In today’s competitive digital landscape, PPC advertising is a powerful tool for businesses to reach their target audience and drive conversions.
However, simply running PPC campaigns is not enough. To truly maximise return on investment, you must leverage the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to optimise your campaigns. This article will explore strategies and best practices for harnessing AI in PPC campaigns to achieve outstanding results.
Understanding AI-Powered PPC Campaigns
When we look at AI, it’s not just a slew of tools performing tasks — it’s about the outcomes of these actions and the results they deliver.
AI-powered PPC campaigns use sophisticated algorithms and machine learning to automate and optimise your advertising efforts.
However, those “sophisticated” algorithms are automated – the work you put into this process is confined to pressing go or, in a worst-case scenario, configuring the AI to perform the tasks and functions you want it to.
AI can analyse vast amounts of data in real time, and in some cases, it makes data-driven decisions to maximise the effectiveness of your campaigns and improve ROI.
It’s no exaggeration to say that AI is the most powerful technology to hit any industry where data is gold. The winners of the AI revolution will be the businesses that adopt the processes and strategies to leverage its huge potential.
Strategy #1 – Smart keyword research and optimisation
AI can revolutionise keyword research by analysing search volume, competition, user intent, and behaviour.
Advanced AI tools such as Twinword and CopyAI (a writing tool with a great keyword feature) can identify high-converting long-tail keywords and help you understand the context in which users search for your products or services.
If you incorporate these insights into your PPC campaigns, you can craft more relevant and targeted ads, leading to higher click-through rates and conversions.
Strategy #2 – Dynamic ad copy and personalisation
AI-powered platforms enable dynamic ad copy generation by tailoring your ad content based on the user’s search query, demographics, and browsing history.
Anyword is a top tool for creating dynamic ad copy, as is Adcreative.ai and the natural language generation tool Phrasee.
By personalising your ads, you can capture the attention of potential customers and increase the likelihood of engagement. You can utilise AI for content creation and optimise ads for the best-performing combinations to boost your ROI.
Strategy #3 – Real-time bid management
One of the most crucial aspects of PPC campaigns is bid management. AI algorithms can analyse factors such as ad position, historical performance, and competitor bids to optimise your bidding strategy in real-time.
You can harness this feature with Smart Bidding if you run Google ads. This cutting-edge automated bidding strategy harnesses machine learning algorithms to adjust and optimise bidding choices instantly.
Bing has a similar feature called Enhanced CPC, where your bid will go higher on searches more likely to convert and lower on searches less likely to convert. You can, of course, set a minimum and maximum bid.
AI-powered bid management ensures that you’re bidding the right amount for each click, maximising your visibility while minimising costs.
Strategy #4 – Automated ad scheduling
With AI, you can automatically schedule your ads to run during your target audience’s most effective times and days.
Google has this feature backed into its ads, letting you generate real-time bids using data from search, browser and device type, language, and even the time of day. It takes the heavy lifting out of scheduling to make life easier.
AI algorithms can analyse historical data, user behaviour patterns, and conversion rates to identify optimal time slots. By showing your ads at the right time, you can improve visibility, click-through rates, and conversions.
Strategy #5 – Predictive analytics to stay ahead of the curve
AI empowers continuous performance optimisation with predictive analytics, helping you refine PPC campaigns to adapt to trends.
Google is integrating AI into Google Analytics with GA4. GA4 has an AI-driven feature in its latest version – the Insights panel. This resourceful tool uses machine intelligence to detect potential opportunities other data sources may miss.
GA4’s Insights can provide an in-depth analysis of user behaviour, helping you to better understand customer trends and anticipate irregularities.
Additional analytics tools like Adverity can provide insights into trends, predict conversion rates, and optimise bidding practices.
With actionable intelligence from data-driven insights, marketers can allocate budget more efficiently, determine the most profitable keywords to focus on and tweak targeting parameters to generate higher ROI and better campaign performance.
AI algorithms can identify trends, patterns, and anomalies in campaign metrics, enabling you to make data-driven decisions for ongoing improvement.
Strategy #6 – Audience targeting and segmentation
AI can help you segment and target your audience more effectively. By analysing user behaviour, demographics, and browsing history, AI algorithms can identify specific audience segments most likely to convert.
Peak.ai is a fantastic tool for customer segmentation, providing an organised list of customers based on over 35 attributes, including churn, the propensity to purchase, and lifetime value, providing you with actionable data.
Another top AI tool for customer segmentation and targeting is Optimove, which makes customer segmentation easy with clustering analysis.
Its dynamic segmentation approach assesses customer demographic and behavioural patterns and then creates micro-segments with the least variation for each group.
These segments are constantly refreshed, ensuring customers receive the most up-to-date segmentation. You can increase relevance and drive higher conversion rates by targeting these segments with personalised PPC ads.
Be aware of AI’s limitations!
AI will continue to evolve, enhance, and automate various aspects of PPC and digital marketing, but it isn’t a golden bullet.
Algorithms cannot overcome or replace creative ideas that only humans can grasp. This is where the next technological leap will come.
Until then, you need to recognise the following limitations when using AI for PPC:
- Creativity and emotional appeal: AI excels at data analysis and optimisation but lacks human creativity and emotional understanding. Crafting compelling ad copy that resonates with human emotions and triggers a desired response still requires human input and creativity.
- Complex strategy development: While AI can assist in optimising campaign elements, it may need help with complex strategy development. Determining the overarching marketing goals, defining target audiences, and designing comprehensive campaign strategies require human expertise and strategic thinking.
- Contextual understanding: AI algorithms primarily operate based on patterns and data analysis. However, they do not understand contextual nuances, cultural references, and rapidly evolving trends that can impact the effectiveness of ad campaigns. Human marketers are better equipped to interpret the context and make informed decisions accordingly.
- Unpredictable situations: PPC campaigns can encounter unexpected situations, such as sudden market shifts, emerging trends, or crisis events. AI algorithms cannot adapt appropriately to these unforeseen circumstances, as they rely on historical data and predefined patterns. Human marketers are better suited to handle the unpredictable with the ability to think critically.
Closing Thoughts
Integrating AI into your PPC campaigns can provide a significant competitive advantage, enabling you to maximise ROI and drive business growth.
By leveraging AI-powered tools and platforms, you can optimise keyword research, personalise ad copy, manage bids, schedule ads strategically, continuously optimise performance, and refine audience targeting.
Remember, AI is not a replacement for human expertise but a powerful tool that empowers marketers to make more informed decisions and achieve exceptional results.
Use the strategies in this article to embrace the potential of AI-powered PPC campaigns and unlock the full potential of your advertising efforts.
If you like this article, read our piece on using AI chatbots to enhance customer engagement (perfect if you have a customer service department!).
Are you ready to place a dynamic marketing agency at the helm of your LinkedIn marketing execution?
At Creative Marketing Ltd, we have all of the resources that any brand could possibly need to stand out for all of the right reasons. If this is something that you would like to find out more about, you can book a free consultation by scheduling a call with Creative Marketing (NW) Ltd on 01706 495091 or contact us here.
