People love the word free. Especially if it doesn’t cost them anything. But can you make free offers through pay per click advertising and make those free offers pay? The experts say Yes. And we agree.
You have to be willing to stick your neck out a little bit and give something away before you ask to receive. But you can do it. There are some strategies for making the free offer pay – even through pay per click advertising.
First, you want to make sure that you use the word “free” in your PPC ad title and your description. But the word free by itself isn’t a good keyword. It has to be associated with something: free download, free e-book, free shipping. Something. And it needs to be associated with a keyword related to your niche: free marketing book, free gardening download, free shipping on nuts and bolts. You get the drift.
Follow these guidelines for making free offers through PPC advertising that lead to increased sales and ROI:
- Use the word free in your ad and on your landing page
- Use Free in association with an offer that can’t be refused
- Free is not a keyword, but you can associate with a keyword – and you should
- Optimize your ad and your landing page around the same niche-related keyword
- Use your landing page to capture contact information BEFORE you give your freebie away
- Follow up with every lead often with offers that are irresistible
When you give something away for free you’ve got to do so with the idea that you will follow up with them and offer a for sale item that they can’t refuse. If you get enough sales from your follow messages then your pay per click campaign will pay for itself despite giving away stuff for free.
