4 PPC Advertising SG Trends To Keep Up With In 2024

The dynamic digital landscape of Singapore has opened doors for PPC advertising SG to flourish as a tool among businesses. Through this, businesses are able to boost their online visibility and reach their potential customers with the use of keywords. 

As PPC strategies continue to change, let’s take a look at the trending practices and how to boost them to compete in today’s time. Here are some of the recent PPC advertising strategies you can use in 2024:

4 PPC Advertising SG Trends in 2024

In 2023, Google reported that companies earn an average ROI of $2 for every $1 they spend on PPC advertising. When it comes to running a PPC campaign, however, you need to earn the best possible ROI. One way you can achieve that is by utilising the latest PPC trends in your strategy. 

Here are some of the recent strategies you can use: 

1. The Importance of Keywords and Keyword Research

A successful PPC campaign fundamentally relies on targeting the right keywords. These are the terms or phrases that you would want your ad to show up for on a search.

They help determine when and where your ads will appear, directly impacting your ad’s visibility and potential engagement. 

Determining which relevant keywords to select calls for effective keyword research.

Keywords and Search Queries: How Do They Differ?

In online marketing, people interchangeably use the terms “keywords” and “search queries.” But there is a huge difference between these terms and how they are used in creating a PPC campaign. 

Photo Credit: Hubspot

Keywords: Since these terms are the foundation of your PPC campaign, they should be carefully researched. These are the phrases or terms that you’d want your ad to appear on when a potential customer does a search on Google or another search engine. 

Tip: When picking out keywords, consider the words that potential customers would look for when searching for your business. For example, a shoe store would use keywords like “men’s shoes”, “shoes for women”, or “running shoes”.

After identifying your keywords, you can create ads relevant to them. Make sure to include the keyword in your ad text. Once someone searches for one of the keywords you used, your ad will appear so be careful in picking out the right keywords related to your products and services. 

Search Queries: On the other hand, a search query is the actual term that people are typing on the search box. They can either be general terms (e.g. “shoes”) or very specific words that use multiple words (e.g. “where to buy men’s shoes online”). 

These words do not necessarily need to be the same as the keyword you use, but can be related to it. 

What are the Different Types of Keywords Used in Search Queries?

When coming up with keywords for your PPC advertising campaign, always consider the search intent of the keywords. The four classifications of search intent keywords used in queries include: 

• Informational: This is a type of keyword that searchers use when they’re trying to look for information or a specific answer. They usually include terms like “what is”, “how to”, “best way to”, and many others. These keywords don’t necessarily lead to a purchase but to gain knowledge. Examples: “How to fix broken pipe” or “Best way to get more views on your site”.
• Navigational: When a user already knows where they want to go but uses search engine to find the official website. Examples: “YouTube homepage”, “Facebook login”, or “MediaOne website”.
• Transactional: The users who use transactional keywords are usually ready to convert and make a purchase. Their searches typically include terms like “buy”, “discount”, or “offers”. Examples: “discounted laptops”, “Netflix signup”, “buy new dog cage”.
• Commercial Investigation: Unlike transactional keywords, these keywords are used when a searcher is considering a purchase but is not yet ready to convert. They are still at the stage of knowing more about the specs and features. Examples: “best SEO agency in Singapore”, “iPhone 15 vs iPhone 15 Pro”, or “top wireless keyboards”. 

Understanding these types of keywords will allow you to properly categorise the search queries you need to include in your ad group. 

Understanding Keyword Match Types for Your PPC Campaign

Photo Credit: WordStream

Keywords are treated differently in a PPC campaign and SEO. Since you’re bidding on keywords in a PPC campaign, you will need to be specific with the keyword match type to use. With an average cost per click of $2.69 for search ads on Google Ads, you’ll need to be careful in choosing the keywords to use. 

Photo Credit: WordStream

Keyword match types tell Google the scope of search queries that your ads would appear on. The potential reach and relevance of your paid search will depend on the type of keyword match type you use. 

Meanwhile in SEO, these match types don’t affect organic rankings. 

