PPC, it seems to be the buzz at the moment and there really is a good reason. The times where you can get free traffic by using a trick that no one else knows about is gone. Ages ago you could easily be ahead of the curve, because the curve had a really low starting point. But these days with all this cool info so accessible it is no longer the case.
At the top of the curve you have the big boys, the ones with access to the tools and skills that small business only dream about. But in PPC there are actually areas where small businesses can work just as well as the big players.
So… are you ready for PPC?
Well, many businesses aren’t. In fact I think that most small businesses aren’t ready. But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be preparing.
Being prepared for a PPC campaign just means that you are ready to actually sell things well using your website as a major part of it.
What are the most important things that you need to know?
There is what seems like a never ending list of cool things that are out there to learn about, and different businesses have different needs. But regardless of industry there are some things that I believe that websites need before they are ready to have people pay to bring in traffic.
IMPORTANT
If you are paying someone for SEO, or boosting posts on Facebook then you are already paying for traffic! These suggestions also apply anyone spending significant amounts of time, energy or money on their sites.
The building blocks
Lead Magnets
A lead magnet is something that people want, in fact they want it enough that they would give you their email address to get access to it. They can be things like price lists, free offers, information packs, competitions or anything else that you can think of.
An Email Marketing System
If you don’t have a way to capture the email addresses, then you can’t make good use of your lead magnet. Having an email system is absolutely a given.
A NICE website
Ok, so imagine a shop, the windows are broken, the place is dusty, it doesn’t have a lot of stock and the customer service guy doesn’t seem to know a lot. Would you pay people to visit the store? No, of course not.
NOW imagine a website with broken features, rarely adds new content, doesn’t have a lot of information on their products and the FAQ section is bare.
So….. would you pay people to visit the site?
A good understanding of your customer
If you think that you sell everything to anyone then a PPC campaign is highly likely to fail. If you can picture your ideal/average customer in terms of age, interests, reasons why they buy, what features they want and more then you have a good shot. It’s the same as if you were selling something in person. If you were standing in front of a different person you would explain things differently because they are different. Everyone is different! So treat them differently 🙂
For example
- Do you talk in technical terms or are they not into the tech talk?
- Are they young or old?
- Are they interested in cheap as chips or premium?
- Do they buy things because they are the coolest or because they are necessary?
- Do they buy because the kids nag them or because they want it themselves?
- Are they male or female?
If that hasn’t got your brain into gear, check out this image. See how different your target market could be?
Knowing who you are targeting tells you what words, images, ideas, calls to action and more that you use. Not sure who you are selling to? We can help you work it out, but without working it out advertising will be super expensive.
There are more things to consider, but they are a great start.
If you have any questions get in touch and we can help you work out what you need.