E-Commerce Marketing

Online shopping is more in-demand than ever, and it’s evident in the increasing number of marketers investing in PPC campaigns. In 2021, Google reported a $53.1 billion revenue which accounted for 81% of the overall sales of its parent company, Alphabet.

When done successfully, PPC—short for pay-per-click—can result in a better ad placement in the search engine result pages (SERPs), which in return can help you drive traffic to your site and generate leads. But, keep in mind that ad placement is only as good as the ad structure itself. When a campaign is not structured correctly, it may not produce the results you expect. 

What is an Account Structure?

Account structure is essential to the success of your PPC efforts. But, what does it mean anyway and why does it matter? Put simply, your structure is the backbone of your account that supports many other parts of your PPC campaign, including its overall performance. 

In its basic form, an account structure includes campaigns, ad groups, keywords—both targeted and negative keywords—and an ad copy. The number of campaigns you run can depend on several factors such as the following: 

• The products and services you offer 
• The network you use—search, display, maps, shopping, etc. 
• Locations to target 
• Your budget

Each campaign houses different ad groups, each of which targets a specific set of keywords that will trigger a set of ads. Each ad also includes a landing page where you want to direct users to after they click. All these components should be themed and relevant to ensure that the searches triggering your ads are useful to the users. With that said, a basic account structure should look like this: 

How to Structure Your PPC Campaign in 2023

The success of your account structure largely depends on your understanding of each component involved. Let’s discuss them further.

1.Campaigns 

Your campaign is the topmost category your ad groups will fall under. It may be defined by the types of product you offer, your location, or your target audience. For example, if you are a printing business, you can use your products and services as your campaigns and specify them further in the categories that follow. 

2. Ad Groups

Under each campaign are your ad groups which are exactly just that: groups of ads that share similar targets. You can use them to organize your ads by a common theme—usually based on the types of products or services you want to advertise. 

Advertisers usually base their ad groups on how they are categorized on their websites. Let’s say you offer corporate gifts and photo prints. You can use them as your ad groups, and each would contain a keyword list that focuses on the products you sell. 

While there’s no limit to the number of ad groups to list under a campaign, PPC ad specialists advise against going overboard. It will not only stretch your ad budget but also suffer the results. The golden rule is to keep within the maximum limit of 7-10 ad groups per campaign. 

3. Keywords

When a search query matches with a keyword that you target, it will trigger an ad that can potentially attract clicks to your site. It means that your keyword list must be composed of the words and phrases your target users are most likely to search for your product or business: thank-you kits, corporate shirts, custom notebooks, personalized stationery, etc. 

Several tools can help you build your keyword list such as Google’s Keyword Planner. It provides insights into search volume and trends, the historical data of keywords, and more importantly, how much it would cost you to bid on specific terms. This information can help you fine-tune and optimize your keyword strategy in the long run. 

4. Negative Keywords

While there are target keywords, there are also negative keywords—terms and phrases you want to exclude from your campaigns. This is particularly useful if you’re bidding on broad match and/or modified broad match keywords where you’re more likely to attract some completely irrelevant search queries that match with your ads. 

Keep building upon your negative keywords list to keep irrelevant searches from triggering your ad and save money in the process. It can also help increase your ROI by better targeting your ads towards interested users. 

5. Ad Text

An ad text is a copy that will appear when a search query triggers your ad, and one of the secrets to writing one that actually gets clicked is by focusing on the end goal. What can users accomplish with your product/service? 

As a printing business that offers corporate gifts, your target audience is more likely to search for phrases like “how to promote my business”. Your headline shouldn’t start with “promoting your business?”—besides being obsolete, you already know that they are. Instead, speak to their end goal by providing the solution to what they’re looking to achieve. Write your headline like this: Promotional Gifts for Your Business. 

6. Landing Page

The destination URL is the page on your website where you want to direct your PPC traffic. It can be your home page, service page, or blog. However, because of the cost associated with each PPC visitor you attract, you would want to drive them to a dedicated landing page with a lead generation form on it. 

Make sure that the landing page is relevant to the search query. As a user, you wouldn’t want to be served an ad about a publication house when you’re searching for a printing business, would you? 

In conclusion, a simple account structure should look like this: 

Why Campaign Structure Matters

PPC campaigns are designed for targeting users with already an intent to buy. With paid ads, you can target these users—but only if you target them with an ad copy that matches their intent. 

