Pay per Click (PPC) is a form of online advertising which directs traffic to the advertiser’s website once a user clicks on an advert. The advertiser pays each time his/her advert is clicked hence the name pay per click. However when starting out a pay per click campaign what are the key things to remember and look out for?

1 ) Pick a trusted easy to use platform. The industry favourites are Google adwords and Yahoo search marketing. Most advertisers use Google, this is because more users search on Google in comparison to other search engines.

2 ) Select a budget. Decide on an overall maximum daily budget, this will determine how many clicks you can afford, the more money the more clicks. Secondly decide on how much you want to bid for each click (Cost per Click). The average bid for a click is between 80p and £1.20. Remember that you can always increase you budget once you know what keywords are working for you. There is no need to go in guns blazing.

3 ) Select Key words that are relevant to the website you are trying to promote.  These are the words which users will search for. Think of what users will type into Google to find your products, make sure your key words match the description of what you are offering. If your advert is displayed for keywords that have no relevance to your website, you will be wasting money on clicks which will not convert to sales.

4 ) Create an Objective. If you’re looking for the result of a campaign to be a sale, then create a target objective within the platform so that you can trace how many clicks convert to sales. You’ll end up with a percentage of clicks that meets your objective. The higher the percentage the more successful your ad.

5 ) Watch and observe. Keep a close eye on your campaigns, preferably daily. Analyse which campaigns are doing well, what key words are working, what the click through rate is. This will help you re-direct your campaigns.

6 ) Select key words round two. If certain keywords have low click through rates it could mean that customers are looking for a different product to what you are offering. If Keywords aren’t performing then change them, this technique will overtime refine your campaign to optimise your success.

7 ) Look out for CTR. As mentioned above click trough rate is a ‘must’ to measure. You want a high CTR percentage as this shows that the users clicking your advert are finding what they were looking for. A low CTR means the keywords aren’t working and it’s time for change!

8 ) Move on and expand. As your campaign moves forward add more keywords. If you are using Google adwords, they can recommend some for you or try being more specific about certain products you’re offering. If your adverts are receiving a maximum amount of clicks for the budget you’ve set, why not increase your daily allowance to gain more traffic.

9 ) Keyword Quality. This is important to maximise your budget and results. Quality keywords will have a high click through rate, these are the keywords you want to focus your money on. Any keywords not relevant to your website and with a low CTR will be dead weight to you and a drain on your budget.

10 ) Get your ad ranked. You want your advert to be placed as high as possible. The three main areas to improve ranking are relevance, quality and maximum bid. By creating relevant keywords and a quality site you will defiantly help improve your ranking amongst other adverts. But remember a large factor is your keyword bid; companies that have a higher bid are more likely to have a higher ranking.

If you would like to learn more about PPC please get in contact, we would love to chat to you. Alternatively if you would like to add to our tips, why not post a comment below.

Senspa is an award winning Thai spa set in the    beautiful New Forest, surrounded by amazing scenery. Senspa is a place of inspiration and relaxation and offers the ideal location to escape for a luxury spa break.

Senspa was in need of a new website as its existing site not only failed to represent their brand and the experience Senspa offered, it also lacked the required functionality to move the business forward.

The design was out of date and hard to navigate so after producing a website project brief, Senspa proceeded to review suppliers and following a comprehensive tender process Generate UK was chosen.

Senspa’s business development plan was to increase website traffic, improve how they interacted with their online community whilst striving to increase online sales and business.  They were confident that once a person had experienced the luxurious hydrotherapy pool, soothing thermal rooms, revitalising sensory showers, indulgent treatments and exquisite Thai food they would certainly come back to embrace their unique experience again.

Part of the overall process was to seek a new platform that provided stability and an online marketing agency to deliver their online vision.  Generate UK was chosen due to their design, project management, online marketing expertise and experience in delivering successful online solutions within the leisure market.

Sitekit content management platform was chosen based on its ease of use, excellent publishing process and management tools. This would allow Senspa to market their website, embrace online technology and build a business upon a future proof and powerful web platform.

On top of designing and integrating a new website Senspa also required a bespoke online booking system and package chooser which would allow the user to interact with the website, book packages spa breaks and day experiences whilst collaborating with their internal business processes.

Lina Lotto Senspa Director commented, Generate UK have exceeded what was originally asked of them, taking an idea on paper and developing it right through to a beautiful website which now represents all that Senspa is about. We are now working with Generate UK to help support and market the site moving forward. Our website traffic has already increased by 50% month on month since we launched in January.

The result: With their proven project methodology Generate UK used their online knowledge, design and development expertise to produce a website which not only represents the experience Senspa offers but developed a website that provides Senspa with a platform for future business growth.

Generate UK, a dynamic and commercial thinking digital marketing company based in Newbury, Berkshire offer professional web services and a number of other related online marketing services that would add value to any commercial and public sector organisation.

Towards the end of last year Google updated the exam that was required in order to earn Advertisers Professional status. Previously the exam pass rate was 75% and the questions were based upon your knowledge of the Google Adwords system. This has now changed and you need 85% to pass and the questions are a lot trickier and force you to think about the online advertising concept.

This is an interesting move from Google and they are definitely raising the entrance criteria to become an Advertising Professional. No longer is it possible to just take the exam and open up the next day as a PPC Consultant; with this exam you really have to know what you’re doing and actually study.

This is a good thing, the previous exam needed to be updated as PPC advertising has evolved and changed over time. There are different concepts to consider, different ways of making your budget work and understanding a return on investment model.

There are not a lot of accreditations in the Internet Marketing world and I know a lot of customers think this area is full of dark arts and black magic, which is why Google’s accreditation programmes are a good thing. I’m not saying that you absolutely have to be accredited to know what you’re doing; it’s just another way to help your customer make an informed balanced decision.

Anyway, we needed to tidy up our own accreditations and get everything ready for our new website launch later this month, so we recently took on the new exam. How did we do? Have a look below.

If you’re looking for advice about pay per click or just a second opinion, please feel free to contact us on 01635 550431.

Director Michael Robinson made his debut appearance on the 30^th of January, on the BBC1 programme ‘Click’. ‘Click’ is the BBC’s flagship technology programme covering all relevant topics allowing viewers to keep up to date with latest technology. Michael Robinson also known as the ‘Blogging Guru’ was asked for his professional input on a ‘click’ feature article called the ‘essential guide to blogging’. Michael was selected as one of just four experts to comment on this field. This has been an excellent opportunity for Generate UK to demonstrate their expert knowledge in all that is online marketing. We will be posting a blog in the next couple of weeks regarding a more in-depth analysis of blogging and the benefits it has. To view ‘BBC clicks’ full article in regards to the programme please follow this link.