Launching a new product or service through crowdfunding is a bold undertaking. The purpose of the campaign is, of course, to reach out to an audience you believe are interested in your product. But what’s the best way to reach them?

PPC ads are a popular and effective method to do just that! The problem is that many entrepreneurs don’t understand the basics of PPC advertising and how to leverage it effectively for their crowdfunding campaign.

This guide offers a look at what PPC advertising is, some basic PPC terminology, how PPC advertising works, how to set up Google AdWords, if PPC ads work and some PPC advertising tips for your crowdfunding marketing strategy.

What is PPC Advertising?

PPC advertising, which stands for pay-per-click advertising, is an online marketing model in which advertisers create digital ads intended for display on PPC networks. This is done to drive traffic to websites, increase conversions and achieve other marketing goals.

How Does PPC Advertising Work?

Advertisers bid for ad placement on PPC networks such as Google Ads or Facebook Ads. They then create advertisements on these networks in exchange for monetary payments. Every time the ad is clicked, the PPC network is paid. Effective keyword research, copywriting and bidding are all key to running successful PPC campaigns.

Google AdWords is the most popular search engine PPC network, with Bing Ads being another prominent example. Facebook Ads, LinkedIn Ads and Twitter Ads are all popular PPC networks for social media channels.

You can use more than one platform for your crowdfunding marketing efforts, though this ultimately depends on the budget you can spare for your crowdfunding marketing plan.

Basic Terminology for PPC Advertising

If you’re planning on basing your crowdfunding campaign strategy on PPC advertising, it’s crucial to be familiar with the basic terms used. Here are just a few to keep in mind:

PPC: Pay-per-click is an online marketing strategy where advertisers create ads that appear in search engines and social media channels and pay PPC networks every time the ad is clicked by a visitor.
CPC: Cost-per-click. This refers to the actual price advertisers pay for each click on their ad.
CTR: Click-through-rate. This is tied to the keyword relevance of the ad and is a main measurement of PPC performance. CTR is determined by dividing the number of ad clicks received by the number of impressions received, determining the rate the ad is clicked by those who see it.
Quality Score:Quality Score is Google’s rating method for determining the quality and relevance of both keywords and paid ads. It’s used to determine the cost-per-click of each ad.
Conversions:These are the goals the ad was created to achieve. Leads generated or actions performed are examples of conversions.
Conversion Rate: The measurement of PPC campaign performance in relation to conversion goals. It’s determined by dividing the number of conversions by the number of clicks.
Ad Position:Ad position is the place your ad is displayed on a search results page or social media platform.
ROAS: Return on Ad Spend. The evaluation of how much revenue was generated compared to every dollar spent on the campaign. This data can help you evaluate if your PPC campaign is effective or not.
Ad Extensions: This is the additional information you want to display on your ad, such as your company’s contact information.

How to Set Up Google AdWords

Google AdWords is the most popular and effective PPC platform. Setting up Google Adwords is actually much simpler than most people realize:

Go to the AdWords page and click “Get Started Now” to sign up for an AdWords account.
After logging in, click the “Create Your First Campaign” button.
Select your campaign type and enter the name for it.
Choose your demographics, which are based on the geographical location where you want the ads to be displayed.
Set the daily budget you’re willing to spend as your bid strategy.
Select your Ad Extension, which are snippets of extra information your ad will contain.
Write your first advertisement. Keyword research and effective copywriting are critical for this.
Insert your keywords into the Keywords field of your account.
Set your maximum cost-per-click as a default. However, enter a different bid for top keywords.
Recheck everything to ensure quality. Finally, enter your billing information and your AdWords account is set up and good to go!

Do PPC Ads Work?

Many statistics have shown that PPC ads are a cost-effective and economical way to reach Internet users all around the world on a targeted basis, making them a very effective part of part of any digital marketing strategy.

For example, per Search Engine Land, 49 percent of Internet users say they’ve click on text ads, 31 percent have clicked on preferred shopping ads and only 16 percent on video ads. However, a full 63 percent of Internet users say they’ve click on Google Ads, showing how omnipresent they are online nowadays.

Your crowdfunding marketing plan should include a PPC campaign to reach as many people as possible. Budgets are always an issue in crowdfunding marketing but PPC advertising offers a powerful yet economical solution. Their effectiveness is not just because they’re affordable, but also how they work and who they target. One of the best things about Google AdWords, for example, is that it allows your campaign to only target people who’ve been searching for similar products, offering excellent cost-effectiveness.

PPC Advertising Tips for Crowdfunding Campaigns

Understanding the basics of PPC advertising is very important, but just how should you go about setting up a PPC campaign for your own crowdfunding campaign? Here’s a few key tips to keep in mind:

First off, establish a goal or objective before starting your ad campaign. Are you launching it for brand awareness, lead generation or to increase traffic to your website? Set clear goals so you can decide how to accomplish them!
Do research and choose an ad platform you feel best suits your campaign. Google, Bing, Facebook, Instagram and others are some popular options to choose from, depending on whether you want to launch ads on search engines, social media channels or both.
Understanding your target market is key. Take into account factors such as target countries, devices you wish to advertise on and the like in order to maximize your PPC campaign’s effectiveness.
You should conduct thorough keyword research before writing your ads. Constantly update your keyword list with long-tail, affordable and relevant keywords to use. There are some great free and paid keyword research tools that you can use such as the Google AdWords Keyword Planner, Soovle and Jaaxy.
Your ad copy is crucial. The content should be sharp, clear, compelling and easy for the average person to understand. Try using eye-catching titles to the Internet users’ attention. Avoid making your ads too flashy or cluttered, which could frustrate and confuse the reader of the ad. Ad Extensions are also very useful in conveying additional information to readers.
Scheduling your ads can be beneficial too, as doing can help you better reach your target audience. For example, if your target audience is busy professionals, it’s probably best to schedule your ads to be displayed after the workday is over.
Negative keywords are keywords that prevent your ads from getting attention. Make a detailed negative keyword list to prevent your ad from being displayed when they’re searched by Internet users.
Keep an eye on your competition to set benchmarks for your marketing strategy.
Install a conversion tracking code to keep a close eye on which keywords get more conversions. This will help make your PPC advertising strategy more precise and cost-effective overall.

Use PPC to Boost Your Crowdfunding Campaign

PPC advertising is a very economical yet effective marketing strategy, especially for crowdfunding campaigns. It fulfills all the crowdfunding marketing requirements in terms of effectiveness and affordability.

Easyship offers helpful shipping and fulfillment solutions for your crowdfunding project. We not only offer shipping solutions, but guide you through every step of your crowdfunding campaign. Easyship also partners with Kickstarter to help you plan your campaign effectively. In addition, you can use our crowdfunding shipping rates calculator to get solutions for both Kickstarter and Indiegogo.