine—if you’re willing to put up with Meta’s ever-changing rules and the occasional algorithmic meltdown. LinkedIn Ads? Great if you enjoy paying $12 per click for someone who will never fill out your lead form.
And then there’s the rising trend of alternative ad platforms. TikTok Ads are fantastic if you’re targeting Gen Z and have the budget to experiment. Microsoft Ads (formerly Bing Ads) may be the underdog, but they offer cheaper CPCs and a surprising number of high-intent users. If you’re in e-commerce, don’t ignore Amazon Ads—they print money for sellers who get their targeting right.
Google would love for you to just use broad match keywords and let their algorithm “figure things out.” Spoiler alert: this is a terrible idea. Broad match means your ad could show up for searches so unrelated to your business that it’s practically performance art.
Instead, focus on high-intent keywords—the ones that indicate users are actually ready to buy. Long-tail keywords often convert better because they signal more specific intent. The goal is not just to drive traffic, but to attract users who already have their wallets half-open.
Want to know what works? Look at your competitors. Tools like SEMrush, SpyFu, and Google’s Auction Insights let you see what keywords they’re bidding on, which ones they’re ranking for, and—most importantly—where they’re burning money so you don’t have to.
If a competitor is bidding on specific high-intent keywords, that’s your signal to investigate. Either they’re seeing a positive ROI, or they’re making an expensive mistake that you can learn from. Either way, it’s free intelligence.
Great PPC ads aren’t just about catchy headlines—they’re about aligning with search intent, making a compelling offer, and convincing users that clicking your ad is the smartest decision they’ll make today. A well-optimized ad uses clear, persuasive language with a direct CTA, because vague CTAs like “Learn More” are about as useful as a screen door on a submarine.
A/B testing is non-negotiable. Your gut instinct is probably wrong, so test different headlines, CTAs, and descriptions to see what actually drives conversions. If you’re not actively testing, you’re just guessing.
You have about three seconds to convince visitors that they made the right choice clicking your ad. If your landing page loads slowly, looks like it was designed in 2008, or makes users hunt for the CTA, they’re gone.
Your landing page should have a singular focus: conversion. That means no distractions, no unnecessary links, and definitely no autoplay videos that scare people away. A strong landing page aligns perfectly with the ad copy, ensuring a seamless experience from click to conversion.
Nothing kills conversion rates faster than misleading ad-to-landing page alignment. If your ad promises “50% off running shoes” and your landing page is a generic homepage with no mention of that discount, expect a bounce rate that makes your campaign ROI cry. Every landing page should reinforce the ad message, use clear headlines, and make it painfully easy for users to complete the desired action. If a user has to think, they’re already gone.
If you’re still using manual CPC bidding across all campaigns, congratulations—you’re officially working harder, not smarter. Google’s automated bidding strategies have their place, but blindly trusting the algorithm is like handing your credit card to a stranger and hoping for the best.
Smart bidding, when done correctly, can optimize conversions and lower CPA, but it requires constant monitoring. Target ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) and Maximize Conversions can be effective, but only if you have historical data to feed the algorithm. If you’re running a new campaign, manual bidding still gives you more control.
Running PPC without proper tracking is like driving blindfolded and hoping you’ll reach your destination. You need to track not just clicks, but actual conversions, customer lifetime value (CLV), and return on ad spend (ROAS). Google Ads’ built-in tracking is decent, but combining it with Google Analytics, heatmaps, and call tracking will give you a full picture of what’s working.
Scaling PPC isn’t as simple as increasing your budget and watching conversions skyrocket. If you scale too fast, you’ll tank your ROI. The right approach is incremental scaling—gradually increasing spend while monitoring CPA and conversion rates. If your CPA starts climbing faster than your revenue, it’s time to reassess. And if your PPC manager insists that “everything is going great” while your ROAS tells a different story? It might be time for a new PPC manager.
