Running Google AdWords campaigns? 5 tips to reduce CPC while not damaging your AdRank, reach, conversions, and performance.
Google AdWords (part of newly re-christened Google Ad Manager) remains, to this day, the simplest and most powerful tools in the PPC advertising industry. The powerful algorithms automate most of the tasks you’d otherwise be scrambling to do and the rest is easy enough to get around thanks to the intuitive interface. But that’s not to say that the system is foolproof.
The thing is, while the impressions that can be bought are virtually infinite, your media budget is definitely not. Furthermore, the prices you end up paying for each click/ conversion depends on the competing bids for those same impressions. Inevitably, without intervention, those costs could pile sky-high if you are not watchful.
The objective remains this: maximize reach/ conversions/ clicks while minimizing cost for each. AdWords, thankfully, can be manually tweaked to optimize your ROI from a campaign, regardless of your industry/ niche/ products/ location/ etc. In this post, we’re going over some tips you can apply to reduce CPC in AdWords.
1. Use long tail keywords
Remember the elusive Keyword Planner tool? If you have ever tried to find relevant keywords for your business, you have probably heard of this. It’s now practically exclusively available through Adwords.
Less competition = lower cost
Use the tool to find as many relevant keyword variations, especially of the long tail kind, as possible. This is for two reasons. First, the more specific a search query, the higher is the user’s search, and consequently, purchase intent. So a click is significantly more likely to lead to a sale/ conversion. Secondly, long tail keywordswhittle out unnecessary spending on impressions that are more competitive (which also cost more). If you are in an industry that’s highly competitive, the costs could add up to be astronomical.
Long tail keywords will show up with markedly lower search volumes, but don’t let that derail you. Look to the bright side – they will have lower avg. CPC (because of less competition) and high relevance to your website or business (therefore, better chance of conversion). They also have higher Quality Score, which help improve your ad rank (because rank = max. CPC bid x Quality Score).
Remember to find and use those long tail keywords that strike the balance between low competition, decent quality score, and moderate to high monthly avg. search volume to maximize campaign efficacy as well as lowering overall CPC costs. – Read More
