Pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns generate a lot of money for all kinds of businesses.

Perhaps the greatest aspect of a PPC campaign is that it can produce outstanding results while your SEO campaign is in place.

SEO campaigns take a long time to bear fruit.

Sometimes, it can take as long as six months to see tangible growth.

In fact, here is a chart detailing each month of progress for a SEO campaign.

While businesses navigate these waiting periods, many of them purchase paid ads to generate web traffic almost immediately.

If you want to see to it that your PPC campaign runs smoothly without any hitches, then you should be mindful of the pitfalls that are bound to come.

To keep you on your toes, we’ve compiled five common PPC mistakes you should avoid during your campaign.
 

1. Not Having Particular Goals

This may sound silly, but a lot of businesses have no idea on what they want to achieve with their PPC campaign.

Part of the problem is that they think PPC is like SEO.

With SEO, your simple goal could be to achieve the first ranking on a few search engine results pages (SERPs).

However, with PPC, there is no such thing…

Instead, you’ll need to determine how many leads you want to receive to your website that will help you turn a profit.

This is because you’re going to be paying for every click your ads generate.

You literally can’t afford to not have defined goals set for your campaign.

Let’s break it down a bit.

Alright, let’s say that your website’s conversion rate is about 3%.

You determined that you want to receive at least 1000 leads per month.

This way, you can convert at least 300 of them.

If you sell products and services that are priced moderately, you could make a real killing based on this kind of math.

With that goal in mind, you can check the cost-per-click (CPC) rates of the keywords you want to target and literally build a campaign to reach that goal.

Especially within your budget…

Setting campaign goals is key.

Without them, you will waste money on a campaign that isn’t generating the type of success you’re looking for.
 

2. Not Tracking Goals

In addition to setting goals, you should also track them vigorously.

The reason why is because you definitely want to optimize your ROI.

The more money you save, the more you can allocate existing dollars to your campaign.

PPC campaigns can get out of control when it comes to spending money, and most businesses can’t keep up until they notice that they’re several thousands of dollars in the red.

Luckily, advertising platforms like Google Adwords makes it simple to track your campaign’s performance.


Google Adwords provides comprehensive insights that allow you to spy on every aspect of your campaign.

This will make it possible for you to see where every marketing dollar is being spent.

Pretty cool, right?

Let’s move on.
 

3. Not Understanding Customer Lifetime Value

Ugh, we’re going to once again do some more math!

But, this is a very critical mistake that many businesses fall into, time and time again.

A lot of businesses have no clue on how much a lead is worth to their business.

For example, if you’re spending $75 to convert a lead, are you receiving more than $75 in revenue?

Also, how much money will that lead reinvest to your business in the long run.

Alright, let’s break down another example.

If you’re running a business that sells monthly services, you can reasonably expect your customers to generate a high ROI from the money you spend to convert them.

But, what if you’re running an eCommerce store.

Usually, people will buy from online stores and become inactive for a few weeks.

This means, you could spend $100 for a qualified lead, while they only purchase a $15 product.

Does this sound like a bad deal?

Initially, yes.

But, with retargeting campaigns, you can configure ads to reach them after an ideal period of time after they’ve purchased something.

Then, you can convert repeat customers, again and again.

Otherwise, you’re going to spend more on your campaign than what you’re getting back in revenue.

And, that’s a huge marketing fail!
 

4. Not Managing Your Campaign

Like any marketing activity, a PPC campaign is not plug-and-play.

You’re going to actually have to manage your campaign or hire something to do it for you.

(Cough… Optuno provides PPC solutions)

From a basic standpoint, managing your campaign will allow you to track your progress and see where your marketing dollars are going.

It will also broaden your knowledge on PPC.

This will help you to become a savvy marketer in your own right.

Though, if you’re too busy and need an expert, Optuno can help.
 

5. Having a Poor Website

Let’s say this for everyone in the back…

If your website is garbage, your PPC campaign means nothing.

That’s true even if you’re spending more than $3,000 a month.

The whole purpose of a PPC campaign is to generate web traffic to your website.

If potential buyers get there and see that your website is a mess, they will leave.

Then Google and other major search engines will notice and deem that your website isn’t very helpful.

Goodbye, SEO!

Your website is the most important part of your PPC campaign.

Make sure that your site is fast, mobile-friendly, and technically sound.

Once your home is in order, you can begin to convert the leads your PPC campaign is generating.

Finally, you can make tons of money from your campaign while staying within your PPC budget.
 

Give Us a Call Today!

Having a successful PPC campaign begins with your website.

Optuno specializes in creating custom websites for all kinds of businesses.

To speak to a member of our dedicated sales team, give us a call today at 1-888-678-8662 or click here to schedule a free consultation.