Trying to adapt old marketing methods to the internet isn't always as effective as we would like. Thinking in terms of headlines in the paper or a catchy radio tag line isn't going to make a PPC ad campaign effective.
Most know that PPC, pay per click, advertising is a competitive bid-based method of getting to the top of the search engines for the keywords and phrases that we think are being used by our prospects in their web searches. Many, however, don't know quite how to word their ads to bring motivated prospects to their site instead of to their competitors'.
1. Don't Think that This is a "High Bid Wins" Marketing Method
Yes, the higher your bid in most engines, the higher your ad will be placed in the "sponsored links" areas of the page. But all that does is to generate an "impression", meaning a searcher has been exposed to your ad, whether they see it, read it or click on it or not.And in most pay per click campaigns, an impression carries no cost, as it takes a click to your site to get you billed. However, it also doesn't generate a prospect or get anyone to your site. You need for this searcher to actually click on the ad and go to your site for you to have any chance at business some day.
2. Think Like a Real Estate Buyer or Seller - Not a Real Estate Agent
You may indeed be the most conscientious and efficient real estate professional in your market area. But if that's what you put in your PPC ad, forget a big "click-through ratio" (That's the percentage of searchers who actually click on the ad when it is presented.)If I'm a buyer prospect searching for a condo in downtown Austin, TX, and I search on "austin condos for sale", I will be most likely to click on an ad that leads me to believe that I'll find a lot of Austin condo information on this site. "Austin Condo specialist" is OK, but "All Austin Condo Listings Here" is more likely to get my click.
