Make a Killer PPC Marketing Plan in 10 Steps

Wondering how advertisers who succeed with PPC make their PPC Marketing Plan-

First, they conduct proper research to understand which audience is the right audience for their PPC campaign.

Second, they draft the outline of their PPC marketing plan.

Third, they use their research data to identify opportunities that their competitors ignored in their PPC marketing plan.

In order to create a PPC campaign, it is essential to understand what the ‘plan’ actually is. As per dictionary, plan is the path you are going to take in order to reach goals. Creating PPC plans revolves around-

• Assessing the overall situation
• Developing a PPC Campaign policy
• Creating a PPC action plan

Below given 10 steps will help you understand how PPC plans revolve around these three areas-

10 Steps to make a PPC Marketing Plan

1. Know your PPC Campaign Goals

“You log in to your WordStream or AdWords account, overwhelmed by all the functionality and unaware of where to start. No plan = no direction = no success. But no goals = no workflow.” – WordStream

Goals are the inevitable part of creating the PPC plans. It is same as if you hop on the treadmill- you would have a specific goal in your mind- it may be to lose weight, or increase your stamina, or scale down the chance of any cardiac arrest. Same philosophy applies on PPC plans- You need goals to design workflow of a PPC marketing plan.

We all know that we need more businesses and PPC will help in it, but most of the time, we do not know the key metrics that we should focus upon to ensure returns in PPC- So, the question is what PPC goals are. Answering these questions will help you find your PPC goals-

• What are you trying to accomplish with your Google AdWords spend?
• What metrics are significant for ensuring returns for your business?
• What outcome do you expect from your PPC campaign?

For a successful PPC marketing plan, you not only think of your business goals in general, but also think of the specific goals related to your PPC campaigns and spending-plan. Some of the common examples of PPC common goals are

PPC Goal- Increase Traffic to My Website

Now the befitting PPC marketing plan for this goal should be focusing on CTR.

PPC Goal- Increase Sales or Lead

For this PPC goal, your PPC plan should focus upon conversions.

PPC Goal: Raise Brand Awareness

This PPC goal asks for PPC Plans that utilize the Display Network & Remarketing

2. PPC marketing platforms best fit for your PPC goals

Two of the main PPC platforms are-

Google AdWords

AdWords is one of the most popular, preferred and largest pay-per-click platforms that run on Google, Display Network sites and other Search Partner sites. Google AdWords was launched in October 2000 and since then it is predominantly used by all kinds of businesses.

Bing Ads

Just like AdWords, Bing Ads is another pay-per-click platform that displays ads on the Yahoo and Bing networks. It is Keyword based advertising and it utilizes different Search Partners.

Some other PPC Online Ads that are gaining lots of popularity these days are-

• Facebook
• AdRoll
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• YouTube
• com/AdSonar
• AdBlade

3. Key elements of a PPC Account Structure

Different elements of PPC Account Structure are-

Campaigns and Ad Groups

Execution of a PPC marketing plan begins by choosing keyword themes and then creating individual PPC campaigns according to that. For instance, if you wish to use PPC for a Coffee Table Business House, the campaign theme can be “Coffee Tables”, and in the themed categories, you may use following Ad groups- Coffee Table, Wooden Coffee Tables, Round Coffee Tables, Long Coffee Tables, etc.

Each of the ad groups may also incorporate different themed keyword variations, like, for Wooden Coffee Tables, Ad group may include Wooden Coffee Tables, Coffee Tables Wooden, Wooden Coffee Tables on Sale, etc.

Keywords

Keywords in a PPC Ads also ask for a match type that defines different queries for which your PPC ads will show. PPC Account structure incorporates seven keyword match types

1. Exact
2. Exact (Close Variant)
3. Phrase
4. Phrase (Close Variant)
5. Broad
6. Modified Broad
7. Broad (Session-Based)

The different match types with examples

Negative Keywords

To eradicate unqualified traffic, negative keywords are used in PPC. For instance, if you add ‘Free’ as a negative keyword, search results for the queries ‘Free Coffee Tables’ will not include your Ad. If you are selling High End Products, terms like “Cheap” or “Bargain” can be a useful negative keyword.

 Audiences

Audiences are actually the groups of users segmented in different ways and they are created as per specific page views, pages per visit and time spent on site. Mostly audiences are used in remarketing. 

4. Types of Ad Copy available for a PPC Campaign

Different types of PPC Ad Copy are-

Text Ads

If you have created the Ad Groups, and right keywords are chosen, you are ready to write your ads. Things that your PPC Ad should include are targeted keyword theme, CTA and any value ads.

