Pay per click campaigns focused on competitive keyphrases require at least some planning. The average cost per click will be higher for top positions, so it is important that your site performs well. Sites with higher conversion rates can afford to be at higher positions.

In pay per click, a well-planned campaign has themed adGroups with keyphrase-ad-landing-page combinations that work well together. These campaigns have high click-through rates and high conversion rates.

Creating Targeted AdGroups, Ads, and Landing Pages

Well-themed adGroups contain keyphrases that users with the same interests query the search engines with. This makes it easier to target the users with your ads. Good adGroups also fit the theme of the landing page. Landing pages should be designed along with the ads – if the ad is targeted to the user, and the landing page reflects what is written in the ad, the landing page will be targeted to the user. A good ad describes a product or service, a benefit of the product or service, and an action the user should take once he/she clicks on the ad. A good landing page should backup the same statements made in the ad:

1. This is what you searched for.
2. This is what we are offering.
3. What you searched for and what we’re offering are the same thing.
4. What we’re offering is superior and you should get it now for these reasons.
5. Here’s the action you take.

These five statements should be backed up, shown, and/or explained on a landing page, and it all relies on what is written in the ad. The landing page should describe the same product, benefit, and action that was written in the ad. There should be no surprises and no distractions (like irrelevant links, images, or offers), although it is a good idea to offer other actions for a user to take if they aren’t quite ready to make a full commitment. And all of this information should be conveyed without too much text. Visitors typically decide what’s on a page and whether they should abandon it by looking at images and scanning short snippets of text.

Landing pages should be kept simple. You already know what a visitor is looking for so it’s not necessary to show them a bunch of other things. How 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 become a full web page with text, images, and links is beyond the scope of this article. Here’s where you can start:

1. Repeat search engine user’s query in the landing page’s text and headings. Don’t be unoriginal – dare to make it more descriptive.
2. Offer pictures of what you’re selling. Show visual samples without leading the user to far off the transaction page.
3. Tell the visitor why what they searched for is what you’re displaying if it’s not already obvious. Make it clear that you are talking to them. Use bullet points with concise sentences using simple language.
4. Offer discounts, price comparisons, bonuses you provide that your competitors don’t.
5. Use buy buttons and objects that users expect to see that let them know that’s where they go to do the deed. Don’t make a visitor have to think too much or have to make too many decisions.

Well-themed adGroups not only have terms that mean the same thing, but also are composed of similar words. Words from a user’s query are bolded in your ad, making your ad stand out more. Repeating terms from a user’s query in an ad helps increase click-through rates. If adGroups have terms that contain the same words, it’s more likely that the ads will contain words from the user’s query. (Keep in mind that it is also important that an ad looks different from surrounding ads. Bolding the exact same words as a competitor’s ad won’t help your ad stand out as much.)

Well-Planned Pay Per Click Campaigns – Summary

To make a well-planned pay per click campaign that targets competitive keyphrases you need good keyphrase-ad-landing-page combinations. This is done by:

• Arranging adGroups according to theme.
• Keeping keyphrases composed of the same words in the same adGroups.
• Targeting ads to the keyphrases in the adGroups.
• Highlighting benefits and a course of action in ads.
• Delivering benefits and highlighting the course of action promised in the ads on the landing pages.
• Keeping landing pages simple and focused on convincing visitors to execute a specific course of action.
• Targeting the landing pages to the keyphrases visitors used to find your site.