Why Mobile Ads Are Part of a Smart PPC Strategy

When it comes to PPC strategy, you can’t afford to turn your back on mobile devices. You’re missing out by assuming your customers are only searching from desktops. It’s important to take the time to understand why and how to properly optimize your pay-per-click ads to maximize results from mobile traffic.

Why?

Google recently reported that more than half of Internet searches worldwide are conducted through a mobile device. That alone should make it clear that businesses need to have a mobile presence, especially for an AdWords campaign. And since only the top two or three ad positions appear on mobile devices, it’s critical that yours be set up for success (which we’ll cover later in this post).

How?

If you know how to create ads within the AdWords dashboard, optimizing them for mobile searches is fairly simple. As shown below, you’ll see a box that you can check next to “Mobile.” This tells Google that your ad is optimized for mobile users and should be shown there.

To get the best results out of mobile ads, you’ll want to make sure you’re sending the right message to potential customers. Messages should be tailored to the device searchers are using — usually a phone. So make it easy for them to call with a tap of the screen. On the other hand, you may want to guide desktop searchers to provide more information by filling out a form. It’s important to make the ad’s message as clear as possible to get the desired results.

Google AdWords also offers Click-to-Call ads, which result directly in a phone call rather than a website visit. This extremely valuable tool is only available on mobile devices.

It’s also wise to test different landing pages for your mobile ads, since mobile searchers may have different needs than desktop searchers. While using a smartphone, for example, a customer may be most interested in the location of a business. Therefore, a landing page providing a map and directions is probably a better choice for a mobile ad than one with details about your service. To test this theory, create two identical ads linking to different landing pages. After gathering a couple weeks’ worth of data, you’ll be able to determine which destination produces better results.

With mobile searches bypassing desktop searches, it’s never been more important to make sure your advertising messages are clear and distinct to capture the lead. If you need assistance managing your AdWords account, contact The Web Guys at (317) 805-4933.