An Overview Of Methods to Have Success with Paid Advertising

By Tom Seest

How to Have Success with Paid Ads

Getting involved in paid ad campaigns online can be very overwhelming and nerve-wracking if you are a new or inexperienced marketer. However, paid ads also have the potential to provide you with a level playing field against those who are ranking organically for certain keywords. It allows you to have the same reach as someone who has been building a website for years. You can instantly have your links in front of your target audience and achieve your objectives and goals for building a list, generating traffic to your website, and earning more profits.
You have to be careful not only to limit your budget to what you can afford to spend but also to be strategic with your ad campaign creatives. You need to make sure that the money you do spend is going to work in your favor.
Below, you’ll find tips to serve as reminders and best practice guidelines that will help your foray into paid advertisements be as painless and as rewarding as possible. Pay attention to evolving techniques and tips because trends can emerge, and guidelines can be put in place that may impact your campaign strategies.

This photo was taken by CHANDLER VAUGHAN and is available on Pexels at https://www.pexels.com/photo/light-art-building-pattern-14579392/.

How to Learn About Your Target Audience For Your Ads

When you are running paid ads on various platforms, the first thing you’ll be able to do is to pick the specific people that you want to target. To do this, you can determine basic demographic information such as age, gender, income level, and even geographic location.
You may also be able to choose to have your ads presented to people who have certain interests and behaviors online. For example, if they like a certain brand or personality, you can target people who have the same interests.
Many ad platforms will allow you to create a look-alike audience for your ad campaigns to target. You’ll basically give the ad platform the parameters of who you want their algorithm to use to base their decisions on whenever they are trying to find additional people to show your ads to.
Whenever you have your core audience developed, you have the opportunity to further segment that file into smaller groups of people. This can help you create more targeted ad campaigns that will convert better for you.

This photo was taken by CHANDLER VAUGHAN and is available on Pexels at https://www.pexels.com/photo/light-road-traffic-street-14579393/.

How to Have a Specific Objective for Your Ad Campaigns

You never want to be paying for advertisements without having a goal or objective in mind. You have to be able to measure the results of your campaigns to see whether or not it achieved the goal you set out to reach with them.
For example, you may simply want to drive traffic to your website in order to promote a new product that you have launched or even to help you build a list of subscribers in your niche.
Some people use paid ads so that they can improve their conversion rate. Whenever they are using organic methods to generate traffic, they tend to scoop up followers who may not be as interested in the content as the person you’re able to target specifically.
You may even be running paid ads just to increase awareness about your brand. If you take this route, you may not necessarily be selling something immediately, but instead, you are helping people see you as a leader in your niche.

This photo was taken by CHANDLER VAUGHAN and is available on Pexels at https://www.pexels.com/photo/light-building-construction-pattern-14579394/.

How to Gather a Strategic List of Keywords and Phrases to Bid On

In many cases, your ads are going to be shown to people who are relevant to a specific keyword or phrase. If you are using a search platform, they will have typed in those phrases specifically or something related to it.
Therefore, you want to have a list of strategic keywords and phrases that you can bid on that will allow you to have your ad shown without paying an arm and a leg. You also want to make sure that you include negative keywords that you exclude from your results.
Think about the pain points that people use in your niche to search for information that they need. For example, they will often search based on the end result they want to achieve, such as how to lose weight fast – or the frustrations they are experiencing, such as being addicted to sugar.
You want to use keyword tools, whether they are free or paid, so that you can find both broad and long-tail keyword phrases that you can add to your campaigns. You’ll have an easier time achieving your budget goals using long-tail keyword phrases than you will with broad ones that everyone is competing for.

This photo was taken by CHANDLER VAUGHAN and is available on Pexels at https://www.pexels.com/photo/wood-light-building-construction-14579395/.

How to Know The Creatives That Appeal to Your Audience

The first thing that will probably stand out to the person you are targeting with your ad is the visual element of it. Therefore, you want to have a visually appealing creative that grabs the attention of your target audience.
It should be high quality and in a media format that your target audience desires. Make sure that the pictures and graphics that you are using are in line with the niche topic and that they are top quality.
You can find stock images on various sites that are free or paid that you can use in your ad campaigns. Make sure you are using colors that will stand out but that are not too flashy to the point they turn off consumers.
You can have white space in your ad but use it strategically so that the audience’s eyes are drawn to the important elements, such as headlines or other key points. If you are using video ads, make sure you are keeping it short and delivering a strong call to action.

This photo was taken by CHANDLER VAUGHAN and is available on Pexels at https://www.pexels.com/photo/wood-light-art-dirty-14579396/.

How to Craft a Headline and Call to Action for Ads

The headline is perhaps the second most important element of your paid advertisements, next to the image that the consumer will see first. You need to practice improving the conversion rate of your headlines.
You might want to create a swipe file of certain buzzwords or phrases that you see others using so that you can tweak them for your own ad campaigns at a later date without copying anyone outright.
A headline should never be too long when you are using paid ads. You want to make sure that you are using powerful words that will compel the user to pay more attention to your post or add a listing.
You want to be using the keywords that you have researched and gathered within your headline and touch on the specific pain point or goal that the user is likely to be thinking about.
While the headline is the first thing your audience will read, the call to action should be the last. This is where you specify to the target audience exactly what you want them to do next.

This photo was taken by Artem Podrez and is available on Pexels at https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-people-woman-space-6800928/.