Pay-per-click (PPC) isn’t just “buying traffic.” It’s buying the right moment—the instant someone signals intent. Done well, PPC turns strangers into customers at scale. Done poorly, it burns budget faster than a luxury car at full throttle. This guide breaks down the essential dos and don’ts so you can spend confidently and grow predictably.
What Is PPC Today? (Quick Refresher)
Channels That Matter in 2025
PPC spans more than classic search ads. You’re playing across:
- Search (Google, Microsoft)
- Shopping/Performance Max (ecom)
- Display & Discovery
- YouTube & short-form video placements
- App & Local formats
- Social PPC (Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, X) using objective-based auctions
Why PPC Still Wins
- Speed: Launch and learn quickly.
- Intent: Searchers tell you what they want.
- Control: Budgets, bids, messaging, audiences—dial them in daily.
Adopt the Right Mindset
Test → Learn → Scale
Do: Treat PPC like a lab. Predefine hypotheses, test one lever at a time, and promote winners.
Don’t: Change five variables simultaneously—you won’t know what actually worked.
North-Star Metrics vs. Vanity Metrics
Do: Optimize to profit metrics (MER, ROAS, CAC:LTV).
Don’t: Celebrate clicks or CTR without revenue context.
Account Structure Dos and Don’ts
Thematic Ad Groups vs. SKAGs
Do: Use tightly themed ad groups that share intent and language.
Don’t: Over-fragment into one-keyword ad groups unless volume and ops justify it.
Match Types That Actually Work
Do: Use exact for high-intent control, phrase for reach with discipline.
Don’t: Spray broad match without strong negatives and robust conversion data.
Negative Keywords—Your Silent Profit Lever
Do: Build and maintain shared negative lists (jobs, free, PDF, definition, DIY).
Don’t: Assume the algorithm will “figure it out.” Guardrails save money.
Keyword Strategy Dos and Don’ts
Map Keywords to Intent Buckets
- Learn (informational): “what is…”, “how to…”
- Compare (consideration): “best”, “top”, “vs”
- Buy (transactional): “price”, “near me”, “quote”, “buy”
Do: Align offers and CTAs to the bucket.
Don’t: Send early-stage searches straight to a hard sell.
Branded vs. Non-Branded vs. Competitor
Do:
- Protect brand terms for cheap wins and messaging control.
- Hunt non-brand for scalable growth.
- Probe competitor terms carefully with comparison pages.
Don’t: Judge non-brand too early; it needs testing, negatives, and better landing pages.
Harvesting Search Terms for Growth
Do: Mine the search terms report weekly to add winners (as keywords) and losers (as negatives).
Don’t: Let the report collect dust—this is where the money hides.
Ad Creative Dos and Don’ts
Craft Hooks, Benefits, Proof, CTA
Do: Build ads like micro landing pages:
- Hook: Grab the problem (“Bloated CPCs?”)
- Benefit: “Cut acquisition costs 23–40%”
- Proof: “2,000+ clients, 4.9⭐”
- CTA: “Get Instant Quote”
Don’t: Lead with jargon. Talk like your customer thinks.
Responsive Search Ads & Asset Testing
Do: Write diverse headlines (problem, benefit, proof, CTA, keyword). Pin sparingly unless regulation requires.
Don’t: Duplicate assets. Variety fuels better combinations.
Policy & Compliance Pitfalls
Do: Avoid restricted claims, sensitive categories, or prohibited content.
Don’t: Make unverifiable promises (“cure,” “guaranteed results in 24 hours”) that trigger disapprovals.
Landing Page Dos and Don’ts
Message Match & Offer Clarity
Do: Mirror the exact promise from the ad on the page—headline, visuals, CTA.
Don’t: Dump users on a generic homepage.
Speed, UX, and Forms That Convert
Do:
- Sub-2s load time
- Mobile-first layout
- Friction-less forms (progressive fields, autofill, few required)
Don’t: Ask for 14 fields before trust is built.
CRO Basics You Can’t Ignore
Do: Social proof above the fold, trust badges, risk reversal (free consult, demo, trial).
Don’t: Hide pricing or bury value props below long blocks of text.
Bidding & Budgeting Dos and Don’ts
Smart Bidding the Smart Way
Do: Use automated bidding (tCPA/tROAS) when you have solid conversion volume and clean data.
Don’t: Flip to automation with sparse data—start with Max Clicks/ECPC, then graduate.
Pacing, Caps, and Seasonality
Do:
- Set budgets to avoid early-day throttling.
- Adjust for seasonality/holidays.
- Use campaign experiments for major changes.
Don’t: Judge performance on day one. PPC has learning phases.
Bid Adjustments & Segmentation
Do: Layer devices, locations, hours, audiences.
Don’t: Keep everything flat. Your best segments deserve preferential bids.
Targeting Dos and Don’ts by Network
Search
Do: Tight themes, strong negatives, ad customizers, sitelinks/callouts/structured snippets.
Don’t: Combine unrelated intents in one campaign.
Display & Discovery
Do: Use audience signals (in-market, custom intent, remarketing). Test responsive display assets.
Don’t: Expect last-click ROAS; measure view-through and assisted conversions.
YouTube & Short-Form Video
Do: Hook in 3 seconds, show the product, repeat the CTA, test skippable and in-feed.
Don’t: Post TV-style ads without mobile captions and tight framing.
Tracking & Measurement Dos and Don’ts
Conversion Architecture (Primary vs. Secondary)
Do: Set a primary conversion (sale/qualified lead) and secondary micro-conversions (scrolls, video views, add-to-cart) for diagnostics.
