LESSON #73: PPC Traffic

By | August 9, 2010

In the previous lesson, we started talking about ways to get web traffic.

Today we’re going to look at PPC advertising, including Google AdWords…

(Watch this video…)

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Main points:

IMPORTANT NOTE: Google has been majorly cracking down on advertisers that violate any of their rules. This includes some rules that seemingly were not previously enforced, and some rules that are only now being written and/or being brought to light. This includes promoting anything that they consider to be an unacceptable business model (ie. – anything they deem to be a get rich quick scheme), anything containing what they consider to be unsupported claims, and any page that they consider to be a “bridge” page. Google AdWords is still a great source of traffic, but be very careful to play by Google’s rules!

  • WARNING: You can lose a lot of money. A key to success is testing and tracking.

  • Terms you need to know…

    PPC = Pay Per Click

    CPC = Cost Per Click

    CPM = Cost Per 1000 Impressions

    CTR = Click Through Rate

  • PPC Traffic Sources/Networks:

    Google – http://adwords.google.com
    Yahoo – http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com
    Bing/MSN – http://adcenter.microsoft.com
    Facebook – (log into your Facebook account)
    Ask.com – http://sponsoredlistings.ask.com
    AOL – http://advertising.aol.com/technology/sponsored-listings
    7search – http://www.7search.com
    Miva – http://www.miva.com
    Bidvertiser – http://www.bidvertiser.com
    Looksmart – http://www.looksmart.com
    AdBrite – http://www.adbrite.com
    pulse360 – http://www.pulse360.com

  • Google AdWords is the biggest, with the most traffic. They’re also easy to get started with, but NOT necessarily the easiest to succeed with.

    (See video for full demo of setting up a Campaign and an Ad Group in AdWords)

  • It’s easier to succeed with AdWords traffic for your own website/offer than it is to succeed with it as an affiliate because…

    -No competition from other affiliates.
    -Better chance of a good Quality Score.
    -Higher profit margin = better chance of positive ROI.

  • Four components of creating a PPC Campaign:

    1) Keyword research
    2) Campaign Settings (bidding, budget, geo-targeting, etc.)
    3) Ad copy
    4) Landing pages

  • Keyword Research:

    Google Keyword Tool (free): https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

    (See video for demo of Google Keyword Tool)

    Paid Keyword Tools:
    PPC Bully
    Keyword Elite
    WordTracker
    Keyword Spy
    Wordze
    Market Samurai

    Things to consider when creating your initial keyword list:
    -related keywords
    -typos/misspellings
    -variations with hyphens and spaces
    -abbreviations
    -singular and plural form
    -adjectives people use when searching (best, cheap, cheapest, etc)
    -website URL’s
    -product names
    -people’s names

  • Campaign Settings:

    See the video for details, but here are a few key points…

    -You SHOULD use the Advanced settings for many of the options. Don’t inherently leave Google’s defaults.

    -Ad Groups should be SMALL (2-10 keywords) and very tightly focused.

    -Start with Exact Match or Phrase Match – NOT Broad Match.

    -DO use negative keywords!

  • PPC Ad Copy Formula:

    Attention
    Interest
    Desire
    Action

    Headline = Attention/Interest (include keyword if possible)
    1st line of ad copy = Interest/Desire (Include benefit)
    2nd line of ad copy = Desire/Action (Include call to action)
    Website URL = Action (include keyword if possible, or catchy words)

  • Landing Pages:

    #1) Your landing page must be relevant to your keyword.

    -Optimize it like SEO.
    -Put keyword in title and headline.

    #2) Follow all of Google’s guidelines for landing pages!
    http://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=46675

  • Keep good campaigns, and kill bad campaigns. Take the good ones to other networks.

    Recommended Resources to learn more and stay up-to-date:

    GOOGLE
    AdWords support
    AdWords online classroom
    AdWords support forum
    Inside AdWords blog
    Google Business channel on YouTube (tons of videos about AdWords)

    Confidential Conversions – Video course teaching how to get cheap traffic on 2nd tier networks.

    Perry Marshall – Mastermind Coaching Club for AdWords. Highly recommended if you plan on pursuing PPC as a traffic source!

    Action steps:

    1) Decide if you want to try PPC.

    2) If yes, choose a network and set up a campaign (start with small test budget).

    We’ll be looking at some advanced PPC techniques in the next lesson.

    As always, you are welcome to post your questions and comments below 🙂

    Have a great day!

  • 85 thoughts on “LESSON #73: PPC Traffic

    1. Hitesh

      Great tutorial Eric!

      Wanted to touch upon this one thing:

      #1) Your landing page must be relevant to your keyword.

      -Optimize it like SEO.
      -Put keyword in title and headline.

