10 rules to stick to in PPC

We recently put together an article on what PPC advertising is and what it offers. Today we have decided to bring you a few useful pieces of advice straight from an experienced PPC hand. A member of our Invelity team, Libor Toporcer, knows how things work in the world of PPC advertising, has plenty of valuable experience, and has shared a few pieces of it with us.

The target group is the basis of everything.

Every activity in online marketing, PPC included, has to be done according to who our target group is, what it wants and how it buys. If I may advise: never go by what you like and identify with yourselves. Start looking at every future activity through the eyes of the people you want to reach.

It matters to understand what you are promoting.

When launching campaigns and configuring all the details, it matters to understand the particular product or service. It may sound simple, but it will only be simple if you know the product and understand its use and its purpose. Only then can you start PPC advertising. Without that it is more of an experiment. Either it comes off or you fail to meet the client's expectations — and the client trusts you, and there is often no time or money for experiments.

Just because something works for the competition does not mean it will work for us.

This really is a golden rule. Every brand and every product is particular, which is precisely why an individual approach, individual methods and goals set in advance matter so much — and at Invelity we set those with the client before campaigns launch. Even having a product similar to your competition's does not mean what works for them will work for you.

Keep optimising.

Reaching results and having a happy client does not mean your work is finished. With PPC advertising in particular it is essential to keep optimising campaigns and take every step needed to reach ever better results and anticipate the situations that can arise while campaigns run.

Test, test and test again!

Go by that until the data shows you which creative and which targeting will work for your products or services. Sometimes it takes a while, but that will not put off a true PPC hand, will it? :)

Try the new things.

Experience teaches us certain steps, of course, ones we grow used to and that have proved themselves with several clients. BUT! The world of PPC advertising keeps changing, and new arrivals and improvements come along that it would be a shame not to test even on campaigns that are doing well. It is always better to say I tried and it did not work out than I did not try because I did not know it.

Draw the maximum from every medium.

Going "all in" on one medium is like going to a brewery and ordering a shandy. Simply build a multi-media plan, and perhaps the very platform you gave no chance at all will turn out to be the one that works best for you.

Set up Google Analytics.

Before launching any campaign or activity, this is the best and, on your part, the responsible thing to do. Measuring the goals you set and analysing the campaigns you run is your job. It is precisely the data Google Analytics gives you that provides the feedback you need to optimise PPC advertising towards the results you want.

Do not try to reinvent the wheel at any cost.

It is always splendid to test and try new things, but do not forget to analyse the competition too and implement successful marketing strategies. Experience is precisely what you have. Use it!

PPC is not everything.

You probably did not expect this at the end, but that is simply how it is. Like SEO and social, PPC is part of an overall marketing strategy. What always matters is looking at what goals we have set, where we want to move and what steps we will take to get there.

We trust Libor's advice will help you build successful campaigns. If you are not a PPC hand yourself, though, and would like performance campaigns set up for your brand, we are here for you. At Invelity we have several more capable Libors. :)