The three keyword match types are:

• Broad Match: The search query must be related to the keyword you choose, e.g. a search query of “buy black bag” may bring up an ad with the keyword: black bag or Chanel black bag (because it’s one of the brands you offer).
• Phrase Match: The search query must include the meaning of your keyword, e.g. a search query of “buy black bag” may bring up an ad with the keyword: “black purse for women”. 
• Exact Match: The search query must match the meaning of your keyword, e.g. a search query of “buy black bag” may bring up an ad with the keyword: [black bag]. 

Photo Credit: PPCHero

How Do Match Types Affect Your PPC Campaign?

Match types play a vital role in the performance of your account. They allow you to control the search queries you will be bidding on. 

When it comes to using match types for your keywords, you should consider these things:

• Performance to Date: How has the keyword previously performed along with other similar keywords? This will give you an insight into the match type that will provide the best ROI.
• Competitors: How have your rival brands performed on these keywords? Take into consideration how they bid on certain terms and create a structure for their accounts. 
• Ad text and account structure: How do your competitors structure their account? This can play an important impact on how well the match types perform.
• Bids: How much is the Cost per click and Cost per conversion? Other advertisers often use a strategy to manipulate bids by bidding frequently on the match type.

It’s important to choose the right match type so you can reach your target audience without spending unnecessarily on clicks that aren’t relevant to your business. You also need to know what negative keywords are so you can exclude these in your strategy. 

What are Negative Keywords?

Unlike SEO, using the wrong keywords can hurt your budget. Imagine spending all of your PPC budget on a keyword for a product you do not cater. 

For example, you are selling mobile accessories on your website, however, you do not offer chargers or headphones. If people are searching for these two products, you do not want your ad to show up in their searches so you don’t waste your clicks. 

You can address this by creating a negative keyword, which are essentially, keywords you would not want to serve ads for. While you’ll know some of these keywords upfront, you’ll get to determine others after seeing how your campaign is performing. 

How to Add Negative Keywords to Your Ad Group

Once you’ve identified the negative keywords in your campaign, the next step is to add it to your ad group. Follow these steps:

1. On Google Ads, choose the ad group you intend to add negative keywords to. 
2. In the ad group settings, go to Keywords > Negative Keywords. 
3. Add your negative keywords, making sure they are in the correct format. Separate each with a line break or a comma.
4. Save your changes.

Take this example: 

A pedodontist is offering general teeth cleaning and extraction services specialising in kids below 6 years old. Their clinic, based in Chinatown, should exclude these keywords: 

• dentist in jurong east
• cosmetic dentistry in singapore
• braces for adult in singapore
• best dentist for veneers in singapore

Although the traffic from these searches would be good exposure for the business, they will add up to the clicks that the ad serves. These searches are considered irrelevant traffic since they are services that the dentist is not offering.  

Best Practices in Using Keywords for PPC 

The trick to the effective use of keywords in PPC advertising is to follow these practices: 

1. Use a keyword tool like Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool or Google Keyword Planner to look for the right keywords for your ad campaign. 

Photo Credit: Semrush Blog

1. Build a comprehensive keyword list based on key metrics like search intent, keyword difficulty, volume, and average CPC per keyword.
2. Choose keywords that have a balance between affordability and popularity.

The goal is to reach the right audience, not the largest one.

2. Use Long-Tail Keywords

Image from Visual.ly

81% long tail search terms account for the remaining 81.5 percent of search traffic. These are more specific and usually contain three or more words. They usually target a niche audience who have a higher intent to purchase yet have lower search volume. 

From a PPC standpoint, this gives you an advantage of having lower competition but with a higher click-through rate (CTR) and lower cost-per-click (CPC).  

Some examples of a long-tail keyword include:

• “best tech gadgets for working from home”
• “healthy low carb recipes for dinner”
• “home workout routine 10 minutes”
• “child-friendly restaurants in singapore”
• “seo companies singapore”

How to Find Long-Tail Keywords

Here are some tips on how to find long-tail keywords to use for your PPC campaign:

Google Search

Google Search is a free tool that you can use to look for long-tail keywords that people are using. You can find these through:

• People Also Ask: This is an excellent section on the Google Search Results page that gives you insight on the related search terms people use. 
• Autocomplete: On the Search field, try to type a keyword and wait for Google to populate it with some suggestions. 
• Related Searches: On the bottom of the Google Search Results page, you’ll find searches related to yours. 

