PPC advertising and data will forever be linked together. After all, having access to the right data is the only way marketers can experience success in paid advertising. With that being said, it’ll become increasingly important for businesses to keep an eye on the evolution of data tools in 2016 and how they impact PPC strategies.
Significance of Data in PPC Campaigns
In the automotive industry, something as simple as inserting monthly payment amounts into paid search ads can drive up to 28 percent more leads to contact a dealership. For ecommerce businesses, merely adding the price of a product can dramatically cut back on wasted spend – which sometimes accounts for as much as 25 percent of total spend. And these are just two examples of how having access to the right data can significantly impact a PPC campaign.
As you can see, and have possibly seen firsthand, data plays a major role in paid advertising. However, this conclusion probably isn’t new to you. It’s easy to understand the relationship between big data and PPC marketing. The key is knowing how to activate it.
Once you understand how data can be effectively used, you can better allocate spend and bid on a keyword’s actual value. You can attribute offline conversions to the appropriate keyword, campaign, and ad. And ultimately, you can generate more conversions that convert into actual revenue.
Optimizing PPC Strategies for Higher Returns
In order to accurately and effectively optimize paid advertising strategies for higher conversions and better returns, modern marketers must be able to find the right data and use it to their advantage. Here are some examples of how this looks in practice.
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Thorough Keyword Research
A successful PPC campaign always starts with extensive and meticulous keyword research. Thankfully, new tools have streamlined this process, even for small businesses that otherwise wouldn’t be able to collect this valuable information.
By conducting detailed keyword research, marketers can guide the direction of a PPC campaign and target individual customer profiles. This increases the chances of driving leads and greatly diminishes the risk of wasted spend.
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A/B Split Testing
The heart of the connection between big data and paid advertising is found in A/B split testing. Split testing allows marketers to test different ads, copy, CTAs, landing pages, placement, and virtually any other component related to a PPC ad. Using the data gathered from these tests, marketers can then make educated decisions regarding which strategies to pursue and which to give up on.
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Small Actions on Small Data
In an ideal world, every business would have a large enough budget and audience to run extended PPC experiments that allow for the aggregation of large amounts of data. Unfortunately, this rarely happens. Most marketers are stuck working with small amounts of data. In these cases, the best solution is to break things down into small chunks.
“To mitigate, make smaller changes more often,” writes digital marketer Michelle Morgan. “For example, rather than waiting the 3 months for your 3 variations ad test to reach significance, make smaller differences in copy, run only 2 variations, and determine a winner every couple of weeks.” In the end, you have to work with what you have.
Putting it All Together
The key to PPC success in 2016 is leveraging the right data. In the end, it’s less about the amount of data marketers have access to and more about how they use what they have.
It’s clear that PPC advertising and big data are closely intertwined, and it’s up to businesses to use the information they have in ways that drive leads and spur growth.
