If online marketing for your auto repair shop has been top of mind recently, it is very likely that you have heard the term “PPC” or “pay-per-click” tossed around in conversation. While this topic may be somewhat difficult to understand, we have broken it down below to make sure that your auto shop can get the maximum number of customers from the internet that it deserves.

Basics of PPC

Pay-per-click (PPC) is a type of marketing in which businesses can advertise through search engines to increase the number of clicks they get on their website link. PPC has been described as a way to “generate clicks to your website rather than ‘earning’ those clicks organically.”

You know those sponsored ads that come up on the top of Google search results pages? Yep, those are PPC campaigns. Creating a PPC campaign puts your website as close to the top of relevant Google results pages as possible and the best part is that you only pay for it if you’re getting results. As the name suggests, you only pay for each click that your link receives, so no click = no money out of your pocket. Once your link starts generating clicks, the small fee that you pay the search engine will most likely be fractional to the amount of business your advertisements will potentially bring in.

How PPC Works

When creating a PPC campaign, Google uses a combination of factors to determine which website gets to be the highest on the search results page for each particular Google search. Google Adwords, the program Google provides for businesses to manage and edit their PPC campaigns, combines the quality of your ads, keywords and landing pages to create a Quality Score (a score between 1-10) for your business. That Quality Score is then combined with the amount that you bid for your ad to create your business’s Ad Rank.

The Ad Rank is what determines how high on the Google search results page your ad is. Combining all of these elements means that having the highest doesn’t necessarily guarantee that your ad will be the top result on the Google search results page. For example, if you bid $2 per click but your auto shop gets a Quality Score of 3, you could still be lower on the results page than someone who bid $1 and had a quality score of 8. Making sure that your website is top notch and that the keywords you bid on are relevant to your webpage will up the chances that your ad shows up higher on the search results page.

Tips to Get The Most Out of PPC

Choosing your keywords wisely and incorporating relevant keywords into your ad is one of the best ways to get the most out of your PPC campaign. Most of the other businesses that you’ll be competing against for the top results spot will more than likely have similar keywords as you so coming up with creative yet relevant keywords is a great way to stay ahead of the pack.

To avoid spending unnecessary money, you need to make sure that your ad’s title and meta description are clearly explaining what the viewer is going to find within your website. This will likely increase the number of clicks to your webpage, will can help your Quality Score.

The title and meta description are also important because oftentimes, if your ad does not clearly state the purpose of your web page, searchers will click on your ad thinking it is something that it’s not and then immediately leave your page once they realize that your web page does not contain what they’re looking for. Even though that user didn’t mean to click on your ad, you still have to pay for that click. Keeping your descriptions clear and concise can help prevent this and keep your hard earned money in your pocket.

Improving your Quality Score is another excellent way to increase your search results page positioning without having to spend any extra money. According to Hubspot, “those with a quality score of 1 will pay 400% more per click.” No one wants to be paying unnecessary money, so make sure that your website has an enjoyable landing page experience and that the page you’re linking to the ad is relevant to the subject of your ad, because both are factors that contribute heavily to determining your Quality Score.

For example, if the link included in your ad is to a webpage that lists directions to your shop, but your ad is advertising a 10 percent discount on oil changes, the link is not necessarily relevant to your ad which will negatively affect your Quality Score. Make sure that your landing pages immediately serve up the information that the reader was searching for. One way to do this is by creating specific landing pages that will cater to the audience of people that click on your advertisement. If the reader has to search beyond the landing page, they are extremely likely to immediately leave your website.

Getting started with pay-per-click campaigns can be confusing at first but if you follow CarCareCONNECT’s guidelines you’ll be a PPC pro in no time. We hope we’ve helped outline the best PPC practices and if you want more information on how to optimize your PPC campaigns be sure to give CarCareCONNECT a call!

Do you want to grow your shop?

Scan your website today for a full report that will provide insight into how your can find more customers online!