Don’t: Optimize to micro-conversions—they’re signals, not the goal.
First-Party Data, Tags, and UTMs
Do:
- Use server-side tagging where possible.
- Standardize UTMs for every ad.
- Build consent-friendly first-party audiences.
Don’t: Run blind. No tag = no learning.
Attribution & Incrementality
Do: Compare data-driven attribution with geo-tests or holdouts for sanity checks.
Don’t: Rely on last-click to judge upper-funnel channels.
Audience Strategy Dos and Don’ts
Remarketing That Actually Remarkets
Do: Segment by recency and behavior (cart abandoners ≠ blog readers). Tailor offers by heat.
Don’t: Hammer everyone with the same 10% coupon.
Similar/Lookalike Expansion
Do: Seed from your best customers and high-quality leads.
Don’t: Seed from low-intent traffic; you’ll clone the wrong users.
Exclusions That Save Spend
Do: Exclude converters, employees, irrelevant geos, and low-value placements.
Don’t: Pay for clicks that can’t buy or won’t qualify.
Quality Score & Ad Rank—What to Do (and Not)
Do: Improve expected CTR (compelling hooks), ad relevance (tight intent match), and landing page experience (speed + message match).
Don’t: Chase QS for its own sake. The goal is profitable revenue, not a perfect 10/10.
A Simple Creative Testing Framework
- Hypothesis: “Benefit-first headline will lift CTR by 20%.”
- Variant Design: One change per test (headline only).
- Sample Size: Let the test reach significance; avoid mid-flight edits.
- Promotion: Roll out winners to all relevant ad groups.
- Logbook: Track learnings—what worked, where, and why.
Do: Run continuous, bite-sized tests.
Don’t: Pause tests early because one day looked “bad.”
Scaling Without Setting Money on Fire
Do:
- Raise budgets on winners gradually (10–20% steps).
- Clone top campaigns to new geos or devices.
- Add adjacent keywords and higher-intent segments.
- Expand to YouTube/Discovery with remarketing bridges.
Don’t: Triple budgets overnight or broaden targeting without fresh negatives and new landing page variants.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
- No message match: Ad promises one thing, page shows another.
- Too many goals: One campaign tries to sell, educate, and recruit.
- Ignoring mobile: Most clicks are thumb-first; design accordingly.
- Set-and-forget: Markets shift weekly—your bids and creatives must too.
- KPI confusion: Optimizing to CTR when CAC is creeping up.
Niche Notes: Ecommerce, Lead Gen, Local
Ecommerce—Do:
- Feed hygiene (titles, GTIN, images) for Shopping/PMax.
- Bundle and AOV boosters on page.
- New customer value bidding if available.
Ecommerce—Don’t:
- Send all traffic to the homepage.
- Hide shipping/returns—clarity reduces friction.
Lead Gen—Do:
- Qualification on page (who this is for/not for).
- Enrich forms (hidden fields, source, UTM capture).
- Sales feedback loop to mark junk leads.
Lead Gen—Don’t:
- Optimize to raw lead volume—optimize to qualified leads and pipeline.
Local—Do:
- Location extensions, geofenced campaigns, call ads during business hours.
- “Near me” modifiers, local reviews, service areas.
Local—Don’t:
- Target the whole country if you only serve a city.
Compliance & Brand Safety
Do: Understand category rules (finance, health, housing, credit, employment, politics). Keep documentation handy.
Don’t: Run shock creatives, misleading claims, or target sensitive attributes.
Your 90-Day PPC Action Plan
Days 1–7 (Foundation):
- Audit structure, keywords, negatives, and tracking.
- Fix tags, define primary conversions, standardize UTMs.
- Align ads → landing pages → offers.
Days 8–30 (Stabilize & Learn):
- Launch tightly themed campaigns with clear goals.
- Start one creative test per ad group.
- Build remarketing stacks (7/30/90-day windows).
Days 31–60 (Optimize & Expand):
- Promote winners, prune losers.
- Trial smart bidding where conversion volume allows.
- Layer audiences and day-parting.
- Add YouTube/Discovery for awareness + remarketing bridges.
Days 61–90 (Scale):
- Gradual budget increases on proven segments.
- Geo/device expansion.
- New landing page variants.
- Weekly negative harvesting and SQR reviews.
Conclusion
PPC works when every link in the chain—keyword, audience, ad, landing page, and measurement—pulls in the same direction. Get the basics right, test relentlessly, and scale what proves itself. Follow the dos, dodge the don’ts, and your ad spend turns from a cost center into a predictable growth engine.
FAQs
Q1: What budget do I need to start PPC?
A: Enough to reach statistically meaningful results—often a few hundred conversions’ worth over several weeks. If that’s not feasible, narrow your scope to one product, one geo, and one network.
Q2: How long before I see results?
A: Expect a learning period of 2–4 weeks while the algorithm calibrates. Use that time to clean search terms, improve ads, and fix landing pages.
Q3: Should I bid on my brand name?
A: Yes—brand terms are cheap, defend your SERP real estate, and let you control the message (and sitelinks).
Q4: Is broad match dead?
A: Not if you have strong negatives, robust conversion data, and clear goals. Pair it with smart bidding and tight message match.
Q5: What’s the fastest PPC win I can implement today?
A: Align ad copy to landing page headlines (message match), add a punchy value prop + proof above the fold, and harvest negatives from your search terms report.