Grouping your keywords into relevant themes allows you to write a better campaign. When all the above factors are tied together, you can help improve your quality score, a metric that can help you secure an ad placement in the SERPs and generate leads. 

If you’re new to Google Ads, don’t worry! As a digital marketing agency in the Philippines, we know the strategies that can help you find success with your PPC campaigns. 

Get in touch with us today! 

People are constantly looking for new content on the Internet, and most of them are using Google to try and find it. They would use a set of keywords or phrases to search for that information. 

As a business, you want to show up in relevant searches when users look for products or services —particularly in the top results of the first page of search engines because that’s where you’re most likely to get clicked. However, ranking on the prime real estate on the SERP has its own science. In today’s post, that’s what we will be focusing on: how to show up on the first page of SERPs by using the right keywords.

How to Use Google Keyword Planner for Your Keyword Research

Keyword research is the basis of any digital marketing campaign. It helps you determine what your target audience is searching for and how to rank it. Google Keyword Planner (is a free resource tool that helps you do just that and more.

You can use Google Keyword Planner for your PPC and SEO marketing efforts. It allows you to discover new search keywords, valuable insights (e.g. search volume and cost for keywords), and performance forecasts that can help you with the following:

• identify the right keywords to target
• optimize your website for search engines
• target keywords for link building and pay-per-click campaigns; and
• determine the right content for your audience

Step-By-Step Guide to Using Keyword Planner 

1. Access Keyword Planner 

https://www.monsterinsights.com/how-to-use-google-keyword-planner/Using Keyword Planner is free, but it will prompt you to set up a free Google Ads (formerly Google Adwords) account. This shouldn’t be a big deal, especially if you’re planning on using the tool for long-term PPC campaigns. When you get access to the planner, you have two options to get started: discover new keywords or get search volume forecasts.

The first option is as easy as it sounds—enter your keyword ideas and discover a broad match of keywords or phrases you can use to reach people interested in your products/services. Meanwhile, you can use the other option to determine the historical trend, search volume, and forecast for specific keywords.

2. Discover New Keywords 

Under Discover New Keywords, there will be two tabs: Start with Keywords and Start with a Website

Start with Keywords – Here, you can enter a list of up to 10 keywords or phrases [separated by commas] relevant to your business. It can be anything that describes your business—the products or services you offer—or the keywords that users are most likely to Google when finding your company. 

Start with a Website – Instead of entering keywords, this option allows you to use an entire website or a specific page as a source to bring up keyword ideas you can use. This is a great way to get insights into what your competitors are doing and what keywords they are optimizing and/or bidding for. 

3. View Insights 

After keying in the terms or the URL, click Get Results. Google Keyword Planner will return with a table of new keyword suggestions, each with the following insights. 

Average Monthly Searches – The range of number of searches the keyword receives every month 

Competition – A keyword’s competition is ranked low, medium, or high, depending on how many advertisers are bidding on it. The higher the competition is, the more difficult and costlier to target.

Top of Page Bid – This lists the range of price estimates (low range and high range) advertisers would pay for a top page bid. 

You can further filter the results based on location, language, search network, and period. Just click the Add Filter tab above the results table. You can also filter out negative keywords with the Exclude keywords in my account option.

4. Get Search Volume and Forecasts 

Remember the option for discovering keywords? Get search volume and forecasts. Google Keyword Planner will display forecasts you can expect within the next 30 days for the keywords you enter. These include the following.

• Total number of clicks 
• Impressions—the number of times your ad would be displayed 
• Overall cost 
• Average position
• Cost-per-click 

Keyword research underpins every SEO and PPC strategy, and Google Keyword Planner offers a lot of value—it’s entirely free to utilize and a good starting point to determine the right keywords you can use to reach out to people who are actively searching for your business. More importantly, it acts as the foundation of your digital marketing efforts to boost your search visibility, rankings, and traffic.

Ready to Get Started? 

You’ve got the basics down. Let us handle the intricacies of Google Keyword Planner and help you build your growth strategy around search terms that matter most to your business. 

Get in touch with our digital marketing experts at Createmoto today! 

As the world evolves, so do consumer habits. Over the past two years, the world has had to adapt to constant changes—the unexpected challenges—the pandemic has brought. Social restrictions may now be easing, but today’s situation will leave a lasting impression regarding how we think, feel, and shop. 

