There are questions that every PPC campaign manager should ask when designing a program. I mean, they should ask them if they want to be successful. The thing is, Google is not going to ask you if you’ve done your homework. They will ask you for payment though, and if you haven’t asked yourself the following questions you’ll probably pay Google way more than you should to achieve results. So, let’s look at 2 essential questions that need answering before you begin any PPC campaign.
Do I know what my Business Objectives/Goals are?
What is Success going to look like for this campaign? Are you looking for product sales, brand awareness, whitepaper downloads, new users, new blog subscribers, etc? How many transactions per dollar spend will be a success? How many new users per dollar spend will be a success? In order to be able to define whether or not your campaign is successful you’ll need to know the answer to these questions. Once you define your campaign success you’ll be able to measure your success, and ultimately your PPC campaign ROI.
Do I know my Target Audience’s online behavior?
Almost equally important to knowing your campaign objectives, know your target audience and their online behavior. Is it the C-suite, VP, or Director for a B2B tech company who uses search primarily during business hours, Monday through Friday? Is he or she on the east coast, or west? Or is it a consumer like a working Mom managing her kids and her household who can only get online in the evening after the kids are in bed? You’re likely to know this right away but I mentione it because it’s important to understand the search behavior of your audience. This means knowing the types of keyword terms they use to search, the time of day they spend most of their time searching for their needs online, and the area of the country your audience primarily resides. The more you know about your audience’s online behavior the great chance you’ll have to achieve your business objectives.
Whether you’re a small business owner managing a PPC campaign on your own or a marketing manager at a large company responsible for PPC campaigns you’ll have greater success by answering these questions in the beginning. If you’re the marketing manager or director and you’re looking for buy-in from top management having the campaign well planned with details about business objectives and target audience will most likely get you the buy-in you’re looking for.
These are just two of the questions we look at when we help strategize a PPC campaign. What are some essential questions you ask when planning PPC efforts? Leave a comment and let us know!