PPC For E-Commerce

E-Commerce clients are my favorite PPC clients. I can compare the results before and after I start managing the account and show the client how results have improved due to my management. I love showing clients how revenue and ROI are increasing. Here are a few ideas to improve your e-commerce advertising.

1) Set up a Google Merchant Center account so you can use Shopping/PLA campaigns. PLA ads look great because they contain a picture of your product, and they are easy because you don't have to choose keywords.

2) Run search (text) advertising too! Shopping campaigns are easy because you don't have to choose keywords, text ads can be more targeted because you get to choose keywords. You have a lot more control on where your ads show which is great for limiting irrelevant clicks.

3) Optimize bids by product (Shopping) and keyword (search). Not all products will have the same conversion rate, nor will all your keywords. Set up your starting bids so that the bid is proportional to the expected click-thru-rate. Then keep checking results and optimizing bids so your best products/keywords get shown more.

4) Use negative keywords. This is especially important for shopping campaigns. Negative keywords will block traffic that you don't want. So if you're selling golf shirts and your ads start showing for "golf clubs", you need negative keywords to block that traffic.

5) Look at results by segmentation to determine bid adjustments. Is your mobile conversion rate much lower than desktop? Lower your mobile bids. Does your campaign not convert well over the weekends? Set up ad scheduling to lower bids over the weekend.

These suggestions will help you improve your PPC results. If you want some expert advice, contact me for a free audit.