Focusing on organic search engine optimization (SEO) strategies is a noble pursuit. This lone tactic can’t bring you the desired results you are looking for without adding the powerful reach of pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns into the mix. PPC is a digital marketing tactic where you pay a fee for each ad click and it’s important to measure the efficiency of your PPC campaigns. If you just spew out campaign after campaign without giving them a second glance to see how you can improve your results, you’re likely wasting your time, energy, and of course, your financial resources.

Measuring the efficiency of your PPC campaigns

To measure the efficiency of your PPC campaigns, you need to define the key performance indicators (KPIs) that determine their success and then adapt the following campaigns accordingly.

Measuring the efficiency of your PPC efforts is a big part of your SEO success for the long haul. To help you adapt your paid ads, reach more people, and of course, build up the return on investment (ROI) of your PPC campaigns, we’ve compiled a list of five effective steps you can take to make this happen. These tips can help you amplify the impact of your PPC efforts and elevate your brand visibility and reputation.

1. Landing pages should match your ads

Many digital marketers devote all of their attention to crafting stellar ad copy and design. This is justifiably so. However, that’s only part of the equation. If the PPC ad is spotless, your landing pages where your ads lead to will also need to be appealing. They need to be in line with your campaign goals. If they fail to meet or exceed customer expectations, you’ll most likely lose on conversions not because of the ad itself but because of a poorly designed landing page.

For starters, make sure that the headline and products presented on the landing page perfectly match the items you promote in the ad itself. The copy on the landing page should naturally expand on the ad. It should help customers understand what you want them to do by providing a clear call to action (CTA).

2. Decide on your core metrics

You cannot possibly know the value of your ads and their issues if you don’t determine your most vital KPIs beforehand. For example, you should consider these as some of your core metrics.

• Conversion rates. Always keep an eye on the conversion rate of your ads. It allows you to decide if the ad spend is justified when you calculate the actual leads and purchases you gain from each campaign. You can focus on more than just the financial gain for that particular ad, so you can look into visits, purchases, CTR, and other metrics to understand your conversions.
• ROI. This is one of the most sensible metrics to keep in mind.
• Cost per conversion. See if you put more money into a single ad than the sum it has the potential to generate. If that’s the case, you’ll need to make some changes, since the goal should be to earn more than you invest for each ad.

3. Simplify analytics and reporting with automation

Now that you know your KPIs and the goals you want to achieve with your PPC campaigns, you should consider other resources you’ll need to run this campaign and to analyze it on the go. You’ll need dedicated team members to monitor and analyze the results, to deliver reports, and to perform other, often time-consuming and error-prone tasks.

To avoid human error in ad evaluations and make the most of your analytics tools, you can leverage various search engine marketing (SEM) reporting tools that can help you put all your data onto a single platform and automate reporting. When one dashboard can pull the most vital information from all your analytics tools, you can easily avoid wasting time and making mistakes in the process, and simply use the reports delivered to improve future campaigns.

4. Set up your targeting details 

Ads might be brief and simple in order to catch your audience’s fleeting attention, but the background of defining the parameters of each campaign is more intricate. For starters, review all of your ad targeting options to see how you can both narrow down to the most relevant target customers or how you can expand to include more people.

One of the most vital parameters includes your location. Even if you’re not strictly a local company and you can work on a global scale, leveraging your location and origin can help add to your ad’s relevance. Refine your ads to run in various regions to elevate their relevance for that target audience, and then use the data to cross-reference the most and the least successful campaigns and then improve the following ones.

5. Mind your keyword optimization

For any ad to be of relevance, you first need to research the most optimal, high volume keywords that will put your ads on the map. If you’re selling “phone masks”, then you need to incorporate the most commonly searched words and phrases that will take people to your store. This will place your ad at the very top of the search results.

However, dynamic ads have become another way of positioning your ad with a little more flexibility. Instead of focusing on giving search engines actual keywords, you get them to scan your actual website, or specific pages from your site, to place your ad in front of the right audience. Implementing dynamic search ads (DSA) takes time to refine, but it will give you more wiggle room to expand your reach when publishing your campaigns.

The efficiency of your PPC campaigns

There can never be a template for a successful ad campaign that will guarantee results. Why? Because trend changes and your audience preferences dictate what they will look for and what kind of ads will capture their attention. However, if you have those overarching ideas in mind when creating your ads, then focusing on these details will allow you to leverage your PPC campaigns as much as possible and expand their reach. Use these ideas to make your PPC ads more effective and to learn from each campaign so you can improve.

This guest blog post was written by Elaine Bennett who is a digital marketing specialist focused on helping startups and small businesses grow. She’s a regular contributor for Bizzmark Blog. Elaine writes hands-on articles about business and marketing.