5 Steps to PPC Success

I have had many discussions with people about making money with PPC. I have outlined 5 critical, but simple to implement steps to achieving success in PPC. This is not a guide to using PPC or a complete guide from start to finish. It is what people who are unsuccessful at PPC typically neglect to do.

1. Learn as much as you can about PPC

The PPC model may be pretty simple in a nutshell, but it is a business where money is made on a margin. Any additional knowledge you bring to the table will help increase your return. Take the Google Adwords course online. It is free, and provides a surprising amount of knowledge about how the system works. http://www.google.com/adwords/learningcenter/

2. Do keyword research

Learn about your niche and how people search for items in your niche. Building a decent keyword list is very important for success in PPC. Just as important though is a negative keyword filter. Words you might be interested in filtering out are words that would imply the searcher is not interested in buying a product but instead is interested in getting information or getting the product for free. Of course you might be able to make a profit for these words if you make sure you bid less on them and your results prove that it is successful. I typically find that the competition is nearly as stiff on the words that are worth less as they are for the words that imply the customer is ready to buy.

3. Track your results

Collecting data from PPC is a very good side benefit of spending money on advertising. This data is very important in decision making and learning about your market. Set up tracking codes and hopefully an analytics program for conversion tracking. This information will support your decision making process about wether to stick with a campaign or pull the plug.

4. Use split testing

You do not have to use a complicated tracking and testing system in order to do testing properly. All you have to do is run two different ads or landing pages, and test which one does better. Use the better one, and then try another change. This is much like the process you go through at the optometrist to determine your correct prescription. What you want to make sure of though is that you make decisions on enough data. A good way of determining what enough data is for your niche is by testing and then doubling the time of the test. If that does not change the outcome significantly then you probably have found a decent test time period. Constantly test, do not ever accept the campaign as perfect.

5. Replicate Success

Figure out what makes you money, and keep doing it. Figure out what costs you money and stop doing it. This is actually universal advice and can be applied to all lines of business and life.