PPC campaigns can be customized for small businesses to make them more cost-effective

Internet is a place for ideas. It is not concerned about the size of your business, as long as you have a brilliant idea. Even small businesses can effectively harness the Internet to establish solid footmarks in the online domain. Cost effective PPC (Pay Per Click) campaigns can translate into success for small businesses and online stores. Let us explore a few ways of doing it.

Customized schedules
Google gives an option to set the exact date and time on which you want your advertisements to appear. This will help you to analyze the behavior of your customers and place your advertisements in a slot that is frequented by your customers. For instance, if you are selling Christmas gifts then December is a good month to focus on your PPC campaign. This approach will make your campaigns more cost effective.

Choose exact match types
Goggle allows you to frame your keywords in different ways. Broad match is a type of keyword that allows Google to display your ads even when they are used in plural or are related to the actual keyword. Broad matches may bring in more traffic, but a lot of it can be irrelevant. It is also expensive as far as small businesses are concerned. An exact match is a smarter option for small businesses as it improves the focus and brings in only relevant traffic. It is also more cost effective.

Employing negative tactics
Using negative keywords is a smart tactics that can work in your favor during PPC campaigns. It allows you to screen off unwanted traffic and attract only relevant traffic to the site. For instance, a store selling fresh flowers can use ‘artificial’ as the negative keyword. This will filter people looking for artificial flowers. But, it is a tight rope as people interested in artificial flowers may still buy fresh one. Nevertheless, using negative keywords intelligently can make your PPC campaign more effective.

Understanding geographical affinities
A 2009 TMP/comScore, 80% of consumers expect their businesses in their search to be 15 miles of their location. This knowledge can help you to target people in proximity of your geographical region. You have to keep target granularity in mind while creating your advertisements. For instance, creating an ad at the city level may produce better results than an advertisement at the country level. 

Intelligent keyword development
Don’t fall for popular keywords while choosing one for your ad group. For instance, if you are in the printing business than you have to move beyond the expensive ‘Printing’ keywords and explore more specific keywords like ‘Printing shops Colorado’. This will add a local flavor to your keyword and make it more specific. 

Looking beyond Google
As a small business, you should know where to shop. Google is the leader of the search engine pack, but charges heavily for the PPC campaigns. It is not a bad idea to explore upcoming search engines like Bing that have lower bid price and conversion costs. It is a good idea to start with a small budget, to test the waters on these search engines.

PPC campaigns can be customized for small business in various other creative ways. The important thing to ensure is that it should not burn a hole in your pocket but offer handsome returns. So, go ahead with your idea!

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