A paid search campaign is a quick and powerful way to reach your customers and potential customers. With Google Ads and similar programs on other platforms, you can connect your brand and your message with what your customers and potential customers already are searching for and looking at.

Hop on board. Go with them. Consumers today want to partner with brands that care about what they care about and can help them complete what they’re working on and are interested in.

Sounds good, right? It can be. The following tips can help you get the most out of you paid search efforts.

• Do plan first. Before you jump into a paid search campaign, define your goals. Know what you want to accomplish, and research the best ways to reach those goals.
• Don’t use generic keywords in a one-size-fits-all approach. Be specific. Be targeted. Use strong keywords that can steer customers to your specific message and your specific goals.
• Do use the data. One of the great advantages of digital marketing is the vast amount of data it produces. If you’ve used paid search before, start with what already has worked. If not, you likely still have data about how viewers most often find your sites. Build on that information.
• Don’t stop using the data. The internet isn’t static, and neither are your customers. Use A/B testing on your keywords, your headlines, your landing pages and other data points to see what works and what doesn’t. And just because something works today doesn’t mean it will work tomorrow. Keep testing and checking to see if something else could work better.
• Do use negative keywords. It’s not enough to direct your message and pages to words or phrases. Many words have multiple meanings. Use negative keywords to weed out the meanings you’re not interested in.
• Don’t be misleading. It’s never a good idea to be misleading, but with paid search, it can be costly. Attracting more people is not helpful if most are not interested in your message. Instead, be specific and clear, directing your message to the consumers most likely to be interested in what you’re offering.
• Do keep it local. Use geotargeting to direct your efforts to customers in your area.
• Don’t waste your clicks. Make sure your clicks are directed to the proper landing page and that they’re not sent to the wrong page or to your homepage.
• Do maximize your paid search results. Use text from your paid search ads in social media and blog posts to extend the reach of your efforts.