While several factors influence the fast-changing consumer behavior, what remains consistent is the journey consumers go through when making a purchase. Thus, understanding consumer behavior is essential to creating a marketing campaign that resonates with your audience. Continue reading as we walk you through the steps in the consumer decision-making process. 

What is the Consumer Decision-Making Process? 

In 1910, American psychologist John Dewey theorized five stages to the consumer decision-making process. While technology and several other factors have affected this process over time, this theory remains: consumers don’t instantly decide to buy. 

Think about your thought process when buying something—particularly a big-ticket purchase. You consider what you need, research, and compare available options before taking the plunge. Afterward, you evaluate whether you made the right decision. 

For your business to maximize profit, you must pay attention to every stage in the buying process—implement conversion strategies that will direct your target customers to the point of sale. 

What are the 5 Stages of the Consumer Decision-Making Process 

Stage 1: Need Recognition/Problem Recognition 

The first step in the buying process is a customer recognizing the need for a product or service. This awareness—whether triggered by internal or external stimuli—results in the same response: a want. This would then prompt the customer to gather information and research options to fulfill that want, which leads us to step two. 

How can you influence customers at this stage? 

You want your customers to recognize and make them feel like you’re providing them a solution to their problems. With brand awareness, people will be able to recall and remember your business. It may not immediately result in a sale, but they will be more likely to buy from you than a lesser-known competitor when faced with a decision to buy.

Stage 2: Information Search 

At the information search stage, the customer starts researching their options, trying to learn more about the products/services that can potentially satisfy their needs. These days, that mostly means searching on Google.

The buyer also assesses the risks, probably putting in more time to list the pros and cons of each option to help them come up with a decision. They may also gather information through other sources like recommendations, promotional ads, and even previous experiences they may have had using a particular brand. 

How can you influence customers at this stage? 

When a consumer seeks an answer, you have to be present. The level of information they would need depends on how much they already know about the solution and the available options. It explains why you must present yourself as an expert—plan out the informational content you will create to provide them with answers, regardless of where they are already in their search. 

Stage 3: Evaluation of Alternatives 

Once the buyer has determined the solution to their problem, they will start looking for the best option available based on varying factors like price, quality, availability, or something as subjective as color or style. At this stage, they may compare prices, read reviews, or ask for recommendations to determine which product/service suits their needs the most. 

How can you influence customers at this stage? 

As a marketer, your job is to convince people that your product is a better choice amongst others. Your website should  present your product’s best features and show them why you are the best option—probably that your prices are competitive or you have key features unique to you. In a rare situation where you’re too identical to your competitor, word of mouth is what will set you apart. 

Stage 4: Purchase Decision 

Now that the customer has gathered all the facts and weighed their options, they’re ready to decide on a purchase. If nurtured properly, the customer will recognize you as the best option and might choose your product. 

But, wait. Did you notice how we mentioned “might”? It’s because you can still lose a customer at this stage. 

How can you influence customers at this stage? 

Your goal is to get the customer to complete the purchase. Otherwise, risk losing them forever. Make the checkout process as easy as possible so that they won’t have time for second thoughts: What if there are better options? Should I wait for this to go on sale? Is there something I failed to consider? 

The customer may abandon their cart and jump back to the earlier stages. They may end up back to you, or maybe they will not.

Stage 5: Post-Purchase Evaluation 

This is where the customer reflects on their purchase: Was the product useful? Am I happy with the purchase? Would I buy it again? When the product has satisfied the customer’s expectations, they’re more likely to spread the good news and influence others about their purchase. Unfortunately, this can also be the case with negative experiences. 

How can you influence customers at this stage? 

Your responsibility as a business doesn’t end with making a sale. You should make sure that your customer has had a positive experience with your product—your business, overall. Ask yourself the following questions: 

• Did your product/service solve their problem?
• Is the customer happy with their purchase?
• How can you turn this one-time customer into a repeat customer?

After post-purchase, engage your customers with follow-up emails, newsletters, discount coupons, or anything that can give your brand a recall.

Takeaway 

Understanding the consumer decision-making process is key to getting them to choose your brand. Use these tips above to fine-tune your marketing efforts and nurture your target audience.

Ready to get started? Createmoto is a digital marketing agency that can help you influence your customer’s behavior and attract them to purchase your products/services.

Get in touch with us today!