PPC Marketing Checklist

4 things to consider when creating a search marketing plan.

Choose PPC media on value, not CPC.
Don't think about your campaigns in cost per click (CPC) terms. If it costs the same to buy 100 clicks at one search engine as it does to buy 1,000 at another, it's tempting to choose the traffic. However, you should buy clicks based on value. The same keyword can generate much higher revenue on one engine than another, for no apparent reason.

The only metric that really matters is sales.
When conversions are difficult or impossible to trace, it's tempting to focus on something you can measure, such as brand awareness or some other "brand lift" metric. However, brand lift should ultimately lead to sales. Only brand lift among potential buyers will correlate with sales; otherwise you're wasting money.

Your media plan must be flexible--don't fall in love with an engine or position.
If you bid with emotions rather than data, you won't make good decisions. An emotional bid is when your CEO insists that "we need to own that term" no matter what. When competitors all bid emotionally, only the search engines win.

Spend carefully and don't assume.
Invest your budget as carefully as you can, and actively question the person signing the checks. Don't assume you know all the objectives of the marketing budget if you haven't asked. Senior executives tend to expect you to read their minds. Don't fall into that trap, and don't ask how I know.