• by Joy Gendusa , August 1, 2013

A great marketing tactic to gain exposure for your brand is Pay Per Click (PPC). It’s an excellent way to gain brand exposure and generate new leads from online prospects (through millions of Web sites) that are searching for a service or product you provide. It can, however, be somewhat complicated. So let’s simplify it.

Here’s a review of the key components you need to execute to get everything running smoothly.

Ad extensions

Google offers PPC marketers six ad extensions that will help to communicate your brand without adding to the character limit that Google has set. PPC ads have strict character restrictions, but these extensions really help you present a fuller picture of your brand to the prospect.

These are the ad extensions:

1.) Location: Show your location with a link to Google Maps. This will allow them to see your location and get directions.

2.) Products: This extension will show your products/services and their prices.

3.) SiteLinks: You will be able to show more than one page of your Web site, so you have multiple chances to grab the prospects' attention.

4.) Phone number: Displays your phone number beneath your ad.

5.) Social media: Displays the number of +1s your Google+ page has. Building social media credibility is key.

6.) Seller rating: Displays to prospects the rating your customers have given you. (This is risk-free, because Google only displays the rating if it is 4 or 5 stars).

Be consistent with your brand’s PPC process

In order for your PPC campaign to be effective, you must ensure consistency. This will reduce the risk of losing prospects along the way. If your ads and landing pages don’t look the same or portray different messages, your prospect may think they were directed to the wrong site or that your company is disorganized and unprofessional. Rather, you want your prospects to feel engaged throughout the process so you can build trust with each new step.

Call response optimization

If you include your phone number in your PPC ads, you give yourself the chance to turn potential clicks into phone calls. Generating a phone call is great for your campaign because they are free. You only pay if someone clicks on your ad, which means if someone calls, that is a free lead!

Divide keywords into groups

One of the most effective strategies for your PPC performance is to divide your keywords into niche groups. For instance, a carpet cleaning and replacement company will have keywords like “carpet cleaning” in one group and “carpet replacement” in another group. These groups allow you to display the most relevant ads for your prospects.

Google will rate your ads based on how helpful they think they will be to their users, and they determine your Quality Score. They make judgments based on two parameters:

1. How relevant the ad is to the user’s search term.

2. The amount of clicks the ad is generating.

Obviously, higher quality scores have more perks. You get better ad placement, which means the best real estate on Web sites -- and higher ranking for search ads. Organizing your keywords can do wonders for your PPC advertising!

So remember your ABCs and kick your PPC advertising into high gear! And don't forget to master your local search engine optimization.