Pay-per-click advertising can be a gold mine of opportunity when implemented correctly. Unfortunately, far too many business owners jump into PPC advertising without a clear understanding of best practices. It’s only when advertising dollars have evaporated they realize they’re doing something wrong. To ensure your PPC ads achieve desired results without emptying your bank account, incorporate the following 10 advertising tips into your growth strategy:

1) PPC ads should advise customers how you are going to help solve their issues. If you focus on selling, your ads aren’t going to attract clicks. Customers want to know the benefits they’ll receive by interacting with your company; they don’t want a hard-sell listing all of your product/service features.

2) For increased click rates consider offering a special deal or discount offering. Today’s online buyers are savvy; they’ll abandon items in a shopping cart on your site just so your re-targeting ads will offer a discounted price or free shipping. Don’t try to capture consumer interest via re-targeting; offer them a fabulous deal up front and turn them into brand ambassadors.

3) If you hope to increase your PPC return on investment, your PPC ads need to be more specific than search engine results. Give consumers a reason to click on your advertisement instead of a generic search engine result. Tailor your ads to specific types of purchasers instead of being overly broad in your approach.

4) PPC traffic should always be forwarded to a specific landing page on your site and not to your home page. Don’t waste a potential customer’s time by making them search your site for the product/service they are interested in purchasing. Combining PPC ads with custom landing pages is an excellent way to skyrocket your ROI.

5) If you are using PPC advertising to attract customers, don’t send them running in the opposite direction by inundating them with pop-up ads. Nothing ticks off a customer more than having to close pop-up ads before they’ve even scrolled half-way down your landing page. Offer a pop-up ad as customers are leaving your website but don’t bombard them with annoying ads while they’re contemplating a purchase.

6) Your PPC offers should always be up-to-date. You can lose a potential customer permanently by enticing them with an expired offer. Review your ads on a consistent basis to make sure all product and price offerings are correct.

7) Audience demographic research is essential for PPC success. Seniors don’t want to be targeted with ads more appropriate for a millennial audience. University students aren’t going to respond to retirement ads. Unless you like the idea of throwing away your advertising dollars, understanding your target audience is crucial.

8) Pay attention to your advertising analytics to understand what time of the day your ads are achieving the highest click-through rate. There’s no sense wasting your money on ads that aren’t performing. Adjust your PPC schedule to ensure your ads are running at times appropriate to your target audience.

9) A growing number of ad clicks are coming from mobile devices. Make sure you are offering responsive landing page when a visitor clicks through from a mobile device. Offering responsive landing pages should be a design basic but you would be surprised how many pay-per-click advertisers fail to make this simple adjustment.

10) Ad frequency capping is another factor PPC advertisers should be aware of. If a customer has already made a purchase from your site, they don’t want to be retargeted for the next three months. The same theory applies to shoppers who failed to make a purchase; re-targeting the same uninterested buyer isn’t going to magically turn them into a loyal customer. Cap your re-targeting efforts to ensure you don’t make enemies of website visitors who might someday purchase from your company.

These are just a few simple ways PPC advertisers can boost their ROI. Pay attention to the factors that infuriate consumers and adjust your outreach efforts accordingly. Will you be incorporating any of these tips for PPC advertisers into your brand building efforts?