PPC Campaign Planning: 6 Core Areas for a Better Search Network Campaign

Campaign planning is vital for pay-per-click (PPC) success. On the Google Search Network, having a solid strategy makes all the difference.

In this step-by-step campaign planning guide, you’ll get everything you need to turn your budget into profit.

1. Target Audience

Regardless of how much campaign planning you do, it won’t work if you don’t know your audience. So, audience targeting is the first step.

You can learn about your ideal customer in two ways:

1. Primary research where you conduct your market research into consumer purchasing habits through group discussions, surveys, interviews, etc.
2. Secondary research where you use consumer data from secondary sources, like existing market studies.

Consider your audience’s interests, pain points, and purchasing habits. Then, think about how you can frame your products and services in a benefit-led way that attracts new customers.

Google Ads enables several methods of audience targeting:

• Age-based targeting is best if you have a product for a specific age group (e.g., student bank accounts)
• Location-targeting shows your ads in specific geographic areas you choose, such as a particular country or city.
• Gender-targeting is for gender-specific products, like maternity clothes.
• Device-type targeting allows control over which devices your ad is displayed on, whether your audience is on desktop, tablet, or mobile.
• In-market targeting enables you to show ads to people that are already interested in similar products to yours.
• Custom intent involves choosing keywords that are likely to attract qualified leads to your website. You can create custom intent audiences to drive conversions.
• Remarketing targets previous site visitors or app users, so they see ads tailored to their interests.
• Similar audiences is a form of targeting that hones in on users with related interests to your products and services.

While audience targeting is a big part of campaign planning, it doesn’t stop there — you must continue focusing on your audience after your campaign starts.

2. Plan a Budget

In theory, a budget is as simple as minimizing your costs, and only spending what’s essential. However, in PPC campaign planning, it can get tricky.

Let’s break it down.

How much you need to spend?

Imagine your industry has a conversion rate of 10%, meaning you must generate 10 clicks for every conversion. Also, your Keyword CPC (cost-per-click) is $100.

So:

Keyword CPC * Clicks Needed to Convert One User Based on Average Conv. Rate

= 100 X 10

= 1000

Therefore, you need to budget $1,000 for one lead using that exact keyword.

Start with a Test Budget

Calculate a test budget with this formula:

Number of keywords to test X CPC

Assume that you’ll get 100 clicks minimum. Generally speaking, you need 100-200 clicks to determine whether a keyword converts.

E.g., You test 10 keywords with a $1 CPC rate. Your campaign planning should have a test budget of $1,000-$2,000.

Learn about CLTV Before Finalizing Budget

CLTV, or Customer Lifetime Value, is how much future revenue you expect to gain from each customer. This includes recurring revenue, additional purchases, up-sells, and customer referrals.

Calculate CLTV with this formula:

CLTV = Annual Profit of Customer X Number of Years Customer Remains

So, if Sue has a CLTV of $10,000, it’s acceptable to pay $1 for each click. Conversely, if Joe has a CLTV of $100, then a $1 CPC is very high.

How to Calculate your PPC Advertising Budget:

Consider this example

• Goal – 100 customers in 2 weeks.
• Average conversion rates – 2% and 4%
• Cost per click – $2.0 — $2.50
• You need 2,500 – 5,000 clicks

With this information, you can use the formula below:

Total budget = Traffic needed x Average CPC

You can perform the calculation twice, for the high and low ranges of your budget:

1. Highest traffic needed x Highest average CPC = Highest total budget
2. Lowest traffic needed x Lowest average CPC = Lowest total budget

So:

5,000 visitors x $2.50 average cost per click = $12,500

2,500 visitors x $2.00 average cost per click = $5000

How to Calculate Expected Revenue

First, understand your Average Order Value (AOV) based on your historical data. AOV tracks the average dollar amount spent each time a customer places an order on a website or mobile app. To calculate your company’s average order value, simply divide total revenue by the number of orders.

Expected Revenue = Average Order Value x New Customers

Imagine our average order value is $600.

Expected Revenue = Average Order Value x New Customers

Expected Revenue = $600 x 100

Expected Revenue = $60,000

In total, we could expect $60,000 from the advertising campaign that could cost us between $5K and $12.5k.

How to Calculate ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)

(Revenue — Ad Spend) / Ad Spend

You’re going to calculate it twice; for the low ad spend of $5000, and the high ad spends of $12,500.

Our calculations would look something like this:

Low ROAS = ($60,000 — $12,500) / $12,500 = 380%

High ROAS = ($60,000 — $5000) / $5,000 = 1100%

Our ROAS would be between 380% and 1100%.

Focus on EPC, Not CPC

It’s important not to focus on CPC. Instead, you should look to increase your earnings per click (EPC). The businesses with the highest EPC generate more clicks, leads, and customers.

Ultimately, this means you should focus on your return on investment (ROI), not your costs.

How to Calculate Your EPC

Customer Value is the amount of money you earn, minus fulfillment costs, from one new customer.

                                 EPC = Customer Value X Conversion Rate

For example, if the average customer generates $100 and your conversion rate is 1%, then your EPC is $1.00.

3. Select the Right Keywords

Keyword selection is an integral aspect of campaign planning. You should research user search queries to discover valuable keywords that have:

• High search volume
• Low competition

These will drive traffic and qualified leads to your ads, landing pages, and websites.

