PPC for Country Clubs: Everything You Need to Know

Looking to set your country club apart from the competition and attract new members? Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising can help!

PPC for country clubs is one digital marketing strategy you won’t want to skip out on, and we’re breaking down everything you need to know to get started.

What is PPC for country clubs?

PPC for country clubs is a type of paid advertising for online marketing. 

You’ve probably seen these ads a million times without realizing it — any time a top Google search result has “sponsored” above it or a banner ad on a website showcases a business, that’s PPC advertising. 

PPC ads appear across the Internet, like search engine results pages (SERPs), social media sites, and individual websites. PPC ads also include multiple formats, ranging from text-only search results to high-quality videos, images, or branded graphics.

PPC and Google

While PPC advertising is simple in concept, it’s a bit more complex in execution. That’s because it isn’t enough to pay for an ad and step away from your campaign — with so many people and businesses competing for those top spots to help bring people to their country club, it takes some strategizing to win a platform’s favor.

Since Google is the most popular place for PPC advertising and powers nearly all of the search engine market, it’s a smart place to start. 

To help your country club rank higher in Google’s SERPs, you need to secure a high Ad Rank and bid in an ad auction. Once you set bid parameters for an ad, including how much you want to spend, it enters the ad auction to try for a top spot.

Google assigns an Ad Rank based on this bid amount and your ad’s Quality Score, which depends on how relevant your ad is for the intended search and what kind of landing experience the user has when they click it. 

Other factors contributing to Ad Rank include:

• The ad’s anticipated click-through rates (CTRs).
• The ad’s overall quality.
• Each searcher’s search and browsing behavior.
• How competitive the ad auction is.
• Your competitors’ maxim bid amounts.
• How effectively the ad targets relevant short-tail and long-tail keywords.

Why PPC for country clubs is essential

No matter which platform or ad type you use, PPC advertising is a fast, effective way to get your country club’s name in front of the people actively searching for country clubs or golf courses in your location.

You can place ads in high-visibility spots where your target clientele spends their time online, like search engine results or social media, and you choose how to target those users using what you already know about your market.

PPC advertising is also cost-effective and easy to incorporate into a budget. You choose how much to spend per ad and only pay when someone clicks on it. You also have the benefit of knowing PPC traffic converts leads 50% better than organic searchers because anyone who clicks the ad is already actively looking for a country club. 

How to implement PPC advertising

Every PPC campaign is different, and there are near-endless ways to optimize ads to climb the ranks. If you’re ready to start using PPC for your country club, start with these steps:

1. Create a strategy
2. Set your budget
3. Bid in the ad auction

1. Create a strategy

PPC is one area of marketing you shouldn’t dive into without a plan. Consider where you want your ads to be depending on your campaign’s objective. If growing memberships and attracting new clientele is your goal, PPC search ads are a good call.

This is also the time to conduct keyword research to figure out which words and phrases you should and shouldn’t target in your ad. Keyword insights change frequently, so this part requires some ongoing management each time you relist your ad for auction.

2. Set your budget

Set your budget before you start so you know what your maximum bid should be. Businesses typically spend about $2.59 to $3.12 per 1,000 impressions, and Google’s highest and lowest cost-per-click (CPC) average is the legal industry at $8.67 and real estate at $1.40. Understanding these figures can help you manage your PPC pricing effectively and ensure you allocate your budget wisely. 

3. Bid in the ad auction

Forty-six percent of all SERP clicks go to the top three PPC results, and your ad auction approach plays a significant part in snagging those spots:

1. Before the auction: Make sure your business account is good to go through Google Ads and input the average amount you can spend daily. Set up specific ad targeting information, including keywords and specific audience demographics.
2. Setting a maximum CPC: Create your bid, which is your maximum CPC, for the designated ad. High bids don’t necessarily mean you’ll get the spot you want, and missing the top search result doesn’t mean your ad won’t still place high on the page.
3. Formatting the ad: Add relevant information to the ad, like what text the searchers will see and a link to the relevant landing page.

From here, Google calculates your ad’s CPC, and the auction is over.

Country club marketing ideas that leverage PPC advertising

Armed with a strong PPC strategy, consider incorporating it into these country club membership marketing ideas:

• Set up online booking: If your country club includes a golf or tennis court, an online booking option is a great way to encourage website visitors to consider visiting. Add the reservation widget to your PPC ad’s landing page, and don’t forget to make sure your website is user-friendly and responsive for mobile users.
• Have a social media contest: Social media PPC ads can help you find new leads, and a contest or giveaway is the perfect campaign to start with. Once you’ve optimized your social media profile to showcase enticing videos, pictures, and reviews, kickstart a PPC ad contest that lets users in a certain demographic or geographic area enter to win a free or discounted membership.
• Create club-specific content: High-country club advertising quality content — like guides, blog posts, and video tutorials — is one way to keep searchers on your website once they click your PPC ad. Customize the content to your country club and ideal member. For example, you could cover topics like beginner’s tips for visiting, membership benefits, or a step-by-step guide to your club’s specific golf courses, events, community involvement, or history.

Let WebFX handle your PPC campaign

PPC marketing can be a game changer, but only if you put the time and research into it. The digital marketing pros at WebFX can help with that.

Your dedicated account manager will guide you through the process and handle every step along the way, from a customized campaign and strategy and keyword research to in-depth industry analysis and content testing. 

Check out our PPC service plans to learn more!

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