How do you maximize the performance of your paid search marketing? The best place to start is by setting SMART PPC goals.

Not having a clear destination is okay when you are on vacation and trying to be spontaneous. The same approach would not work with your marketing strategy, especially PPCs.

PPC advertising looks simple at first glance --- choose the right keywords, write your ad, then let it do its thing. But the truth is that the process is much more complicated, and it is very easy to make mistakes.

Given the cost of PPC ads, you need to be extra careful about how you launch your campaign. This will allow you to get the most out of every marketing dollar that you spend.

What Does Having SMART PPC Goals Mean?

SMART is a concept that helps marketers set clear and achievable goals. It means different things for different people, but the acronym stands for:

• Specific - a goal must be distinct and well-defined
• Measurable - the success criteria are quantifiable
• Achievable - the target results are realistic
• Relevant - your campaign must be aligned with your goals
• Timely - important milestones and deadlines are set

To demonstrate, some of the business goals that you commonly hear are to increase traffic or to build brand awareness.

While they all sound reasonable, they are not very actionable. No insight is offered into how you will attract more visitors to your website or build better branding.

In comparison, a SMART goal would look something like this:

• Increase traffic to the website by 15% within four months by investing in $4,000 worth of PPC ads in Google
• Increase the number of ad impressions by 25% for Campaign A within the next three months

While you are basically saying the same things, you added key elements that can guide you moving forward.

Why Is It Important to Have SMART Goals?

Being SMART about setting your PPC goals comes with a long list of benefits.

First, it sets the tone for the entire company from the very start as the goals are clear to all members of the organization. Everyone knows which way the campaign is going, and all efforts from that point on will be devoted to heading to that destination.

Second, it allows you to be more focused on allocating your resources, helping you avoid unnecessary losses. You do not have to waste time and money pursuing one direction that turns out to conflict with your goals.

Lastly, there are parameters in place that let you know how your ads are performing relative to the goals and timeline that you set.

You will know right away that you need more high-quality content if your visitors are not spending enough time on your pages or that you have to tweak your keywords if you are getting clicks but not generating leads.

It gives you the chance to be proactive about making critical adjustments if there are any gaps.

Warning Signs to Look Out For

One of the biggest draws of SMART goals is that they are, by definition, achievable. Red flags will be raised if your current performance does not align with your goals, giving you the opportunity to make timely adjustments. Here are some things to look out for:

Poor Conversion Rate

Conversion is one of the biggest indicators of how well your PPC campaign is performing. If your ads are generating leads, but sales are still down, it points to a fundamental problem in your campaign.

There are many possible reasons behind the poor conversion rate. You might have a competitor who reduced prices drastically, or it simply is a slow season. However, the most common cause of failure to convert is the ad campaign itself.

High CPA and Low ROI

Cost per acquisition and return on investment say a lot about a PPC ad campaign. If your CPA is too high and the return on investment is low, there is probably a problem with your account.

It could mean you are either bidding too high or too low. It is also a sign that your account structure is a bit outdated.

Low Click-Through-Rate

Paid ads like PPCs are designed, first and foremost, to attract clicks. The ratio of the number of impressions to the number of times your ad is clicked is the click-through rate or CTR.

On its own, a high CTR is not indicative of success. At the end of the day, converting as many of those clicks into profit is the end goal. A low CTR, on the other hand, means that your ads are not doing their jobs.

The good thing about paid search marketing is that you can always make the necessary changes even if the campaign is already in full swing.

Add the fact that you can set SMART goals and review them as you go along, and you have a flexible marketing strategy that can help generate traffic and boost sales.