With tools like Google keyword planner, you can identify keywords related to your products and services. Consider the following:

• Brand keywords with your company name or product description. These have low costs and high-Quality scores. Better yet, they deliver a high clickthrough rate (CTR) and decent conversions.
• Broader, low-intent keywords will help you grow brand awareness. These attract broader audiences, which you can then nurture through remarketing strategies.
• Long-tail keywords have less competition and costs, as they focus on a specific niche group. E.g., The keyword buys breathable running socks will attract a small, focused group of consumers.
• Competitive keywords are harder to rank for, but they get a lot of search volume. As such, it is a good idea to allocate some of your budgets for these terms, as you can intercept traffic from competitors.

4. Create Focused Ad Groups

When you’re campaign planning for a wide range of products or services, it’s best to separate them into ad groups. You can group similar keywords so that each ad group targets a focused subsect of your audience.

Here are a few methods to try in your Search Network campaigns:

SKAG (Single Keyword Ad Group)

SKAGs are ad groups designed for one-to-one relationships between the keywords and the ad.

SKAG is best for a smaller keywords list, as they simplify keyword performance analysis. You can identify low performers, then pause or remove them to optimize your budget.

STAG (Single Theme Ad Group)

STAG allows limitless keywords, so long as they all match one distinct theme. You can use STAG to align your budgets with profit.

STAGs focus on themes instead of syntax, so each ad group usually comprises 3-5 keyword concepts that share a similar theme.

SPAG (Single Product Ad Group)

Another option is SPAG, which is good if you have several ads relating to a single product.

This method is good for Google Shopping Campaigns and Search Campaigns alike, as they provide insight on which search terms your products trigger. You can also use SPAGs to weed out irrelevant search terms.

Campaign Planning Your Ad Groups by Match Type

Keyword match types are parameters that enable you to control which user searches will trigger your ads to appear. Here is a brief run-down on the different match types:

1. Broad Match triggers ads when users search any word of your key phrases, in any order. This reaches the widest audience, as it allows for synonyms and misspellings.
2. Broad Match Modifier triggers ads when users enter exact keywords or close variants. You determine which words the search query must include.
3. Phrase Match triggers ads when users enter the exact keyword phrase, in its precise order. However, it may include additional words at either end. This is good for reducing wasted spend.
4. Exact Match only triggers ads when users enter the exact keyword. This offers the tightest control, which is excellent for generating relevant traffic.

Exploring these options offers a holistic view of your campaign and more control over how you spend your budget. If one ad group is underperforming, you can remove it, and reallocate your budget on better-performing areas.

5. Develop Intent-Based Ad Copy and Landing Pages

User intent is a critical component when you’re writing your ads. By understanding your prospects, you can use keywords and create copy that drives value, eliciting more clicks.

Think about these three categories of keyword intent:

• Navigational intent is when a user is merely browsing through popular platforms like Google, Facebook, and YouTube. Navigational keywords like Google search have a low conversion value.
• Informational intent is the use of keywords that implies a search for answers, such as the benefits of running shoes. These users are in the early stages of consideration, so they may be more likely to convert over time.
• Transactional intent is the use of keywords that indicate an interest in purchasing – keywords like iPhone sales or affordable laptops.

With user intent in mind, here are seven tips that will help you craft high-converting ad copy:

I. Be relevant

People want relevant solutions. When you offer clear details and make a targeted offer that is relevant to their search query, it’s more likely to result in more leads in your marketing funnel.

II. Make your business value clear

If you offer AC repairs, use keywords like AC repair in your ad copy. Your campaign planning should incorporate ways of tying your brand, business, products, and services to your keywords, making your offer clear to prospects.

III. Use numbers

People can quickly glean insights from numbers and statistics, and they’re easier to remember. Phrases like “100% money-back guarantee” or “35% discount” will grab attention and encourage interaction.

IV. Include a Call-to-Action (CTA)

CTAs are prompts that tell your audience what they should do next, such as asking them to download an ebook, subscribe to your newsletter, or buy a product.

You can improve your lead generation efforts with intent-based landing pages that include strong CTAs.

V. Message match

Message match gauges the alignment between your ad’s CTA and your landing page headline. With proper campaign planning, you ensure a consistent message through your campaign, so that you don’t lose leads half-way down your funnel through mixed brand messaging.

VI. Include essential information

People need to know your physical business location, contact details, and social media pages. Including these details add credibility to build trust with your prospects.

VII. Maintain focus

Your landing page must offer a smooth route to conversion, so it should only have one CTA and one link. Any more than this could be distracting and will provide users with too many exits, which ultimately could cost you potential conversions as traffic leaks from your landing page.

6. Be Aware Of Your Competitors

Your campaign planning isn’t finished until you study the competition. Before getting started, you must take a good look at your rivals, and see what they can teach you.

Here’s what to look for during competitor analysis:

Competitor Keywords

When you look at the competition, you get an idea of which keywords work for your market space — and which keywords don’t work. With careful analysis of your competitor’s keyword performance, you can discover new keywords to target, including ones they are yet to exploit.

Impression Share

Impression share measures the number of impressions your ad receives divided by the estimated maximum number it was eligible to receive.

You can maximize your impression rate by increasing the bids on your highest-performing keywords. It’s also a smart move to set up alerts and automated bidding for your top keywords, as this will ensure you stay competitive.

Review Your Competitors Regularly

There are lots of tools to perform competitor analysis. You can use these tools to analyze data on keywords, consumers, and market trends.

By making a regular habit of checking out what the competition is doing, you can gain valuable insights that improve your decision-making and campaign planning.

Wrap Up

Campaign planning is far from easy. That being said, when you take the time and effort to explore the vital aspects of PPC advertising, namely your audience, competitors, keywords, and budget, you give yourself a better chance of success.

With user intent and laser-focused targeting in mind, you’re sure to create some winning campaigns.

To speed up your search campaign planning we developed a tool that helps to quickly explore your niche and identify the areas that could work good for your campaign. Try the free tool here.