If you’re familiar with PPC marketing, you know that it’s one of the keys to increasing your sales. In fact, some experts even say that it’s the new frontier when it comes to successful digital marketing.
Now, calling PPC the new frontier may seem a little dramatic, but it’s true. Learning how to use this technique can position your company for more success than you currently think possible.
So, how do you do it?
Well, let me start off by saying that there’s a lot that goes into building a winning PCC campaign: from selecting the right keywords to creating optimized landing pages. Creating relevant and useful campaigns is no simple feat, but it can be done.
When talking about PPC, I find that the best way to describe it is with a quote … “When eating an elephant, take one bite at a time.” PPC can be so overwhelming that it’s hard to know where to begin. Luckily, I can provide you with a jumping off point—audiences.
Targeting well-defined audiences is one of the main ways to run a profitable PPC campaign. So, without further ado, let me introduce you to four tried-and-true audiences …
The first two audiences I’m going to talk about are comprised of new customers. These individuals haven’t done business with your company before, but they might, which is exactly why you’re advertising to them. The third and fourth audiences are made up of customers you’ve already secured—whether they’re a one-time buyer or a repeat customer.
Breaking things down a bit more … Your potential customers can be separated into two audiences—an impulsive audience and a need-based audience. When it comes to your current customers, you can separate them into an average audience and a loyal audience.
Are you still with me?
Awesome, because this is where things start to get good. Below, I’ll delve further into these four groups and explain how you can create successful PPC campaigns with their help.
1) Impulsive Audience (Potential Customers)
Potential customers are becoming increasingly complex and hard to secure. There are many different types of shoppers, but when it comes to the key shopper profiles for PPC campaigns, impulsive shoppers are some of the most important.
Your impulsive audience is made up of individuals that are unlikely to invest time and research before they purchase a product. They like to receive clear direction from a brand on what they should buy and how they can buy it.
With these preferences and behaviors in mind, you can create PPC campaigns for this audience. When doing so, it’s important to use copy and images that quickly provide information and push them to purchase.
2) Need-Based Audience (Potential Customers)
One of the best ways to secure new sales is to connect with potential customers that are already in the market for your product. There are a few ways that this can be done, but I find it most useful to target consumers that are actively researching and intending to buy related products.
For example, if I have a client that sells car insurance, I might target people that are researching auto loans. If an individual is looking for an auto loan, it’s reasonable to assume that they’re getting a new car. Moreover, it’s safe to bet that they are going to be interested in setting up auto insurance in the near future.
3) Average Audience (Current Customers)
Whether your current customers found you through your paid or organic efforts, one thing is certain: acquiring them took work. It only makes sense to try and keep these customers around, but securing repeat customers isn’t always easy. Fortunately, with the help of PPC, you can help ensure that your customers come back to your business.
There are about 40 variables that predict a customer’s likelihood to follow through on an intended purchase, but one of the best indicators is decision simplicity. If you want your customers to buy from you more than once, make sure your PPC campaigns provide them with easy-to-understand information that will enable them to confidently purchase again.
4) Loyal Audience (Current Customers)
Loyal customers are an interesting group. On average, they make up the smallest segment of your consumer base. That being said, they’re often responsible for 50 percent or more of your sales.
This group of customers is important enough that they should receive personalized messages from your company. Every PPC campaign you optimize for them should show that you’re willing to go above and beyond every other company for their loyalty.
Additionally, if you can create a bond with them that feels bigger than just the product or service you offer, you’ll be on track to improve your already strong relationship. To accomplish this, try and build out your PPC campaigns in the same way you create your content marketing materials.
Pro Tip: Similar Audiences
Once you revamp your PPC efforts and focus on the four audiences above, you’ll quickly see results. Once this happens, you might wonder if there are any options left to further improve your results.
Fortunately for you, there are!
If you’re using AdWords, you can add on one more audience—“Similar Audiences.”
When you add this audience, your ad will become available to users who have similar searches to your current customers. If this weren’t awesome enough on its own, Google will even exclude people from this audience if they fall into your remarketing lists. Thanks to this feature, you can rest assured that you won’t end up in a bidding war with yourself and your current bid modifiers.
The Holy Grail of PPC
Although it’s bold to claim that audiences are the holy grail of PPC, they’re pretty darn close. If you want to start running PPC campaigns that convert, understanding your audiences and how to communicate with them will be paramount.
As always, learning about these groups and how you can optimize your campaigns for them can be difficult. However, with effort—or the help of a seasoned PPC marketing company—you’ll be able to formulate campaigns that successfully encourage new and old customers to return to your business again and again.
