The acceleration of online buying over the last couple of years has been evident with high-street enterprises switching to eCommerce models and entrepreneurs launching online businesses.
According to ONS data, internet sales accounted for 34.4% of all retail sales in just the first half of 2020, a number that has been on the rise ever since.
To fully flourish in today’s fiercely competitive eCommerce landscape, you must apply efficient marketing methods that drive targeted visitors and increase online sales. Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a powerful tool that allows you to precisely target potential buyers.
Understand the Power of PPC Advertising
Pay-per-click advertising is a type of digital marketing in which advertisers are charged a fee each time their ad is clicked. It’s a method of buying website visitors rather than attempting to “earn” such visits organically.
Although the term “pay per click” is most generally associated with search engine ad platforms such as Google AdWords, this business model is used by a diverse group of marketers.
E-commerce PPC advertising has evolved into a dependable source of consistent and immediate profits capable of attracting high-quality leads. Shopping campaigns on Google and Facebook ads are two examples of E-commerce PPC advertisements.
Customers who visit e-commerce websites using pay-per-click advertisements are more likely to make a purchase than customers who come to the website from an organic link.
Why is PPC important for eCommerce?
For eCommerce businesses, PPC offers several key advantages:
- Immediate Visibility:
There is a long-standing debate between PPC and SEO. PPC advertising, as opposed to organic SEO, is capable of appearing at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs) almost instantaneously. This immediate visibility can be extremely beneficial when marketing time-sensitive deals or new product launches.
- Precise Targeting:
You can use PPC to target certain keywords, demographics, and interests, as well as remarket to previous visitors. This accuracy ensures that your ad reaches potential clients who are most likely to convert.
- Budget Control:
With PPC, you have full control over your budget, allowing you to set daily or monthly spending limits. This control is essential for managing advertising expenses effectively.
Choose The Right Platform
Before you begin your PPC campaigns, you need to know where you should be advertising. There are various PPC advertising platforms you can try to promote your company.
Choosing the best ad platform for your online store is all about knowing where your clients are and what their behaviors are.
Spend time studying about your target demographics and their online habits – if your customers spend a lot of time on Facebook, it makes sense to target them with Facebook advertisements. Similarly, if your products are offered on Amazon, it’s worth experimenting with Amazon Advertising.
Once you have figured out the platform(s) you wish to focus on, you need to streamline your goals. An aimless PPC campaign will not give you any effective results.
It can be:
- Generate more leads
- Improve website traffic
- Drive sales
While you cannot combine goals if you wish to fulfill more than one goal, you can always run multiple campaigns at once.
Keyword Research and Optimization
Comprehensive keyword research and optimization are the foundations of effective PPC campaigns. Keywords are the backbone of any ad campaign, and selecting the right ones can either make or break your campaign’s success.
Only when you add the relevant keywords in your search list will these keywords be used to connect to the right items and areas that you wish to target. When a user searches using these keywords, they will be directed to what you have to offer.
How to Conduct Keyword Research?
- Use Keyword Tools
- Competitor Analysis
- Target Long-Tail Keywords
Tips for Keyword Optimization:
- Google rewards relevant and high-quality ads with a better Quality Score, which can lower your cost per click (CPC).
- Implement negative keywords to prevent your ads from appearing for irrelevant search queries, reducing wasted ad spend.
As an eCommerce business owner, your primary goal is to increase online sales. Targeting high purchase-intent keywords in your Google Search campaign is an excellent approach to ensure that the individuals who view your advertisements are inclined to buy your products.
Compelling Ad Copy and Creative
Your ad content and creative components play an important role in attracting potential customers’ attention and enticing them to click through to your eCommerce site.
Ads that are captivating and appear professional are extremely effective. If your ad is visually appealing, you’ve already won half the battle. It is best to use high-quality product photographs while keeping writing short and simple.
Ads should either have an emotional appeal or offer competitive pricing to attract people. A lot of ad campaigns usually focus on doing both.
