Daniel Rosenberg

How much is it worth to have your company appear on the search engine results page when a potential prospect types “HVAC Repair”?

Pay per click (PPC) marketing makes this possible. PPC is a form of Internet advertising in which the advertiser pays a fee each time their ad is clicked. You can generate targeted prospects’ visits to your website almost immediately.

PPC can be a powerful tool to generate new business. However, it can also be an expensive waste of money if your account is setup incorrectly.

Whether you decide to manage your PPC campaign in-house or outsource it, you need to follow these six tips to make the most from your marketing budget.

1. Understand where your money goes.

Google and Bing get paid even if you don’t generate leads. That’s why it is important to make sure that your ads are running in a specific geographical area and only for relevant keywords. For example, the term “Air Conditioning Repair” will likely produce phone calls. On the other hand, the website traffic you could receive for the search “How-To-Do Air Conditioning Repair” is going be a waste of money.

It is important to closely monitor your website traffic and set up negative keywords to avoid paying for website traffic from job-seekers, do-it-yourselfers, and your competition.

Note, if you outsource your PPC you should know exactly how much of your budget goes to Google and Bing compared to how much goes for a management fee. We recommend working with a company that bills the management fee separately so there is full transparency with your budget.

2. Use a high-performance landing page.

Just getting traffic from prospective customers is not enough. A landing page with a customized sales pitch and a clear call-to-action can tremendously increase the likelihood of receiving a phone call or a contact form from a website visitor.

Best practice for effective Internet marketing is to have a specific web page that visitors will reach when they click on a sponsored link. This page should make contacting your company simple by prominently featuring a form and your phone number

3. Use a weather-based strategy.

PPC requires constant tweaking to maximize your ROI. It is important to adjust your marketing message to fit the needs of your clients. During the dog days of summer focus on air conditioning services and for the winter you can highlight furnace installation.

MarketPlace-Solutions.com offers a package that includes seasonally-adjusted marketing as well as a severe weather strategy that increases your PPC budget when a storm or other natural disaster increases your demand.

4. Stay in front of people who have visited your website.

Not every prospect will contact you after an initial visit to your website. Google has a feature called Remarketing which allows you to target display and text advertisements directly to previous website visitors. By using this feature, your name will be fresh in a prospect’s mind when it becomes time to actually call.  

Also, the cost per click (CPC) is often much cheaper for previous website visitors than getting people to your website for the first time.

5. Optimize for both computers and mobile phones.

A homeowner looking for an HVAC contractor is just as likely to be on his desktop as he is on his cell phone. Especially in case of inclement weather a person may not have access to their computer. By having your sponsored ads running on both devices it increases the chances of you being contacted when you are needed most.

Google and Bing also have a feature that makes it possible for people to call you directly from the search engine results page without going to your website. These calls are from hot prospects that have a problem that needs to be addressed immediately.

6. Highlight what makes you special.

For text ads, display ads, and your landing page, it is always a good idea to emphasize what makes you unique. It may sound simple but many companies are content to put out a generic message and hope for the best. If you have a great offer, years of experience, or unbeatable service, stress these advantages so your prospects are more likely to click on your link.

Pay per click marketing is not for the faint of heart. When done right, it can create a steady stream of qualified leads.