PPC Checklist 2022 For Quick Reference

Pay Per Click marketing is an important part of search engine marketing. An effective PPC campaign can bring in ROI more than you can estimate.

To have an effective PPC campaign, you need to keep a quick reference guide. So that you do not forget any important tweak or point before going all-in with the budget.

A lot of companies that work with us in optimizing their PPC campaigns have found our checklist and techniques of big help. So here we are sharing a quick PPC checklist so that you do not forget anything.

Campaign Preparation

Audience & Goals

For each online advertising campaign you conceptualize, it's critical to start with a clear understanding of your target audiences and goals.

Audience Considerations

Who are you trying to reach and why? Consider:

• Demographics
• Assumed online behaviour
• Channels they frequent
• Top concerns/problems your offerings can solve
• Awareness level of your brand and your offerings (i.e., Do they know your brand exists? Do they know this solution exists and are they looking for it? Or do you need to educate them?)

Goals

Think holistically about goals:

• What are your business goals?
  1. Increase brand awareness
  2. Increase client acquisition
  3. Increase sales / revenue

• How do those goals align with trackable campaign goals?
  1. Measure brand search lift
  2. Measure leads, cost per lead (CPL), and eventually cost per acquisition (CPA), etc.
  3. Measure eCommerce sales, average order value (AOV), cost per acquisition (CPA), etc.

Channel Selection & Budget Distribution

There is no one-size-fits-all channel matrix that applies to all ad campaigns.
Channels should be carefully researched and selected based on audience presence and behaviour (e.g., search volume estimates, estimated size of audience based on your unique targeting selects, etc.) and whether you are seeking to reach and engage a consumer or business audience.
Ad budget will also factor in, as CPC (cost per click) and CPM (cost for impressions) vary across channels, industries, and audience targeting.

Once you have your core channels selected, you will want to estimate the percentage of the overall budget you'll distribute (allocate) to each channel.

Over time, you should use detailed campaign data and thorough analysis to evaluate performance and readjust your channel usage and allocation of budget.

Campaign Assets

Once you have a campaign concept and details defined, you can develop any unique creative and assets to help achieve your engagement and conversion goals – including display ads, ad copy (text), landing pages, gated content, etc.

Certain channels will experience “creative fatigue” more frequently than others (such as paid social media channels), so be prepared to swap out images and creativity regularly (potentially every 2-6 weeks depending on audience size and saturation).

When everything is built and ready to go, you are ready for the Campaign Launch. The following checklist will ensure you cross your t's and dot your i's.

Digital Ads Campaign Launch Checklist

• Verify Campaign Settings
  1. Geo-targeting
  2. Audience-targeting
  3. Ad Rotation
  4. Network
  5. Daily Budget

• Decide Smart Bidding Strategy
  1. Yes/No
  2. Which Smart Bidding?

• Adjust Keyword Match-Type

• Ads (Images & Text)
  1. Check URL
     1. Review Landing Pages
  2. Check Ads for Accuracy (Spelling, Images)
  3. Adjust UTM Parameters or verify Auto-Tagging is enabled

• Review Ad Extensions

• Are You Using Call Tracking?
  1. Yes/No
  2. If yes, verify Call Tracking is working correctly

• Verify Google Analytics is Setup and Reporting Correctly

Final Words

Launching a PPC campaign is just the first step in SEM. Behind every successful digital ads campaign, there is continuous analysis and tweaking.

A lot of testings and continuous monitoring will result in a successful PPC campaign. A PPC campaign that will get you maximum returns on your Ad spend.

This checklist will help you prepare effective PPC campaigns and get you started. The rest is all about how you manage the campaign and analyze the KPIs.

We at UnderWP offer PPC campaign management and auditing service as part of our digital marketing services. With over a decade of experience in search engine marketing, we leave no stone unturned to get you the best results of your PPC investments.