Pay-Per-Click (PPC) is a powerful marketing method used by countless companies and entrepreneurs that can deliver excellent results. That said, PPC marketing is complex and performance often depends on knowledge. If you have any questions or would like to launch PPC campaigns, it’s a good idea to partner with SEO agencies that also specialize in PPC services where the experts are housed. To get your feet wet in the world of pay-per-click, let’s take a look at some PPC basics.
What Is PPC?
“PPC” stands for Pay-Per-Click. As its name implies, you pay a fee when people click on your ads. Conversely, if someone looks at the ad but doesn’t click, you won’t have to pay a fee.
Many businesses choose PPC because they end up paying primarily for results. Unlike other marketing efforts, you’ll pay for PPC ads only if they’re clicked. That way, you won’t pay for ads that fail to grab consumers’ attention.That said, PPC isn’t the only option.
Why Should I Invest in Paid Ads?
Another option you might be less familiar with is pay-per-impression, or PPM as it’s commonly called. With this model, you’ll pay for a set number of impressions. Often, PPM is priced per 1,000 impressions. You might pay say $10 or $50 for 1,000 impressions. Even if no one clicks on your ads, you’ll still have to pay.
Well, why buy ads at all? With PPC and PPM, you’re essentially trying to buy traffic to your website, sales page, or other asset. From there, you can try to convert customers, perhaps selling them a product or getting them to sign up for a newsletter. As such, PPC is a paid form of advertising. To see your ROI, make sure that your PPC team is tracking Conversions, as that’s where you’ll see the true profits.
Sometimes you’ll hear marketers refer to “paid” and “organic” advertising. Organic advertising is “natural,” unpaid traffic. For example, if you write content and get to the top of Bing or Google Search, then someone clicks on your article, that’d be an example of organic, unpaid advertising. (Of course, you might have to pay a writer to write the article, or an SEO specialist to help you get to the top of the search results.)
Ultimately, both paid and organic advertising tactics can be useful for businesses big and small. Setting up a PPC campaign and generating initial results often takes much less time than organic traffic methods. Keep reading for a few more benefits of PPC discussed below.
What Are the Benefits of PPC?
Pay-per-click offers you many opportunities to strengthen your brand, build an audience and sell goods and services to customers. While PPC isn’t the only form of advertising, it can be one of the most effective types.
Among other things, it’s relatively easy to start up PPC campaigns and build momentum. If you want to launch a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) campaign using organic content, it can take months produce results. With PPC, you can often start generating clicks (and potentially sales) within minutes. With the right ads on Google and Bing, you can quickly place your brand at the top of search engines in those coveted “sponsored” spots.
Further, pay-per-click advertising offers a lot of flexibility. For example, you can target many different keywords. A store that sells camping and outdoor equipment might target keywords like “tent” and “outdoor shower, and come winter, “parka” and “ice fishing equipment” might make more sense.
Beyond this, many platforms that are used to run PPC campaigns also make it relatively easy to collect data. From there, you can use the data to learn about your business, customers, and marketing campaigns. Many companies now strive to make data-informed decisions. With PPC, doing so is relatively straightforward.
Does PPC Have Any Drawbacks?
As for downsides, a poorly optimized PPC campaign could cost a lot of money and generate poor results. As such, it’s crucial for businesses to approach PPC carefully and to bring expertise to the table. Further, following industry best practices can help mitigate risks..
What Are Some PPC Best Practices?
First, effort goes a long way. Sometimes, inexperienced folks set up PPC campaigns and then let them run without much oversight. However, with PPC, in particular, a hands-off approach can lead to wasted money and missed opportunities. If you’re going to use PPC, it’s smart to keep a close eye on your campaigns with a team of digital marketing professionals at your disposal.
Among other things, your team will regularly review the budget and your keywords. If some keywords are costing a lot per click but then aren’t resulting in sales, your team may want to drop those keywords Likewise, if other words are generating a lot in revenue and aren’t very expensive, you may want to dedicate more money to promoting them.
Many ad platforms have guidelines for how to create ads. In some cases, if you create ads that closely follow those guidelines, the ad company will actually charge you less per click. Further, the guidelines were set up for a reason, and simply following them may improve your metrics. If your ads violate rules, meanwhile, they might be taken down.
It’s also a good practice to experiment with different features, keywords, and even entire platforms. Right now, you might be focusing on Google, but in fact, Bing might produce better results for your PPC campaign. By experimenting, you can often uncover opportunities and optimize spending.
Ultimately, it’s crucial to follow industry best practices regarding PPC management. A good foundation could further your success and mitigate risks, like underperforming campaigns. Keep in mind, however, that the marketing industry is always changing. Tomorrow’s best practices may be very different from today’s. It takes a lot of effort to stay on top of changing best practices, but the investment could pay off in a big way.
What’s the Point of PPC Management?
As you can see, there are a lot of factors to consider when running PPC campaigns. Often, it’s not just day-to-day sales; there are major business opportunities at stake. Get things right and your company could benefit tremendously. Get things wrong and you could squander resources.
Take the time to bring experts on board who can provide assistance with PPC management. By optimizing campaigns, for example, you may be able to cut down on a lot of waste while still driving sales and strengthening your brand. Not only that, but top-notch PPC experts will pay attention to changing best practices and will know how to use all the newest features and platforms.
As you know, time is a precious resource for many entrepreneurs. Learning how to properly run PPC campaigns can take a lot of time. Actually overseeing them will require even more. That’s why many businesses partner with external PPC agencies that can provide the needed services. By freeing up time, entrepreneurs can use their skills elsewhere, such as making in-person pitches to clients.
If you’re looking for SEO agencies that can also help with PPC campaigns and other digital marketing methods, get in touch with Digital Current. We’ve helped countless businesses find success in SERPs, both sponsored and organic. Contact us today to get started.
