PPC may be something that you have never heard of, but it will generate your machine shop more business if done correctly. After reading this you will have an understanding of what PPC is, and how it can affect your machine shop.

What Is PPC

PPC stands for Pay-Per-Click advertising, meaning you pay a small fee each time someone clicks on your machine shops ad. The image below is a screenshot of what Google found for the search query cnc precision machine shop.

Note the top three results, and the two on the right hand side. These are the results of a PPC campaign. You can also see bolded words within the appearing PPC ads matching my search terms, and that they all contain each of the words I searched. This exact keyword matching is what will allow your machine shop to specifically target a niche. More specific niche searches are more likely to convert to customers rather than someone searching a broad term for informative purposes.

Keyword planning is the most important factor when creating a successful PPC campaign for your machine shop. Google provides tools to allow you to view the frequency of searched terms and phrases. I suggest hiring an expert to develop a keyword plan with you, but if you want to try for yourself Google Adwords is where to begin. I suggest following the acronym – CNC – for your research.

C

Constantly refine, research and update your search keywords. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes and think about what they would be searching for prior to making a purchase.

N

Not only niche, meaning, less common searched for terms could still be effective and prevents your machine shop from leaving money on the table.

C

Cost, Google charges you based on the competition for a particular word or phrase. You may want to make some adjustments to like terms, which in turn allows for more clicks for your budget, and more clicks equals more sales.

I also want you to look over the wording and appearance of each ad from the above search query. Determine which machine shop looks most fitting based on what I searched for. This PPC ad setup and layout is something I suggest leaving to an expert, getting serious buyers to click is what matters most.

The video below provides further explanation of PPC if necessary.

They Clicked The PPC Ad, Now What

Your machine shop was spotted by your exact target customer, they clicked your PPC ad, but what happens next? Based on the above search I decided to click on an ad, the image below shows where this led me.

This is called a landing page. Notice how this page is setup with basic information pertaining to my search, while including a call to action that gives this machining company a direct warm lead to a client whom is looking for a quote.

These landing pages are another essential piece of the successful PPC campaign pie. They are the difference between gaining a customer and having an individual exit your website.

3 Important Reasons Your Machine Shop Needs PPC

1. Niche customers ready to buy will see you at the top of Google. They know what they are looking for, and your machine shop matched their search exactly. Sale complete, and both parties are happy.

2. You can create multiple campaigns to match multiple specialties and the industries they service. Each ad is custom tailored to a particular need and a landing page can be made for each as well. This level of professionalism sets you apart, sale complete, and both parties are happy.

3. Easiest way to measure ROI. You set your budget, which determines the amount of clicks, not appearances (these appearances even if not clicked, build your machine shops brand). You can track or have your outside help track how many leads are coming from each campaign. This allows for agile investing into effective PPC campaigns.

Summary

I want you to keep in mind that all strategies should be focused on gaining a greater profit for your machine shop. Many people get lost in just seeing an increase in traffic to their website. A PPC campaign is one of the most effective strategies, and possibly the most effective as you begin your digital efforts. This is due to its immediate effect, while SEO takes time. If you are interested in launching a complete long-term campaign, click here; but if you would like to start smaller, click here. Thank you for your time and I hope you gained a better understanding of this strategy and its importance.