      Another thing I’ve found to work REALLY well with quality scores is including a couple of graphics with the alt-text containing the keyword.

      In terms of secondary networks, 7search and Ask have gotten the best results while Miva has been the worst performer (of course, it depends on the niche you’re in too – Miva is decent for optins and CPA, but useless for product sales).

      Reply
    2. Hamant Keval

      Hi Eric,

      Thanks for the extremely in depth video on Paid Traffic and sources.
      You covered more information than many paid products out there.

      By the way Eric – would you kindly do one on the content network – I have a few paid products but each says slightly different tactics and I have not tested extensively as yet, but I do intend to –
      Would be great to see your expert thoughts on the content network and how you would structure your keywords for the content network.

      Thanks again

      Reply
    3. Eric Post author

      Thanks. Yes I will talk about the content network in the next lesson. Probably not as in depth as some of your paid courses, but I’ll try to hit some important points.

      Reply
    4. cj

      PPC is a losing game you have to have organic traffic first before you can even try PPC especially those starting out. Not many will tell the beginner the truth. “BUILD YOUR BRAND” before anything.

      Reply
    5. Susan

      Another wonderful lesson Eric. Only problem I have with them is waiting so long between them! LOL!
      I’d be interested in learning something about the content network, as well as using image ads in Adwords.
      Take care now!

      Reply
    6. Eric Post author

      I disagree… And actually there were 72 lessons prior to this one. There’s a LOT of things I’ve told the beginners to do before this.

      Reply
    7. Angelina

      This lesson is a very good and extensive introduction to PPC. It’s good that you’ve emphasized that it’s a lot more profitable to drive PPC traffic to one’s website than any other. Even if PPC keeps changing, still the long term value to driving PPC traffic to one’s site remains. Thanks a lot!

      Reply
    8. Kwame

      Eric, when one thinks you have given us your best lessons in the previous one, you always come back with another awesome lesson. I am really interested in the content network so please do one for us.
      As always thank you and God bless you and your family.

      Reply
    9. Gary Pettit

      Wow Eric…this lesson could be an entire course on it’s own! 68 Minutes of solid free content…amazing lesson! I’m one of the people whos always been scared away by PPC and loosing a lot…I may start giving it a try now, but diffently slowly 🙂

      PS: BTW…I took your advise from the last lesson and decided to have my site redesigned…also had a video squeeze made for Mikes new product as an affiliate. Hard to hear criticism but it worked out for the best(I think). Let me know what you think!
      http://WebTrafficMassacre.com
      http://Traffic-Zombies.com

      Reply
    10. Christopher

      Hey Eric, I’ve watched all 73 lessons so far and saving them all to re-watch like you suggested with the first lesson. If I had the words to express how much I value your teaching I probably could be a copy writer. Anyway, I’ve hooked at least one person up with your teachings hope you don’t mind.

      I’m sort of like Susan though, it’s been awhile since the last lesson. I thought you wrote me off your list because I didn’t buy the last product you were promoting or something. Sure glad you didn’t! I was about to Google http://www.ericstips.com/tips/lesson73/ myself if you had.

      Oh, and please don’t visit my site because it really vacuums! There’s no place to opt in yet, I only get around 1,000 visits a month and out of that only 100 or so stay for an hour reading my ramblings and only one sell that click bank is about to take from me because, I can’t meet their quota. That’s life on the Internet for a newbie. I can’t miss what I never really had anyway.

      If you don’t mind I’d like to hang around and learn from you and then just maybe I can turn this blog into a money maker.

      Eric my friend in my 51 years on this earth I’ve learned there are givers and there are takers and you are one of the givers! And I hope to be able to repay you for what you’ve taught me. Until then a sincere THANK YOU will have to do.

      Reply
    11. cj

      Oh I know Eric and I’ve learned a lot from you in fact you were on of the best teachers when I started online TWO YEARS AGO and I thank you a lot but after all this time and over 8 hours a day online I yet have to make a profit so I know a thing or two about marketing online. I have lost money in ppc why? because I jumped the gun did not make my brand first and that takes at least two years and i wish I knew this back when I started

      Reply
    12. Tony Simpson

      Eric Hi,

      A good lesson on PPC. However, although you mention ROI I think you could have given this more coverage earlier in the lesson.

      I see many clients who have jumped into PPC without understanding the ROI for a product. If they calculated the ROI they would have realized PPC would never be profitable for them on that product.

      In other words it is critical to look at the ROI before spendjng a single cent on PPC.

      I created an online PPC bid management tool at http://www.webpageaddons.com/ppc-management.htm that will help determine if PPC will be profitable or not. You just have to enter some data and it will tell you if you should use PPC or not.