Nobody clicks on an ad because it’s interesting; they click because the product or service promoted might solve their problem. Keep this in mind while you write your headlines and ad material.
Tips for Crafting Compelling Ad Copy:
- Use Persuasive Language
- Include Targeted Keywords
- Conduct A/B Testing Continuously
- Experiment with different headlines, descriptions, and calls to action (CTAs).
Consider incorporating video ads, which can be particularly effective in showcasing product functionality and customer testimonials. Studies have shown visuals to have a lasting effect on consumers.
Landing Page Optimization
Once you’ve successfully captured the attention of potential customers with your ad, it’s crucial to provide them with a seamless and persuasive landing page experience.
Keep in mind to design landing pages with powerful calls to action that are tailored to each ad. Ensure that the page follows the concept of the campaign and does not send your target audience to anything irrelevant. If someone clicks on an ad for a coffee machine, make sure the device is shown on the landing page!
Best Landing Page Practices:
- Consistent Messaging:
Ensure that the messaging on your landing page aligns with the ad copy. Maintain a consistent look and aesthetic to reassure visitors that they’ve landed in the right place.
- Clear Call to Action (CTA):
Make it easy for visitors to take the desired action, whether it’s making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or requesting more information. Use a prominent CTA button.
- Mobile Optimization:
Given the rise in mobile app development and mobile eCommerce, your landing page must be fully optimized and responsive for mobile devices.
- Load Speed:
Slow-loading pages tend to lead to higher bounce rates which can harm your campaign. Optimize your landing pages for speed to ensure a smooth user experience.
Remarketing and Retargeting
Remarketing and retargeting are effective PPC strategies for re-engaging with visitors who previously interacted with your eCommerce site but did not complete a desired action, such as making a purchase.
This can be accomplished using basic remarketing, dynamic remarketing, search ad remarketing lists, video remarketing, or even customer list remarketing.
How Does Remarketing Work?
- Install tracking pixels on your website to collect data on user behavior.
- You then segment your audience based on their interactions, such as those who left their shopping carts without purchasing or viewed specific product categories.
- Create personalized ad campaigns that target each segment with relevant offers and reminders.
- However, be mindful of ad frequency to avoid overwhelming users with too many ads as that can defeat the purpose of remarketing.
- Make use of dynamic ads that display the specific products that users viewed on your site.
Customer lifetime value (customer LTV) is how much a customer will spend with your company over the course of their lifetime. The more engaged your clients are, the more long-term sales you will make. Retargeting and remarketing advertising are excellent techniques to boost your customer’s lifetime value.
Shopping Campaigns
Google Shopping advertisements can be revolutionizing for eCommerce businesses and is one of the most effective ways to reach out to potential new customers.
These campaigns allow you to showcase your products in Google search results, complete with photographs, prices, and other important information.
How to Set Up Google Shopping Campaigns?
- Create a Google Merchant Center Account: This is where you will upload your product data feed and information about your products.
- Product Feed Optimization: Ensure that your product data feed is accurate, complete, and up to date. Include high-quality images and detailed product descriptions.
- Campaign Structuring: Organize your products into product groups, making it easier to manage bids and track performance.
- Optimize Product Titles and Descriptions: Use descriptive and relevant product titles and descriptions to increase the visibility of your products.
- Bid Management: Monitor and adjust your bids regularly to maximize ROI and ensure your products are competitive.
There are numerous strategies you can employ to maximize your Google Shopping campaigns, ranging from Smart Shopping campaigns to query-level bidding.
In the world of eCommerce, mastering PPC advertising is a critical step towards boosting online sales. The strategies outlined in this guide offer a solid foundation for creating successful PPC campaigns tailored specifically for eCommerce businesses.
North Rose Technologies has a long and successful history of running result-driven PPC campaigns. One of the biggest PPC success stories has been the work done for Chitkara University, helping them witness a significant growth in online traffic.
