Going old school - back to basics when traditional meets the online marketing

I have read of alarming numbers of companies jumping the PPC ship because they feel it is not right from them. Now, I would like to ask: Is it not right for them or was it not done right for them? As Google announced last month, it increased Q4 profits yet in the UK market share declined compared to the same period in 2007.

What regularly surprises me are the unrealistic views that some companies hold of PPC. They believe that because they are spending money on paid search, great profits will follow. Just because PPC is online and accessible does not change the fact that advertising is still an art and getting it correct takes more than throwing together a list of related keywords, a couple of text ads and a credit card with no limit.

In this current climate we believe that 2009 is all about going back to basics, which means getting things right from the beginning. As a business, you must stay focused on what you are, who you are and where you are going in order to succeed at a time when everybody has less money to spend.

Creating a PPC campaign that yields results takes time and involves so much more than a bottomless budget and a few ads. In the first of a series I will ask you to assess your cuurent campaign through tried and tested traditional marketing methods. If you go back to basics and apply traditional marketing theories to your PPC ad campaign then it will be easier to spot potential pit falls.

Using AIDA, the marking acronym coined by Strong, put your leading keyword into Google and ask yourself -

• Does my advert grab the user’s attention when compared to all other ads and search results?
• Is the ad text creating that all alluring interest to a level that makes some one want to click through?


• When you click through to your landing page, does it instill a sense of desire for your product or service?


• And, if all these other factors are in place, is your landing page simple enough to understand  with plenty of& calls to action to turn that desire into a sale?

Once you understand what the user sees, you will be able to understand your performance levels and make proactive changes so your PPC campaign will work for you.