Google Trends

Another free tool that Google offers for keyword and topic research is Google Trends. You can find long-tail keywords here by:

1. Look at the trending topics
2. Compare the keywords and their trends over time
3. Look for related topics on Google

Google Keyword Planner

Image Credit: Search Engine Journal

Thirdly, Google has another tool that can help you in finding long-tail keywords for your PPC campaign. Use these steps on Google Keyword Planner:

1. Enter a topic
2. Search through the related keyword options

Google Keyword Planner will also give you important keyword metric data such as CPC and search volume. 

Free/Paid Keyword Research Tools

Image Credit: WordStream

If you find that the above platforms aren’t doing it for you, you can use free and paid Keyword Research tools to help you out:

• SEMrush
• Ahrefs
• KeywordTool.io
• WordStream

3. Make the Most of Your Ad Extensions

Google created its tools for a reason. And part of that is to help you in your ad campaign. Take for example Google Ads extensions (or “assets”), an undervalued tool that can provide your searchers with valuable information related to your business. 

Not only do they help make your ads look good, they also allow you to take up more visual space on a search results page. They have also been known to increase CTR by 10-15%.

12 Types of Google Ad Extensions 

While there are 12 types of Google Ad extensions, they are classified under two categories: 

• Automated: Google Ads generates these ad extensions with information from your site.
• Manual: You can manually set up these ad extensions. 

The 12 types of Google Ad extensions are:

1. Sitelink Extensions

Image Credit: SingleGrain

Use sitelink extensions to add extra links to your website to improve your CTR. This extension can be automated or added manually. If you choose the latter, you can choose the specific URLs you wish to include following this format:

• Sitelink Text: Clickable text of your link
• Description 1 and 2: Describe your page in up to two lines of text with a 25-character limit on each line
• Final URL: Page URL you are linking to
• Tracking Template (Optional): Add any URL to send data to the tracking service you use
• Final URL Suffix (Optional): For tracking purposes, a suffix will be appended to the URL

Best pages to include in your sitelink extensions:

• FAQ 
• Product Category pages
• Contact Us 
• Pricing 
• Testimonials/Review

Google Ads lets you include up to six sitelinks (desktop ads) and eight sitelinks (mobile ads). You also need to point these extensions to your own domain. 

2. Callout Extensions

Image Credit: Semrush

You can add callout extensions if you would like to highlight specific information, like an ongoing promotion, sales, or free shipping. Since they are displayed right after your description text, they look like they’re part of it. 

This extension can be set up manually or automated by Google Ads. If you choose manually, you can include up to 10 callout extensions per ad with up to 25 characters for each one. 

Best practices:

• Avoid repeating information already on your ad description
• Offer other relevant information, such as your unique selling point

3. Location Extensions

This extension lists down the physical address of your business on the search results page. Once you add this extension, Google Ads automatically populates the information based on the location you provide in your Google Ads account. 

When a user clicks on the address, they will be redirected to Google Maps to see how far your business is.

4. Call Extensions

Image Credit: SingleGrain

Google Ads’ call extensions allow users to tap on the number on the ad and call your business directly, especially if they are using a mobile device. If your audience is using a desktop computer, the extension will be displayed next to your URL. 

Businesses that rely on call conversions can make the most out of this extension since it allows users to place a call right away. Google Ads counts each click on the phone number as an ad click and charges these.

5. Price Extensions

Image Credit: Semrush

Price extensions are recommended for an ecommerce site since it allows you to add the price to your product ads. 

You can display up to eight pricing cards per ad. 

6. Promotion Extensions

Image Credit: WordStream

If you are running a store promotion or sale, you can attract your target audience through this ad extension. The extension allows you to add up to two lines of copy, which will be displayed below your ad. 

This extension can be set up on the specific dates or days you are running the offer. On days when the offer is inactive, it will be hidden.  

