An online ad campaign is a series of advertisements that centre on a shared message with the goal of driving web traffic, encouraging customer engagement and increasing conversions. Pay-per-click (PPC) is one type of online advertising. With PPC, the advertiser only pays the publisher when an ad is clicked. A lot of law firms believe that running a PPC campaign simply requires placing ads here and there. But that is not the case. Here are a few tips to help ensure the success of your PPC campaigns:
1. Create a well-structured AdWords account
If you want to see a return on your ad spend, you will need to create a well-structured AdWords account. AdWords are the keywords that make your clickable ads appear in search results based on what people are looking for. Once you’ve created an AdWords account you can bid on the keywords you want to target. Your bid will determine the maximum amount you’ll pay for a click. When you have selected your keywords, you will then need to create ad groups. Ads are grouped by a shared set of keywords. Ensure that the keywords, ads and ad groups in each campaign are closely related as this will reduce the cost of your campaigns.
2. Start with the search network
With Google, you can share your ads on either the search network or the display network. On the display network, Google will have to interrupt browsing to show your ads. On the other hand, ads on the search network are shown to those already searching for the legal services your firm provides. This means those who see your ads on the search network are more likely to take immediate action. That is why it’s a good idea to start your legal PPC campaigns on the search network. Also, running search network ads can help you to establish contextual keywords that can be used when you decide to go over to the display network.
3. Write great ad copy
Your ad copy is the main text used to persuade the right prospects to click on your ad. That is why you must write compelling copy if you want your ads to be successful. If you are running ads on the display network, your images will also have a role to play in persuading your audience. So, you’ll need to select those images carefully as well.
4. Measure results
To optimize your advertising budget and determine whether your ads are effective, you must practice ad tracking. Ad tracking measures the response to your ads and will let you know when it is time to update or change them because they are stale or overexposed. To measure response, you will need to know the level of awareness people already have for your brand. So, do some research to gather that information before you even launch your campaigns.
5. Sort campaigns by device type
All your legal PPC campaigns should be categorized by device type. Why? Because most people now surf the net using mobile devices. Desktop and mobile traffic will not produce the same results. Categorizing your campaigns by device type will allow you to set separate bids and effectively track results.
6. Use negative keywords
If you do not want your PPC ads to be shown for searches that are not relevant to your campaign, you should set negative keywords. Negative keywords are simply words or phrases that you do not want to trigger your ads. For example, you may add the word “free” as a negative keyword if you do not want your ads to be shown to those looking for a “free personal injury lawyer”.
Do you need help with ads?
When you follow the abovementioned tips, you can create more profitable legal PPC campaigns and gain more clients for your law firm. However, if you’re still unsure of where to start, Soulpepper Digital Marketing Agency can help. We have a team of experts who have improved every PPC campaign they’ve worked on. So, what are you waiting for? Give us a call today and let us take over your online ad campaigns.