If you want Paid Traffic and you use WordPress, here's a buch of PPC Hacks - This talk was given by Peter Mead at the BigDigital Conference in Adelaide 2016

1. Paid Traffic with WordPress
PPC Hacks for WordPress
(and a bit of Drupal & Joomla thrown in)
@petermeadit

2. Peter Mead
Who am I?
* IT since 1997 before Google, AltaVista?
* WordPress SEO Consultant
* Hands on, Technical, Strategic
Ethos?
* Communication,
* Community,
* Culture.
I like?
* Sci fi Movies
* Zen Philosophy
* Rubik’s Cube
Twitter: @petermeadit

3. ...that person can lead you to hidden treasure.”
- Zen Philosophy
“Find a wise critic to point out your faults...

4. Get Paid Traffic from all the Places
Why go for Paid Traffic:
● New to Market, need traffic
● Or preferred traffic channel
● Some sites get a lot of traffic so they sell it off
● All paid traffic was organic once
● PPC ads are a bit like Paid Links...?
Get Paid Traffic from:
● Adwords & remarketing
● Facebook & retargeting
● Banners on 3rd Party sites
● Many more: Bing Ads, Twitter, Outbrain etc.
Lots of opportunities for Paid Traffic

5. Use Tools to Manage and Measure PPC
Use these tools for Managing and Measuring:
● Google Analytics - should be standard for all Digital Marketers
● Tag Manager - you want custom tracking, like buttons etc.
● Facebook Business Manager - Retargeting pixel.
Also plenty of other tools:
● WordStream for premium PPC management
● Use SEMrush for competitive analysis
So many more tools available out there.

6. Use SEMrush to spy on competitor PPC Spend

7. Use WordPress for your Websites
WordPress is Awesome:
● WordPress started in 2003 by Matt Mullenweg
● It is the successor of b2
● 25% (approx.) of websites are powered by WordPress
● Open Source - Mission to Democratizing publishing
● Critics?
Free Software Foundation Mission Statement
“Our mission is to preserve, protect and promote the freedom to
use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute computer software, and
to defend the rights of Free Software users.”
Freedom 0 :-
The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose gnu.
org/philosophy/free-sw.en.html

8. WordPress, Drupal, Joomla… World Peace??
Captain, These are 21st Century Problems

9. Drupal 8 Open Source CMS
● Is also Open Source
● Started in 2001 by two Belgian uni students
● University of Antwerp students: Dries Buytaert and Hans Snijder
● Drupal has a great community, over 3,000 contributors

10. Install the Drupal Google Analytics module
Get the module: www.drupal.org/project/google_analytics

11. Joomla 3.5 is here
● Joomla is Open Source with a Strong Community of developers
● Was Started in 2008
● Joomla 3.5 has some good features

12. Use the Joomla Analytics Extension
● Joomla Analytics Extension nicheextensions.com/extensions/google-analytics
● Also does Webmaster tools.
● It is by Peter Bui pbwebdev.com
● More Joomla stuff at joomlabe.at

13. Get WordPress Ready for PPC
● Tune up WordPress before running Paid Traffic to it.
● Basic setup, site title and description, Permalinks and URLs, etc.
● Make sure your site can be indexed

14. Look Master Luke that robot’s crawling towards us
…It’s a Googlebot 3PO, were finally getting indexed

15. Install Yoast SEO for WordPress
● There’s others: All in One SEO Pack etc.
● Features Speed up onsite SEO tasks
● Such as noindex tags and taxonomies ec.
● Download from Yoast: yoast.com

17. Configure your robots.txt for WordPress
● It’s in the root of your website
● Tweak your robots.txt file from Yoast
● Search engines check for sitemap.xml
More about robots.txt at SEOBook
tools.seobook.com/robots-txt

18. Redirect Paid Traffic Properly
● 404s & Poorly Redirected Traffic affects PPC
● For faster performance - Use 301s in .htaccess
● Or for convenience, use:
“Redirection” plugin by John Godley
● Also finds 404s for you to handle
Download here:
wordpress.org/plugins/redirection

19. I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can't do that
It’s 404 error page not found

20. Use Webmaster Tools to check Website Health
● Use Yoast, enter in your ID
● Other platforms too
● And yes I think Bing is worth the effort

21. Configure XML Sitemap in Yoast SEO
● Helps search engines better crawl and categorize your site
● Again not strictly related to PPC Traffic but there is a blurry line

22. Improve Site Speed & Performance
● Optimize your Website performance
● Can Hosting web handle the traffic?
● Chris Burgess is a leader in perfomance optimization: slideshare.net/chris-burgess/web-performance-
optimisation-27075060

23. Use WP Super Cache at the very least

24. Measure PPC Channel with Analytics
PPC Traffic filtered by channel

25. Analyse Traffic to your landing pages
Drill down into your landing pages

26. Just give me that PPC Traffic...
Hand it over!

27. Put Analytics on your Site
● Create an Analytics Account
● Get the tracking code
● Use Insert Headers and Footers plugin

28. Install Insert Headers and Footers - WP Plugin
Or paste into your header or footer .php file… changes are lost if you change Themes.