      ROI might seem like a simple concept but in my experience people do not pay enough attention to it before they start a PPC campaign.

      Reply
    13. Gregg

      Great stuff Eric. I’ve been away from your Tips for a while, but it’s good to be back seeing your angle on things. Good stuff!

      Reply
    14. Yana

      Thanks for the free lesson about PPC Advertising. Very informative tutorial! I am looking forward to the PPC tips for content network.

      Reply
    15. Fraser T

      Thanks again Eric,

      This is great stuff, as a budding marketer its always refreshing to visit your blog.

      I learn something new everytime, I have dabbled in Adwords a few times and with some success in some campaigns and losses in others.

      I will be going over what you have to say to make sure it sticks, from your teachings I can see how my landing pages can be better optimised… so many thanks.

      Best regards as always.

      Fraser T

      (glad to see you made it back from the jungle)

      Reply
    16. William

      Hi Eric,
      I don’t know what to say, but I know you are God sent. I tried PPC, and within 30 minutes I was making some money. I made a mistake of going to make changes to my add copy and I ended up spoiling everything. I then say for the first time in my life that I have made money on the net. I called my family to have a look at what was happening and they were all baffled. When I always talked about making money on the internet, they did not believe me. Eric, come and see the excitement on their faces. After that issue, they have always encouraghed me to keep on keeping on.eric keep the videos coming. We’ll really be having a good time. I love U Eric.

      Reply
    17. Self Confidence Hypnosis

      Thanks Eric-As mentioned previously, I spent a few $ 000 (read wasted) because I did the right things wrong. You have shown me the right way today. My main problem is my Landing/squeeze page. Back to the drawing board for me there. By the way, does Google view the chatpopbox1234
      that I got through you as a POPUP?

      Reply
    18. Eric Post author

      I do not know how google views chat pops. My inclination is that they are probably OK, as long as the visitor can easily close it.

      Reply
    19. Eric Post author

      Thanks Christopher. I hope to have the 100 lessons done by the end of November. I would say sooner, but I also have two mission trips and two product launches planned during that timeframe.

      Reply
    20. Eamonn Riley

      Thanks Eric,
      Even though I had a vague idea of what PPC was all about you’ve really opened my eyes to the potential for my projects. Also, it really has helped broaden and underpin my SEO knowledge.

      Also wanted to say what a great resource this whole series is. I regularly skip back and forth between earlier lessons as I encounter new challenges and want to recap. Thanks again!

      Reply
    21. Hitesh

      Not necessarily CJ. You DO NEED TO TEST your pages before spending hundreds or thousands in PPC, but there’s absolutely no reason to spend a couple years building a brand first.
      You only need a few good campaigns – SEO or PPC – and scale em up in a controlled manner to net a good $10k/month profit.

      Reply
    22. Grandpa Bill

      A lot of great info and cleared up some ‘How To’
      points I wasn’t sure about.
      But with that said; coming up with a spare 10
      bucks a month is hard enough. I sure can’t come
      up with 10 or 20 A DAY on a ‘maybe’. I have this
      bad habit -(I like to eat and pay the phone and
      electric bills.)

      Reply
    23. Leonel

      wow…great information..
      how about if I run my anounce in display content.. it is good…
      Leonel
      Montreal, Canada…

      Reply
    24. Michaela

      Hi! Eric, only now I was able to watch from top to bottom. I don’t know anybody else who gives so deep and analytical info for free on adwords, not even the king – Marshall, who charges a fortune… So thanks a lot!
      I am not really a big fan of adwords just because “things” change so quickly, (now we have Google Caffeine – which basically means action, so Social Media will be top of the list and very important). Do you think that adwords will remain in top with Caffeine as well? I doubt! Adwords already diminish in volume according with some marketers, I like to have your input about this. I don’t have a way to verify this affirmation.
      So again thanks for giving us details about the value of keywords research.
      Usually I use Google’s tool, Work tracker, and now I have Market Samurai but didn’t play enough with it yet! I am glad you mention them.
      Thanks for an excellent lesson.
      As usual Michaela
      http://michaelacernescu.com
      http://mobile-profit.com

      Reply
    25. Michaela

      I agree with Gary (Hello Gary), this can be a course in itself about adwords and keywords research.
      It really is a powerful lesson.
      Regards
      Michey

      Reply
    26. Dave

      Hi Eric,

      Very nice tutorial!!! I’ve been chomping at the bit for this series. “Keywording”, for lack of a better term, is an area where I can be easily overwhelmed.

      In your video you mentioned tightly grouping closely related key words, do you mean LSI (or latent semantic indexing)? I learned about this term a short time ago and am starting to believe it has a lot to do with people’s success.
      Love to hear your thoughts…

      -Dave

      Reply
    27. Ben Wan

      Hi Eric,

      Thanks for this 68 min free video on Google Adwords.