Ad structure and character limits of AdWords text ad are-

• Headline– Up to 25 characters (including spaces)
• Display URL– Up to 35 characters (including spaces)
• Description Line 1– Up to 35 characters (including spaces)
• Description Line 2– Up to 35 characters (including spaces)

Bing Ads text ad structure is also similar to AdWords ad but the description lines 1 and 2 can go up to 71 characters.

Text Ads should not have excessive capitalization or punctuation, plus, the root display URL has to match the root destination URL. For instance, a display URL of www.ABC.com should lead to a page on the www.ABC.com domain.

Product Listing Ads (PLAs)

These Ads are square units preferably used in E-commerce PPC campaigns, which include product titles, prices and images. These Ads use Google product feeds and they should be connected to a Google Merchant Center account. Bing Ads also include similar feature known as Product Ads, and for this, you need to use Bing Merchant Center account.

Image Ads

For Display Network PPC campaigns, you need to utilize image ads. Image Ads are shown within and around the content of thousands of sites across the Display Network.

19 total sizes for image ads are- 200 x 200, 240 x 400, 250 x 250, 250 x 360, 300 x 250, 336 x 280, 580 x 400, 120 x 600, 160 x 600, 300 x 600, 300 x 1050, 468 x 60, 728 x 90, 930 x 180, 970 x 90, 970 x 250, 980 x 120, 320 x 50, 320 x 100.

5. Key elements of PPC Ad Setting

Different Elements of PPC Ad Setting are-

Campaign Types

1. Search Network
2. Display Network
3. Search Network with Display Select
4. Shopping: Product Listing Ads 

• Brand
• Category
• Condition
• Item ID
• Product Type
• Custom Attributes

Device Targeting

Device targeting for a PPC campaign can be done on different devices such as-

• Desktops/Laptops
• Tablets
• Mobile Devices

Search engines consider Desktops, tablets and laptops similar and that is why same bid is applied to such platforms. While on the other hand, Mobile devices can use a bid modifier.

Location Targeting

Highly effective PPC Marketing Plan uses location targeting up to the zip code level. You can easily show your Ad in desired location by using location targeting in PPC campaigns.

You can also setup bid modifier as per the locations.

Ad Scheduling

You can run your Ad at desired times. Ad Scheduling varies as per businesses, as for an E-Commerce campaign, Ads should be run 24/7, while for a brick and mortar store, Ads should be shown in business hours. Ad Scheduling lets you show your Ads as per your preference. You can also set Bid Modifier in Ad Scheduling for both days and hours.

Budget

You can choose daily budget for your each individual campaign. You should create budgets as per your account goals.

Delivery Method

Two delivery methods for your PPC that you can consider while making PPC marketing plan are-

• Standard

This one is good for you if you have budget restrictions, as in this your Ad will be shown as per your preference

• Accelerated

This one is good for you if you do now have any budget restrictions and want to ensure your Ads to be shown for all the queries

Ad Delivery

Ad Delivery by Google offers you four options-

• Optimize for clicks
• Optimize for conversions
• Rotate evenly
• Rotate indefinitely

6. Different Ad Extensions in PPC

Ad extensions are used as additional details that let your audiences see supplementary information about your business that ultimately optimizes your PPC ads. Ad extensions help you improve the CTR of Ad headline. Some of the notable Ad Extensions in PPC are-

Sitelink Extensions

Such extensions help searchers navigate deeper into your website. Sitelink Extensions are manual additions that have to be relevant to the search term. Sitelink that has descriptions is called enhanced Sitelinks.

Location Extensions

Location extensions are used to show the business address. In best PPC plans, Google My Business account should be setup and connected to AdWords, and in this location-extension is preferably used.

Call Extensions

This extension let PPC ads have the ability to click-to-call, which allows mobile searchers have an easy way to call the business.

App Extensions 

This extension is considered best for businesses thinking to optimize app downloads and engagements.

Consumer & Seller Ratings Annotations

This will help you promote business ratings as per the customer surveys. You can find this extension only in Google and you need to have at least 30 unique reviews in order to show in Google results.

Social Extensions Annotations

This one shows number of followers your business has on Google Plus. 

7. Measuring the Results in PPC

Different factors related to measuring results of your PPC campaign are-

Conversion Tracking

To gauge your account performance, it is must for you to create conversion goals. PPC platforms provide code snippets that you can place on key pages such as ‘Order Confirmation or Thank You’ pages. This will help you understand whether ad clicks are turning into conversions or not.

