Optimising PPC Campaigns For Mobile

According to Google, 49% of smartphone owners search on their smartphones every day so you should really make sure your campaigns are optimised for mobile so you can display ads to these searchers.

Here are some best practices to follow when optimising your paid search activity for mobile.

Create separate campaigns

Separate your mobile campaigns from your desktop search campaigns to help monitor performance and control CPC bids, daily budgets, ads and keywords. People commonly make the mistake of grouping all “new media” together by targeting tablets in their mobile campaigns too, but you should target tablets in your desktop campaigns, or in a separate campaign altogether

Bid competitively

Fewer ads are displayed on mobile devices so you should bid competitively to secure position one or two, otherwise, there is a strong chance your ad will not be seen.

Don’t disregard “research” keywords

It has been argued that people searching on mobiles want to take action rather than research, but statistics from Google suggest otherwise. According to Google, 39% of searches on mobiles result in sales on desktop computers, whilst 24% lead to offline sales. This means you shouldn’t disregard your “research” orientated keywords altogether in favour of only “action” keywords.

Use AdWords sitelink extensions

Google AdWords location extensions and call extensions can be valuable additions to your PPC mobile campaigns, as they can increase click-through rates and make your ads more prominent in the search results. Location extensions are used to display your address below your ad so that people searching on their mobile can find you and get directions. Remember to only use location extensions if you have a physical business address though! Call extensions display a click-to-call phone number below your ad so that mobile searchers can call you quickly from the search results without even landing on your website.

Use appropriate call-to-action in your ads

Remember that your ads will be appearing on mobile phones so consider using call-to-actions like “call today” and “speak to us” rather than “buy online”. You don’t need to include a phone number in your ad if you are using AdWords phone extensions as your phone number will appear below your ad automatically.

Optimise landing pages for mobile

Your landing pages should ideally be optimised for mobile devices with clear and concise information, visible phone numbers and large buttons to make navigation easier for people with touch screens. Google’s “Get Mo Meter” is a useful tool for assessing how your website looks on mobile phones.

Assign unique phone numbers

If you have more than one phone number, it would be useful to assign a different number to your mobile campaigns so you can track the number of phone calls they are generating. This will also help you monitor the average value of phone sales compared to the average value of your desktop and offline sales.

If you need help setting up and managing your PPC mobile campaigns then we can help you - get in touch with us today.