5 Ways to Boost Your Paid Search Results and Maximize ROI

By Jordan Thomas

In a perfect world, your smart and creative digital ads would speak for themselves. However, there’s a lot more you can do to maximize ROI and improve your performance beyond merely creating good work. You can make sure you have measurable objectives and defined KPIs. You can optimize targeting and drive to quality content that encourages meaningful engagement.

And you can run a paid search campaign, which is a vital channel to have in your marketing plan. But how can you ensure you’re using it to its full potential? Here are five pay-per-click (PPC) best practices to improve your paid search advertising that also will help you improve the quality of your ads and drive more valuable traffic at a lower cost.

1. Target the Right Keywords and Revisit Them Regularly

Avoid generic keywords when developing your keyword plan. While short-tail, unspecific keywords like “travel” and “healthcare” may drive high-traffic volumes to your site from the thousands of users searching for them each day, they are unlikely to result in quality engagement or conversions. They also tend to be highly competitive and expensive. When conducting keyword research, look for relevant terms that strike a healthy balance between search volume, intent, competition and cost.

Keyword targeting, however, isn’t a “set it and forget it” enterprise. The performance of your keywords will change over time, so it’s important to establish a cadence for reviewing your keyword list to look for changes in search volume, results and cost. If a keyword is expensive and not driving many clicks, even with a high Ad Rank, consider pausing it and finding a cheaper alternative. Conversely, if a keyword is earning high impressions and clicks but you don’t see that traffic translating into on-site engagement, you may consider pausing it or lowering your bid. Keep an eye on the search terms report to see the actual queries people are making to trigger your ads as well. You can exclude irrelevant searches by adding them to your negative keyword list.

There may be cases where a keyword results in low impressions and clicks but high conversion rates. For a luxury business in hospitality, for example, a keyword like “best boutique hotels in NYC” is unlikely to drive the same volume of traffic as “NYC hotels,” but may attract people who will spend more for quality and have a high propensity for brand loyalty. Make sure to factor in all of your KPIs when pruning your keyword list — a heavy-handed approach might mean you miss out on high-value traffic.

2. Play with Your Ad Copy

High-quality ads earn higher rankings, more impressions and more clicks for lower costs. While the exact parameters of a quality ad vary based on the context of every search, you can gauge how your ads are assessed in the auction process with a metric like Quality Score in Google Ads. Your Quality Score is calculated by averaging three factors, which you should use as the framework for your Google paid search ad copy optimization.

• Ad relevance: This measures how closely your ad matches the intent behind a user’s search. Make sure you integrate target keywords throughout your ad’s headlines, descriptions, display URL and extensions in a natural way.
• Landing page experience: The quality of the content you serve to users after they click on your ad plays an essential role in your ad’s performance. Your landing page content should be relevant to your ad’s topic and the keywords you’re targeting. And, with nearly two-thirds of all Google searches being conducted on mobile devices, you’ll want to make sure your website is optimized for mobile and loads quickly.
• Expected click-through rate (CTR): This measures how likely someone is to click on your ad and is calculated based on historical performance. You can boost the expected CTR by writing compelling headlines that encourage users to click through and engage, as well as CTA phrases like “Book Online,” “Get In Touch” or “Buy Tickets” to entice users to click and convert. For informational content, “Get Answers” might inspire a higher CTR than “Learn More.”

Copywriting is not an exact science, but A/B testing your ad copy can give you solid data to help you refine your ads. By experimenting with different variations of your headlines, descriptions and CTAs, you can identify which language resonates best with your target audience’s preferences and behaviors. When A/B testing ad copy, look for significant changes in click-through and conversion rates. You may find that version A drives more visibility and awareness, while version B drives more high-intent users who convert — and then you can deploy as you see fit.

3. Optimize for Click-Through Rate (CTR)

When a user conducts a search, your ad is just one of the many things they’ll see on the search engine results page (SERP). In addition to sponsored listings from other companies, your ads are also competing with Google’s own features and snippets for attention. The days of 10 blue links and an ad are long gone, so it’s essential to ensure that your ads stand out on the increasingly crowded SERP.

Creating ad extensions is a simple way to take up space and boost your CTR. Sitelink and call-out extensions and structured snippets are assets you can use to share more information about your offerings. Adding an image extension might help draw eyes to your ad, and including your organization name and logo will help establish credibility and authority. If your organization offers discounts for new users, create a promotion extension to set yourself apart from your competitors.

4. Tweak Your Target Audience

Digging into the details of who your ads are reaching can take your paid search marketing efforts from basic to advanced. If you notice a drop-off in performance that can’t be explained by your keywords or ad quality, the next place to examine is your behavioral and location targeting settings. Once you’ve defined who you want to reach, where they are located and what they are searching for, you can take your targeting to the next level by applying custom tactics based on those attributes.

Use a tool like Google Analytics to cross-reference your paid search analytics with your website traffic. Look at your top-converting users: Where are they located? Which products or pages are they looking at? When are they visiting your site? Think of ways you can translate the answers to these questions to your paid search optimization. You may notice a cohort of users that doesn’t drive a lot of traffic but spends more and converts at a higher rate. Try applying a positive bid adjustment to reach more of these users. On the other hand, if you notice that users from a certain location or those who visit your site at a certain time are less likely to convert, you can avoid overspending on that traffic by reducing your bids, excluding locations or tightening your ad schedule. Your analysis may also reveal a highly engaged group of users who are interested in a specific range of content, products or services. You can build a custom ad set with messaging tailored to their preferences, increasing your ads’ relevance and reducing CPC.

5. Keep Your Finger on the Pulse

Ongoing paid search management also involves paying attention to regional search trends and evolving search behaviors that might impact your advertising efforts. Chances are, even if your organization’s offerings are relatively evergreen, your campaigns will be affected by seasonality in some capacity. You can use tools like Google Trends and Google Insights for Search to anticipate drops in search volume and develop a plan to combat declines. These tools can also help you forecast spikes in search activity that you can leverage to increase visibility and make sure your ads stand out when competition is high.

It’s also important to stay informed about new technologies and updates that impact the SEM landscape. Voice search optimization, the transition to a cookie-less future and the rise of generative AI are just a few digital marketing trends that have significantly changed the search game, and advertisers can expect more to come in the future. As Google and Microsoft roll out feature after feature that change the way we search, staying on top of new developments will best equip you to adapt your campaigns and maintain strong performance.