Different types of AdWords conversion tracking are-

• Webpage
• Calls from ads using call extensions
• Clicks on a number on your mobile website
• Mobile or tablet app
• Calls to a Google forwarding number on your website
• Imported goals (from third party platforms like Salesforce)

Google Analytics

To know your Post Click Behavior, linking your AdWords accounts to Google Analytics is one of the important parts of successful PPC marketing plan. Having this in your PPC planning sheet will help you get complete picture of the conversion funnel. For linking your accounts, you need to enter AdWords ID number in the “Admin” section of Google Analytics.

You can confirm the connection by navigating to “Account Settings” and then to “Linked accounts.” By using “View details” section, you can see the link.

You can also link the account to Webmaster Tools that will let you see how ads and the organic listings work.

Google Merchant Center

You need to connect Google Merchant Centre to AdWords run Google Shopping campaigns or PLAs. You should enter AdWords ID into the “Settings” section of the Google Merchant Center. In ‘Tools’ section of AdWords, you can see the Merchant Centre information.

8. Know the PPC Tools best fit for your PPC Marketing Plan

Here is the list of some of the best tools that help you run powerful PPC campaign-

Change History

• Change history is Google AdWords and Bing Ads PPC tool that catalogs past updates, which include bid changes, Sitelink additions, etc.
• Change History data comprises the log in email or the alias responsible for the modification along with the time and date of the change.

Keyword Planner

• The Keyword Planner is quite useful in discovering and planning PPC campaigns, keywords, and ad groups.
• Keyword planner also helps in performance data approximations, plus, you can use it for estimating starting bids and budgets for your PPC accounts.

 Display Planner

• It designs Display Network campaigns.
• Display planner lists websites, topics, keywords, and interests as per your target audiences.

Ad Preview and Diagnostics

• This lets you know why your ad might not be displaying for any particular search term.
• It can also be used in the AdWords Interface and for this, you only need to enter the location and language, once you do this, the tool will populate results by running in backgrounds.

Labels

• Labels can be understood as Post-It notes and built-in documentation for PPC campaigns, keywords, Ads and ad groups.
• You can use it for ad creation dates, knowing top performing keywords, and so forth.
• If you have accounts with multiple account managers, Labels would be highly useful for you.

Automated Rules

• Automated rules are set via number of performance criteria and they can run on a schedule.
• These rules are used to alleviate the task of account management.

9. Shared Library in PPC AdWords

Shared library lets advertisers manage different changes across different PPC campaigns. Different elements of PPC shared library are-

Ads

You can use Ads throughout several PPC campaigns.

Audiences 

You can add audiences to Display along with Remarketing, and Remarketing Lists for Search Ads campaigns.

Bid Strategies

Bid strategies ensure automated bidding in which control is handed to the search engines. Different kinds of bid strategies are-

• Enhanced CPC
• Target Search Page Location
• Target CPA
• Maximize Clicks
• Target Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

Budgets

The shared budget feature helps you shift fund between campaigns and saves the time spent on monitoring individual campaign budgets.

Campaign Negative Keywords 

It lets you save time by adding negative keywords to multiple campaigns.

Campaign Placement Exclusions 

Adding a list of campaign placement exclusions lets you share the list of certain websites that convert poorly across multiple Display campaigns.

10. Reporting in PPC 

Different elements of reporting you need to pay heed upon while making PPC marketing plan are-

Search Query Reports (SQRs)

SQRs can be used to find irrelevant search queries that should be added as negative keywords. It is also used to find new ideas for keyword expansion.

Placement Reports

This report shows the websites within the Display network where PPC ad was shown.

Auction Insights Report

This is used to find out what companies are competing against your business in the search auctions.

Segmentation Options

This lets you segment your day by device, time or even Google +1 annotations.

Filters

Filters are helpful when you need to review large campaigns by breaking them down into more digestible pieces for analysis.

Columns 

Columns are used to show pre-determined metrics. Data related to assisted conversations, conversion data calculations, competitive impression share metrics, etc. can be placed in columns.

Dimensions 

The dimensions tab makes it easy for advertisers to see segments of data.

Final Words

I hope this guide helps you enjoy a great start in making the rewarding PPC marketing plan.

In case you want to master PPC, Search Engine Marketing Training will help you be a PPC expert who runs conversion-driven PPC campaigns with utmost accuracy.

And finally, keep coming back here to learn PPC and continue sharing your thoughts in comments.

Have a look at the Digital Marketing Proposal if you too want you to start a Digital Marketing Agency and guide many SMEs to enter the Digital sphere.

Cheers!