10 Google Ads Pay Per Click Best Practices for your small business in Kenya

Google Ads in Kenya just like the globe is something that all businesses look to implement or are already implementing for their small business websites.

Using Google Ads pay-per-click (PPC) for your business in Kenya as an option is a smart way to get your website in front of potential clients and drive up traffic without spending more money than you can afford.

If you choose to invest a portion of your small business for paid Google Ads in Kenya, then you want to make sure you get the best ROI from it.

Creating effective Google Ads PPC  campaign is not not a walk in the park as easy as it may seem in fact,  it requires in-depth knowledge of your target audience and what makes them tick.

This is where it may be beneficial to enlist the help of a Digital Marketing  agency in Kenya.

If you want to develop profitable advertising campaigns, you need to know the basics. When it comes to getting the best results for your PPC campaign, understanding some clever tips can make a big difference.

In this article, we share 10 Google Ads PPC best practices for your small business in Kenya, that we’ve discovered can assist to maximize performance and drive quality leads. 

A brief overview of Google Pay-Per-Click (PPC)

PPC as is commonly known is a model of internet marketing in which advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked according to word stream. Essentially, it’s a way of buying visits to your site, rather than attempting to “earn” those visits organically 

Google Ads on the hand is the single most popular PPC advertising system in the world. The Ads platform enables businesses to create ads that appear on Google’s search engine and other Google properties

The 10 Google Ads PPC best Practices for Small business website in Kenya

1. Relevant Keyword Research

Google Ads  platform employs a bidding model, this means that how much you spend for each click you get depends on how competitive the keyword you choose is. If you stick with broad and more popular key phrases in your campaigns, you risk spending a more investment  for less qualified leads.

The most important aspect of PPC is to undertake keyword research. Consider the following during this process;

• The keywords people are most commonly using
• How popular specific keywords are
• How competitive each keyword is

Always go for long-tail keywords as they offer more qualified leads, less expensive to bid for and less traffic to rank for.

2. Get your target audience right

For effectiveness, Google ads PPC must be targeted to a specific audience. Always make sure to identify the people most likely to buy your product or service in Kenya. Otherwise, you’re just taking blind shot in the dark.

The first thing to consider when creating a PPC ad campaign is to identify the need or problem that your audience has and how your product or service can help them.

With that information, you can write persuasive copy that will convince them to consider your product or service.

3. Embrace Negative Keywords

Negative keywords allow you to highlight terms you do not want to show from your ad, making sure your website doesn’t appear when searchers browse for associated information. i.e. A user is looking for Pilau recipes, and so searches for ‘homemade Pilau recipe’ Your restaurant  ad appears, alongside a range of Pilau recipes.

The user may click on your Ad but with no intention of buying from you thus spending your Ad money with no returns on the click.

4. Enhance use of Call to Action (CTAs)

You don’t just want people to see your ads, you want them to take action (specifically, the action of clicking on the link).  Make them take action by influencing them to act.

include calls to action like:

•       Click here
•       Learn more
•       Buy now
•       Sign up today
•       Get started

5. Reach the Right People With Targeting Options

Other than the keyword targeting already which we covered initially, Google offers more  additional targeting options:

• Geographic targeting
• Interest targeting 
• Device targeting 
• Demographic targeting 
• Behavior targeting 

These targeting options give you more control over who will see your ads when, so you can better achieve the marketing goal of reaching the right person at the right moment with your ad.

6. Consider Ads Extensions

Your goal is to not overdo it on extensions as you  risk having them become a distraction from the main goal of the ad that is to getting people to click.

But you can use them strategically when they add something valuable as a way to increase clicks and conversions.

There are a number of different possible extensions, but some of the common options to consider are:

• Sitelink extensions – You can include additional links in your ad to other pages on your website beyond the main link.
• Location extensions – useful for local businesses, you can add your address to an ad.
• Call extensions – This adds your phone number to your ad.
• App extensions – If you offer an app, this can add a download button to your ad on mobile devices.
• Callout extensions – You can add a few relevant details that you think are big selling points, such as “Free Shipping” or “Family Owned”
• Price extensions – Just like it sounds, you can include a product price directly in your ad.
• Promotion extensions – These include the details of a deal you’re offering.

7. Settle for the Right Bid

Before you even start, determine how much money you will spend for each click on your PPC ad. This helps you keep a daily budget, the position of your ad on search networks, and how many impressions you’ll drive from third-party websites.

In a nutshell, the different bidding strategies are best used for different for different end goals. 

• CPA (cost per acquisition): Designed for those looking to maximize their website conversions
• CPC/CPV (cost per click/view): Ideal for optimizing the cost you wish to pay per click or view on your ads or videos
• CPM (cost per mile/one thousand impressions): Is best for maximizing impressions of your ad and boosting visibility
• Maximize Clicks: A useful way to get the most out of a limited budget for individual clicks on an ad

8. Always undertake an A/B Testing for your Ad

As good as you may be, no one can fully pinpoint how their Ad is going to perform, and for this reason its great to always partake an A/B Testing to see how your Ad responds to its setup. 

Try out ads for the same link that have slightly different wording, or a different CTA, or that use a different extension. Pay attention to the difference in performance 

9. Retarget by Keywords

Users who visit your site, don’t purchase on the first visit right away. There is nothing totally wrong with this, they usually take multiple steps before settling on a product.

The fact that they visited your landing page or website is an indication that they’re interested in your offer. If you use retargeting methods, you can continually keep your product or service top of mind. 

10. Monitor and Update Your Campaigns Regularly

Google analytics delivers valuable PPC metrics that you can use to learn what techniques work best for your target audience. Always make sure to take time to review that data and learn from it. tweak your campaigns on a regular as you go based on what you’ve learned.

To sum up, while organic result are recommended, rather than waiting for an organic search to start driving traffic to your business, generate results more quickly by setting up a PPC ad on the Google Ads platform or with Facebook Ads.

PPC can be powerful if you take time to learn the ropes and do it well. Start by learning the general best practices outlined here, but continue by learning from the data you glean from your own campaigns.