How to Create a PPC Ad That Accomplishes Your Business Goals

Whether you’re looking to drive traffic for a new business or want to grow your brand’s presence online, PPC advertising can be a great way to improve your bottom line—all without spending an arm and a leg.

How does this happen?

In this post, we’ll discuss the basics of PPC ads, how to create a PPC ad, and much more.

What We’ll Cover:

• What are PPC Ads?
• How to Create a PPC Ad
• How to Set Up a PPC Ad

What are PPC Ads?

PPC, which stands for pay-per-click, is an online marketing model where advertisers bid to have their ads run on platforms like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Each time someone clicks on the ad, they pay a fee. Essentially, it’s a way for businesses to buy visits to their site instead of trying to “earn” those visits organically.

If a visitor sees an ad but doesn’t click on it, the advertiser is notified of the impression, but the ad won’t accrue any costs since no click took place.

You’ve likely come across PPC ads while browsing the web and not even known it.

For example, if you search for the phrase “SEO specialist,” you’ll see a list of regular text ads that will appear at the top of the page, with the word “Ad” or “Sponsored” next to it.

If you were to search for something like “chandeliers,” the search engines results page will display a carousel of product images, marked with the term “Sponsored.”

How to Create a PPC Ad

When writing copy for your PPC ads, you’ll want to put yourself in the shoes of your target audience. What type of offer would they like to see? How does your product or service help solve their problems? What differentiates you from your competitors? You should craft ad copy that answers these questions and is relevant to the user’s search query.

Here are some of the PPC ad options you should consider:

Text Ads

 According to Google, “A text ad is a form of marketing communication that advertisers can use to promote their product or service on the Google Network.” All text ads need to include a headline, targeted keyword theme, display URL, and a call to action.

Google Ads text ad structure must follow this format:

• Headline 1 – Up to 30 characters (including spaces)
• Headline 2 – Up to 30 characters (including spaces)
• Description Line – Up to 80 characters (including spaces)
• Path 1 – Up to 15 characters
• Path 2 – Up to 15 characters

Product Listing Ads

These ads feature more detailed information than standard text-based ads (product titles, images, and pricing) and are intended to lead users directly to product pages where they can make a purchase. Since product listing ads utilize Google product feeds, they must be connected to a Google Merchant Center account.

Image Ads

An image ad consists of text and an image that includes details about your business, products, or services. If a user clicks anywhere on the ad, they’ll be taken right to your website. You even have the option of creating a responsive ad that will automatically adjust the size depending on where it’s being shown.

How to Set Up a PPC Ad

When it comes to how to create a PPC ad, you’ll want to follow these steps to ensure the success of your PPC efforts before officially launching your campaign.

1. Define your goals. Are you trying to raise brand awareness? Or maybe you want to increase site visits? Without having a specific goal in mind, accomplishing the rest of your tasks will be an uphill battle. That’s why it’s important to determine who you want to target, the theme of your campaign, and the type of campaign you want to run early on.
2. Conduct keyword research. Since your entire PPC campaign is built around keywords, you need to identify target keywords that offer relevance to your target audience. You can start by brainstorming broad keyword terms around certain product features or verticals, then start compiling a list of competitor terms. From there, you can begin setting your bids for different keywords and selecting your daily or monthly budget.
3. Write your ad copy. Crafting effective ad copy and a strong call to action can help reduce cost per acquisition and boost click-through rates. Be sure to include the target keyword at least once in the headline and once in the body copy. We also suggest using phrases like “learn more” or “start today” to create a sense of urgency so your audience can take action. Then you can link the ad to your desired landing page.
4. Monitor your results. Once your PPC campaign is underway, you need to track your progress so you can identify any strengths and weaknesses and subsequently improve your performance over time.

Wrapping Up

With a little patience and attention to detail, PPC ads have the potential to grow both your customer base and your revenue.

And now that you have a basic understanding of how to create a PPC ad that converts like crazy, it’s time to put this knowledge into practice.

Remember—to build a PPC ad campaign that works, you need to adhere to the unofficial motto of the PPC world—“Always be testing.”

By testing regularly, you take the guesswork out of PPC advertising, helping you make more informed decisions about your ads.

You don’t want to let any conversions slip through the cracks!