Top Ten Common PCC Mistakes
Many affiliates lose hundreds maybe even thousands of dollars from their campaign because of stupid mistakes so I decided to write the top ten lethal mistakes that makes many PPC campaigns fail.
1. Going after the big money makers. This is what destroys most PPC campaigns mainly going after the obvious keywords instead of researching a special 2nd tier or even 3rd tier that really ties to your subject. For example jumping on “office supplies” when “cheap office supplies” is an easier and less targeted by the big advertisers.
2. Not watching your PPC clicks closely. This is a given in anything in life you have to maintain your vigilance no matter what happens. Notice how much clicks turn into leads or even purchases and determining where and when your ad performed better. Don’;t just rely on your PCC program for analytics use your OWN tracking make each keyword a special page if you have too but keep a close eye on each part of the process.
3. Checking out the competition’s brands. Obviously if they are your competition they have the same customers as you do so run campaigns on THEIR brands to try to grab anyone who thought they only had that company as their only choice. As an added bonus most companies don’t even care to bid on their own brands as they think they’ve already gotten the customer if they are searching for them.
4. Affiliate competition. Many affiliate managers out there have their own PPC campaigns going on at the same time as yours. And in rare cases they may be trying to outbid you on a keyword even though you both are working towards the same goal. this happens often with big name companies like yahoo services. So be sure to keep in touch with your manager and keep them updated on what keywords your campaign involves.
5. Settling for the norm. Most affiliates check out their competition on certain keywords and they apply the same wording towards their ads, this is a big mistake. You want to stand out offer something or point out something that separates you from the flock. For example mention little obvious facts about your services that most users don’t know about.
6. Not Geo-Targeting your keywords. The whole world is a big place and most users are looking for someone close to home someone they can trust. And to accommodate tho this need most advertising programs offer a geo-targeting feature, so folk over those 50 ads and include a different state in each. Your CTR will be higher for those keywords and not to mention a lower CPC cost.
7. Keep your landing page relevant. Let’s say you follow number six you have to also follow it with a landing page meaning include that same state in your main description. Users like to feel like they got just what the ad said and not been tricked like many of the ads these days.
8. Not incorporating special offers. Many affiliate programs send out monthly if not weekly reports of new developments and offers. Especially in the holidays and seasonal changes. Deals are gold you need to find a way to offer your user more than they even expected surprise them to be the only one in an ad line up that offers free shipping or even bulk order discounts.
9. Not taking calculated risks. This one is potentially a maker or breaker, taking risks always has been involved in either winning big losing big. But not calculated risks, meaning you need to have something to fall down on if the risk you took didn’t pay off. For example run two campaigns for one brand and try different descriptions that you think might attract users better. If they seem to work then move them to your second campaign.
10. Thinking number one means everything. That number one spot may look golden to you but more often than not it’s not worth the extra CPC cost. being one means they’ll look to your first but most users shop around meaning the number three guy might take the money as by that time they may have forgotten number one. So try to stay in the middle and not spend too much at the same applying number 8 on this list.
That’s it most of those either break or make campaign so watch out.
Thank You
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