      When I started with PPC, the experienced really scared me that I didn’t touch PPC for months after that. This is because I could see the pike in traffic but no conversion. I really didn’t know what I was doing then and I didn’t have a mentor to overlook what I was doing.

      I’ve learnt so much since then, mainly concentrating on SEO, I feel I could give Adwords another try as Google is offering me $100 credit to restart advertising with them.

      I’m eagerly awaiting your next video.

      Ben

      Reply
    28. Mike Helton

      The idea of giving Google my money for an Adwords campaign is not an easy thought when your finances are very limited. I think I need to let this soak in for a while.

      Great information though.

      Thanks

      Reply
    29. inkamaria

      Eric, you are currently posting an article written by me on writingcash.com – I dont remember posting anything on that website and what’s more the given contact data is no longer correct since the website in question does exist anylonger. I’d appreciate if you delete the article in question.

      Reply
    30. mike

      Hi Eric,

      I know this is way off topic but i am having some serious problems with your support desk regarding the trading pro system. Im asking for help and all i seem to be getting is an automated response, any chance of some help please.

      Many thanks

      Mike

      Reply
    31. Mike

      Hello Eric,
      I really lack words to appreciate you.This might be off from this particular lesson, but it is bothering me now.
      I just need you advice; Before watching your sales video for word press socrates theme, I wanted to purchase and use Hypervre soft ware to create multiple adsence sites, but I am now inerested in socrates, hope I can use it to do the same thing as hypervre,i.e, creating multiple sites with multiple pages automatically.
      Thanks a lot

      Mike

      Reply
    32. Alexander John

      great video! I always enjoy your videos eric!

      Why i’m really writing this comment, well i was hhoping that i would be able to talk to eric himself but I thinking i not going to be able to. i wanted to talk with him about an idea that i had. so, if i could talk to eric, that would be really great! please let me know if i could talk to eric.
      thanks,
      alexander john

      Reply
    33. Pingback: Advanced PPC Marketing Strategies | Eric's Tips

    34. Eric Post author

      Hi Alexander, I’m not offering any personal consulting right now. But feel free to submit your idea to my helpdesk, and I will probably get a chance to at least see it, though I do not have time to respond to all requests. Thanks!

      Reply
    35. Eric Post author

      I would definitely recommend WP/Socrates over HyperVRE at this point. The HyperVRE method is fairly dated. A WP blog with original content is a better approach. Socrates does not automatically generate content, like HyperVRE. But like I said, that’s a good thing.

      Reply
    36. Mike

      Thanks for your reply. I don’t really like automatically generated content. I appreciate.

      Reply
    37. Eric Post author

      hi Mike, Sorry about that. If you’re asking a question about trading, then you would probably receive a pre-written response, because my helpdesk staff is not qualified to answer questions about trading. In that case your best option IMO is to join the Daily Market Advantage, and then you can ask Dave (the trader) questions directly. If you have questions that are not related to trading, then please re-submit them to the helpdesk and reference this post, and I’ll be happy to answer those questions personally. Thanks!

      Reply
    38. Eric Post author

      The articles on that site were mainly posted by authors 5 years ago. Just let me know the exact URL and I can remove it, thanks.

      Reply
    39. Eric Post author

      I think Adwords is definitely here to stay and it’s going to keep growing because there are more and more businesses (new biz and existing offline biz) getting online. However, the rules of the game are really changing, and the type of PPC that has been taught by us Internet marketers may become obsolete.

      Reply
    40. mike

      Thank you Eric,

      I was getting a bit worried for a while as i was not getting anywhere fast.The question is not trading related, it is about the training content. I have submitted another ticket and put in there a reference to this post.

      Many thanks

      Mike

      Reply
    41. Alexander John

      Hello Eric,

      Eric this might sound crazy and stupid but I really think your suppost to contact me. Now, I know you think I’m crazy right now or just not sure what I want but hear me out.

      I’m 21 years old and I think I filled with great ideas. I have been thinking and praying for about 2 days about this and I think I’m suppost to help you and you are suppost to help me in some way. Now, you think I’m really crazy. Normaly I don’t really like to ask for help but for some reasion your name keeps poping up in my head like I suppost to contact you for some reasion.

      If you would like to hear me out and want to know what I’m thinking, then email me please. If you feel like you shouldn’t for any reasion, then by all means don’t. Let me know either way, I would really be thankful for that. I think I’m crazy for saying all this but I feel like I should for some reasion so, it’s up to you. You can do what you want with this comment and you can contact me if you want.

      Thanks for your time agian,
      Alexander John

      Reply

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