For some marketers, especially B2B companies, the holidays may be a time of year when things slow down, which can be the perfect opportunity to thoroughly cleanse your PPC account and get it to deliver more bang for your buck. On the heels of my blog post on landing page optimization, here are 10 ways to make your PPC campaign more profitable.

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1. Make changes that matter.


Don’t just look for what is not performing well in your campaign, look for areas that would have a big impact on your ROI if it were working better. See what campaigns and ad groups within each campaign represent the greatest share of your overall paid search budget.

Once you’ve identified the most critical areas of your campaign to optimize, start by taking a look at your Quality Score. Improving it will help you reduce your cost-per-click in relation to the position of your ads. This involves looking at each keyword’s CTR, associated ads and taking some of the following steps:

2. Create better targeted ad groups.


Look through your ad groups to find keywords with low Quality Score or low CTR and see what ads are showing up for them. Consider placing these keywords in another ad group with ads that are more relevant. In the case of broad match keywords, use the “See Search Terms” report to find some common queries you are getting clicks for. If some of the keywords that often get clicks are relevant to you, consider using them as a phrase or exact match in the same or new ad group.

Besides using the “See Search Terms” report to better target relevant keywords, use it also add to list of keywords that you do not want to target.

3. Curate your negative keyword lists.


Add negative keywords to your list so that your ads show for more relevant searches. You can find these in the “See Search Terms” report.

4. Use broad match modifiers.

If you have not done so already, add the new broad match modifier to your ad groups. This type of matching is more flexible than phrase and exact match while doing a better job of targeting than broad match. Bid on this match type higher than you would on broad match, and lower than phrase and exact match.

Your CTR does not only rely on your keywords, so it’s important that your ads get users to click.

5. Test your ads.


Look for ways to make your ads stand-out against your competition and test different ideas. Let ads compete against each other and gather sufficient data before eliminating one or more ads. When you come across a test result in one ad group, consider applying what you learned to other ad groups.

Everything I’ve listed so far is primarily meant to increase your CTR. But what about making sure that each click is the best click you can get?

6. Filter out unwanted clicks.


Provide information in your ad copy that will deter your most common unwanted customers. For example, if your services start at $5,000, consider using that in your ad copy. This may go against our strategy of increasing our CTR, but its benefits may outweigh the loss by increasing the value of each click.

7. Use match types to control bids.

Look at broad match keywords that are consuming a lot of your budget, without delivering the goods in the form of conversions. Consider reducing your bids on some of those broader keywords and increase bids on phrase and exact match keywords that are delivering good results.

8. Show ads at the right time.


After doing some preliminary testing by showing ads throughout the day and days of the week, configure your bidding schedule to get your ads more attention when it counts.

I’ve covered most things leading up to the click. Now let’s look at what to do about what visitors see after they click on your ad.

9. Improve device targeting.

Make sure that if you are targeting mobile devices that you are sending traffic to a mobile-friendly page and that this mobile traffic is in a separate campaign from your desktop computer targeting.

10. Conduct landing page optimization.

Work on continually improving the conversion rate of your landing pages. At the end of the day, no matter how cheaply you can generate traffic to your website by improving Quality Score or how well you can filter out unwanted clicks, if your pages are not focused on turning each visitor into a client, then you will always be spinning your tires in the mud. If you need a few tips to get you started, check out 84 Tips For A Killer Landing Page Design.

Below is a demonstration of the effects of conversion optimization on ROI:

The Importer Exporter Code, or IEC in short, is normally required by manufacturers and companies for international trade but with this new RBI ruling, the hundreds and thousands of freelancers, programmers, web designers and small companies who depend on PayPal for foreign payment will also have to apply for an IE code.

How to Get an Importer Exporter Code Number?

IEC is a simple 10 digit code that is issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and it looks something like this. I talked to a cousin who exports builders’ hardware to US and Europe and here’s what he told me on how one can apply for an Import Export Code Number.

The IEC application form is available for download on dgft.gov.in – just search for “Application Form for Issue Importer Exporter Code Number (IEC)” or use this direct link. You may also procure the the form from any of the regional offices of Director General of Foreign Trade.

Filling the form should be easy and you can skip Section C since its only for people who already have an IEC number. You’ll need a bank certificate, your PAN card copies, date of birth certificate and a Demand Draft of Rs 250 (please cross-check since the fee structure may have changed) drawn in favor of DGFT.

Once you’ve all the required documents, you can submit the application in person to your regional DGFT office or it can be sent through snail mail (like registered Speed Post). Just like the Passport application, you’ll be given a File Number and you may use it to check the current status of your application on dgft.gov.in.

If you are curious to know more, check this handbook [PDF] from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India that talks in details about the various procedures, restrictions and Foreign trade policies.

How Long Does It Take to Get an IEC Number?

My cousin says that it took him about a week to get the IEC number and that the certificate was delivered to his address via registered post.

The IEC number is valid for life and so its just a one-time effort.

Is there a shortcut?

Unlike Passports, there’s no tatkal scheme for getting IEC numbers quickly.

That said, there are Import Export agents in every city (just search for “Import Export Code Consultants <your city name>”) that can help you in getting the IEC code for a fee but am not sure if you really need their service.

Export Code Number and your PayPal Profile

PayPal, according to an email that they have sent to all account holders in India, will add a new “Exporter Code” field on their website and once you fill that code, you’ll be able to withdraw funds from PayPal to your bank account in India.

The new field is not there yet but it should be up by March 3rd.