One of the most effective ways to do this is through pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. As you begin your foray into the turbulent waters of PPC advertising, ask yourself the following questions to help get things started:
Who Is Your Audience?
You likely have a good grasp of who your customers are and what they like. The important thing is to tap into this knowledge when you start to create your ads to help you write something that speaks to them. You’ll also want to consider different audiences. For example, if you sell charm bracelets, you might have an audience of women who buys them for themselves. But you may also want to consider those women with significant others who are shopping for a gift. The way that you would speak to these two groups of people would be different, so it’s something to think about both in terms of targeting and in the actual ad copy.
Where Are You Advertising Your Products?
The internet is a vast, vast ocean — so when you say that you’re going to start advertising your products online, you need to think about which paid advertising channel you’re going to use. Three of the most common channels where we have seen success for our eCommerce clients are:
- Google Ads (Formerly Google AdWords): The type of ad that most of us are familiar with, these text ads appear in search results when users type in relevant keywords.
- Google Shopping: A type of ads only available for eCommerce, this will put your products at the very top of the search results.
- Social Media (Facebook, Instagram, etc.): A great channel to explore to help build a faithful following or engage potential customers through compelling imagery.
How Are You Enticing People to Click?
So you’re selling socks. Cool story, bro. My mom bought me socks for Christmas last year, what’s special about yours? They’re socks.
What’s that — you use premium, all-natural materials? Tell me more about your hand-spun, hand-dyed alpaca wool combined with eco-friendly bamboo fibers.
That sounds great, but I hate socks that make my feet feel sweaty. (Who doesn’t?) Oh, your socks have natural moisture-wicking properties? Awesome.
But, most importantly, do they come in black? Ah, not black, per se, but, “pure obsidian?”
Well shoot, I think I need these socks.
In all seriousness, your ad copy and imagery is your one chance to make a positive first impression. Think of all the things that make your product unique or that set your company apart from the other guys and make that a prominent focus of your ads.
Testing the Waters
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to implementing PPC advertising for your eCommerce store. To learn the ins and outs of keywords, targeting, and more, check out our whitepaper: Top 3 PPC Mistakes for eCommerce.
There’s a lot to keep in mind in order to market yourself successfully in a PPC campaign and not blow through your budget overnight. We have had success marketing for eCommerce companies like yours, whether you’re selling mainstream goods that everyone needs or you have a niche product that is sought after by a very unique audience. Contact us today to learn how we can help you reach more customers.