29. Just Use Tag Manager, why not?
● Used to place all HTML Tags and scripts for tracking on your site
● Controls how the Tags are Fired and Handled
● Using Triggers, Variables and Data Layer
● Learning curve? Dive in, start learning analyticsacademy.withgoogle.com/course/5

30. I made you...
… and you're taking all my tracking codes?

31. A tag for all occasions

32. Install Google Tag Manager on WordPress
● Create your Tag Manager Account, and container: tagmanager.google.com
● Place code Using Insert Headers and Footers
● Or paste into your header.php under the <body> tag.
● More about tag manager: support.google.com/tagmanager

33. Use Tag Manager to put Analytics on WordPress
● We can use Tag Manager to deploy our Analytics Tag
● Create a reusable variable for your Analytics Tracking ID

34. Use Preview and Publish
● Can test the tag before deploying it
● Can see which tags have fired on the site
● Shows version number and any unpublished changes

35. Why not some Adwords Conversion Tracking
● In AdWords, Click tools > conversions. The click the red button
● Fill out the options, Then Save and Continue
● Copy the tracking code it gives you

36. I’ve been tracking you
Hold it right there...

37. And remarketing with Tag Manager
● Will need data to get pushed into the data layer
● So Install Plugin: Google Tag Manager for WordPress by Thomas Geiger
● Fills the data layer dynamically

38. The Tag types for Conversions & Remarketing
● Tag Manager gives you some ready made functionality
● Not so with the Facebook Pixel will need to create as html tag

39. Install Google Tag Assistant Chrome Extension
● Use Tag Assistant to help you view the tags and the data being sent
● Very helpful for setting up and troubleshooting tags
● And Keep playing with Tag Manager

40. Get FB Traffic - Facebook Business Manager
● Log in with the account that owns
your Facebook business page
● Go to:
business.facebook.com
and follow your nose...
● Hint: Click “Create Account” button
● Learning curve, Dive in it's fun :)
Business Manager integrates all your Facebook advertising campaign management efforts into
one tool. It’s designed to simplify your marketing efforts.

41. I’ll be back...
Again and again with my Facebook pixel

42. Install the Facebook Pixel
So the Facebook pixel is used to Build Custom Audiences from your website to do remarketing
New Facebook Pixel:
You can now use the Facebook pixel to measure, optimize and build audiences for your ad
campaigns, and no longer need to implement the conversion pixel and Custom Audience pixel.
Make sure you have completed your Business Manager Setup and Created and an Ad account
Then you get to Create the Pixel

43. One Pixel to Rule Them All
You can now use the Facebook pixel to measure, optimize and build audiences for your ad
campaigns, and no longer need to implement the conversion pixel and Custom Audience pixel.
3 basic steps, according to Facebook: click the green button

44. Name your Pixel well, you only get one

45. Insert the Pixel Code into the Header Section
If you don't use Tag Manager:

46. Use Tag Manager to Add the Pixel to your Site
● Google does not give a function button for Facebook
● Need to Create Custom HTML Tag

47. Make sure FB can see your Pixel
● Get the Chrome extension
● Called FB Pixel Helper
● Check the details

48. Create a Facebook Ad - Select the Options
See Instagram is already on?

49. Do PPC Landing pages
PPC Landing pages:
● For click-through pages to drive sales
● For Lead Generation with you funnel
● Higher Conversion Rates
● Focus to Lower CPC
● More relevant content for People
● Higher Ad Rank and Quality Score
● Often have navigation removed
● Often have a single Call to Action
● Need a Privacy policy if Tracking
● Need CRO with A/B Testing
● Example template from Unbounce

50. What planet am I on?
… oh it’s your landing page!

51. Use OptimizePress to Create landing pages
● OptimizePress is both a Premium Theme and a Plugin.
● Build all kinds of pages including Landing Pages
● Website: www.optimizepress.com

52. Get the LeadPages Platform
● LeadPages.net is a Complete Platform for Landing Page Optimization
● Also a WordPress plugin
● Lots of features like A/B Testing built in

53. Don't send good Ads to bad pages
Why is my landing page bad?
● Small, hard to read fonts
● Poor choice of colours
● Unclear information about the business
● Complex forms to fill out
● Violates Adwords Policies
WordStream gave this page an F: www.
wordstream.com/blog/ws/2014/03/05/landing-page-
examples
Don’t Run good Ads to a bad landing page:
clickwinningcontent.com.au/good-ads-bad-website

54. Search the WordPress Plugins Repository
● Do your own Plugin research in wordpress.org
● A lot to choose from
● Some are better than others

55. Respect Adwords Policies
● Adwords Policies: support.google.com/adwordspolicy
● Understand landing page experience: support.google.com/adwords/answer/2404197
● Google reviews landing pages
● Bad or misleading landing pages can get suspended
● What's your attitude? Churn and burn?

56. You have violated Google Adwords Policies
You will be punished

57. Send PPC Traffic into your Inbound Marketing Funnels
● Don't waste PPC spend. Use Automated platforms: Infusionsoft, Hubspot, Mautic
● Infusionsoft is very well known
● Hubspot wrote the book on Inbound Marketing

58. Use exit intent popovers
● Be selective, don't just show popovers over and over
● Be respectful if you want quality subscribers, don’t say:
● “Hey! Click HERE to be Really, Really Awesome!” Or “Click here if you're just too stupid”

59. Get relevant with ClickFunnels
The message should be somewhat relevant to the current topics

60. Make it simple and easy to optin

61. Create a great Thank you page

62. ...right after my automated oil bath, ok?
You want me to pay for what? Traffic?

63. Resources to follow up on
PPC Resources:
- wordstream.com
- Unbounce.com
- ConversionXL.com
- Instapage.com
- Moz.com (PPC)
- PPChero.com
- Optimizely.com
- Infusionsoft.com
- Hubspot.com
- Mautic.org
- Vwo.com
WordPress & CMS Resources:
- WordPress.org
- Drupal.org
- Joomla.org
- Wp101.com
- WPtavern.com
- WPbeginner.com
- WPsmackdown.com
- Sitepoint.com/wordpress
- wordpress.stackexchange.com
- Codecanyon.net
- wpmudev.org
Disclaimer: Any and all names, trademarks and images are copyright their respective owners.
Follow me on Twitter: @petermeadit