7. Seller Ratings Extensions

Image Credit: SearchEngineJournal

Another ad extension you can make the most of is the Seller Ratings. This allows you to display the reviews and ratings you’ve received from previous customers. 

Google generates this data from various sources, such as Google Customer Reviews, your domain’s shopping reviews, and credible review partner sites. 

Businesses with a 3.5-star or higher rating are eligible for this ad extension. 

8. Image Extensions

Image Credit: Google Support

Google revealed that the use of image extensions leads to a 10% improvement in CTR for search ads conducted on mobile.

If you are in the business of selling physical products, you can take advantage of image extensions to make your ads stand out.

You can only use image extensions if you meet these criteria:

• You have an account over 90 days old 
• You need to have good Google Ads policy compliance history
• You need to have an active campaign
• You need to have text ads and accruing spend over the last 28 days
• Your account needs to be eligible (sensitive niches aren’t allowed)

9. Structured Snippets Extensions

You can highlight specific product or service features on your ads with the structured snippets extension. They look similar to callout extensions except they can only be used with the predefined headers set by Google. 

Google’s Rules in Using This Extension:

• No exclamation marks, emoticons, or symbols
• Not allowed to repeat values in same or across different headers
• Can’t add more than one item in a field
• Can’t use promotional text (e.g. “Free shipping”)

10. Lead Form Extensions

Image Credit: WordStream

This extension eliminates the need of having a landing page since searchers can easily fill out a form on the search results page. Google counts and charges each submission as an ad click.

11. App Extensions

Image Credit: WordStream

App extensions are perfect for businesses offering an app since they allow searchers to download the mobile app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. This ad extension only appears on mobile devices. 

12. Affiliate Location Extensions

Image Credit: SearchEngineLand

Lastly, this type of extension is perfect for businesses offering their products through third-party retailers. Once this is used, searchers get to see the closest location where the brand’s products can be purchased.  

4. Design Your Landing Pages to Be Mobile-Friendly

Image Credit: ConvertFlow

Almost 60% of all online searches are being done on a mobile device, with some industries reaching 72% (Food and Beverage). With this in mind, it’s important that you cater to this market when designing your landing page. 

Normally, ads display on mobile devices and tablets without any issues. But many businesses forget about their landing pages. If this is where you direct your links to, you need to make sure they are optimised for mobile users. 

How to Create a Mobile Landing Page

• Keep it concise 
• Keep the content above-the-fold
• Keep it super simple
• Add a Call-to-Action button
• Make sure it’s fast

Here are some examples of businesses with landing pages optimised for mobile devices:

Image Credit: Unbounce

Country Chic Paint has kept their landing page clean and bright. Their call-to-action is displayed prominently with a sticky bar instead of having to scroll down to the bottom of the page, allowing visitors to tap on it once they’ve made a decision. 

Image from LeadPages

Six Figure Coach Workshop’s mobile landing page was designed to cater to its mobile users too. One way they have done this is by making their image a background instead of moving the content to a single column. 

Best Practices in a Mobile-Friendly Landing Page:

• Fast
• Functional
• Relevant
• Intuitive

Adhering to these helps your mobile ads deliver a better experience to your potential customers. 

Final Thoughts

PPC is an ongoing process of trial-and-error. The best way you can boost your strategy is to take advantage of the available tools you can use to improve your campaigns. 

An experienced and trusted PPC advertising SG agency can help you make your strategy come to life. Call us today so we can start your PPC journey.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is PPC vs Google Ads?

Google Ads is a PPC advertising platform that allows businesses to bid on keywords to appear on Google search results. Meanwhile, PPC refers to the general pay-per-click advertising that can be done on other platforms like Bing Ads and Facebook. 

How effective is PPC advertising?

Depending on the business’ goal, PPC can help boost brand awareness by up to 80%. This strategy has also been known to produce 45% of page clicks on search results. 

Should I do SEO or PPC?

The best advice would be to do both since one isn’t necessarily better than the other. Depending on your goals, you’d have to consider which one best suits your business. If you’re hoping for a long-term and sustainable approach, SEO is the right strategy to implement. But if you need to increase visibility right away, PPC advertising is something you should consider.