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PPC campaigns are a great way to leverage the overall online market to bring in more visitors, conversions and profits for any business. However, it’s still common for many businesses to make some mistakes in regards to their PPC marketing campaign. This needs to stop to ensure their campaign is working effectively enough to see the results they desire without spending too much money in the process. Why are they making these mistakes you ask? Generally, many business owners don’t even know they’re making them, which can really cripple their efforts. So for those who are new to the PPC marketing avenue and want to avoid some of the most common mistakes, the following is a guide to the top mistakes you may be making on your PPC marketing campaign that you need to know right now.

Not Analysing Sufficient Data

One common mistake that many marketers make is not analysing sufficient data to come to a statistically reliable decision. In doing this it can really jeopardise your overall campaign efforts. In order to gain reliable information to create more targeted PPC campaigns you should consider split testing your campaigns. Split testing allows you to test two separate versions of your campaign. This allows for you to measure the different results to see which one brought in more traffic and clicks. When running your A/B test you will need to consider:

• Running your test for a least 7 days or up to 200 impressions to gain the best results. The one that offers the highest results at the ends proves to be most profitable to your business.
• Only change one element of the campaign at a time during the full length of a test. Never change anything while the test is in operation as this will give you mixed results.
• Don’t assume that because one campaign is more popular than the other in the first few days it will be successful. It’s not uncommon for results to change by the end of the week.

Not Using The Full Range Of Ad Extensions

Ads extensions gives you the opportunity to exposure yourself through more advertising space. This increases the overall chances of your advertisements being clicked. Google suggests that CTR rates can be increased up to 20% when site link extensions are added. Depending on where you live you may or may not have access to all extensions. The table below shows the ads extensions that you can use to help improve your overall marketing campaign.

Manual Extensions

Extensions	Availability	Devices	Campaign Type
Apps	Globally	Mobile/ Tablet only	Search Network with Display Select – All features Search Network only – All features
Calls	Globally	Mobile/ Tablet Desktop (Search and Display Networks on Mobile/Search Network only on Tablet and Desktop)	Search Network with Display Select Search Network only Display Network only
Reviews	Globally in the following languages: EN/GB/AU, DE, FR, ES/419, JP, PT/BR, IT and NL	Desktop	Search Network with Display Select – All features Search Network only – All features
Locations	Globally	Mobile/ Tablet Desktop	Search Network with Display Select Search Network only Display Network only
Call-outs	Globally		Search Network with Display Select – All features Search Network only – All features
Sitelinks	Globally	Mobile/ Tablet Desktop	Search Network with Display Select – All features Search Network only – All features
Previous visits	Globally	Mobile/ Tablet Desktop	Search Network with  Display Select Search Network only
Consumer ratings	US, UK, Canada, Australia	Mobile/ Tablet Desktop	Search Network with  Display Select – All features Search Network only – All features
Dynamic sitelink extensions	Globally	Mobile/ Tablet Desktop	Search Network with Display Select – All features Search Network only – All features
Seller ratings	US, UK, DE, FR, AU, NZ, JP and NL	Mobile/ Tablet Desktop	Search Network with Display Select – All features Search Network only – All features
Dynamic structured snippets	English (Global)	Tablet Desktop	Search Network with Display Select – All features Search Network only – All features

Not Tracking Conversions In The Most Effective Way

Knowing your conversions is the key to whether your PPC campaign is successful or not. Without the ability to accurately measure your conversions you won’t be able to optimise your campaigns for ROI. There are three ways you can track your sales, leads, phone calls and e-commerce conversions. These include:

• Google conversion tracking pixels should be inserted within your thank you page to track online leads and sales effectively.
• Link your Analytics and AdWords accounts together and import your e-commerce conversions from Analytics into AdWords to measure your e-commerce conversion rate.
• Call tracking is a great way to measure conversions from PPC campaign phone numbers. Using a program such as Command Centre can help to track your calls effectively so you know which campaign is driving in the conversions.

In using these three tracking methods you’ll be able to really see your conversion results and be able to manipulate your PPC campaign more effectively.

Not Creating A Mobile Friendly Campaign

Mobile devices are used more and more to search the internet, so it’s important to make sure your campaigns are mobile-friendly to accommodate for this growing user base. The best way to make your campaign mobile-friendly is by:

• Incorporating the ‘click-to-call’ extension. This extension allows any mobile advertisement to lead visitors to responsive web pages.
• Incorporate a mobile call to action such as ‘Call Now’ on your campaign to make it easier for mobile users to call throughout the day.

Overall

PPC campaign marketing is a great way to boost your overall conversion rate when looking to bring in new leads and visitors. By knowing some of the most common mistakes that many people make you can easily become a competitive leader in your industry by reducing your mistakes for maximum profits. So were you making any of these mistakes? Have your conversions improved since addressing these key issues?