PPC, pay-per-click, advertising has been an ever growing marketing technique for businesses over recent years.
Not sure what PPC is, or how to use it? No need to fret, this article will outline what PPC is and how it can benefit your business!
What is PPC?
PPC, or pay-per-click, advertising is a form of ads used to target specific searches or content. These ads are shown on a variety of sites, based on relevant content. They are normally shown above or below organic search engine results, or on related webpages.
Advertisers only pay for these ads when a potential customer clicks the link attached to the ad, landing them on the advertiser’s site, thus Pay-Per-Click.
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How Much does PPC Cost
Where Can I Find PPC?
Google Adwords vs. Bing Ads
How to Start a PPC Campaign
Finding the Right PPC Agency
How Does PPC Work?
PPC advertising has a unique system. Instead of charging clients a flat rate for advertising spots, the system is run off of bids. In general, an individual with a top bid will be placed in ‘better’ position on a page, ideally the number 1 or 2 spot.
Once advertiser’s gain a spot for their content, they only pay for a click. Let’s say you bid $1.00 for your advertisement to be displayed. You are then charged a maximum of $1.00 for every click on your ad. Thus, if 50 potential customers click your ad, you will have to pay the search engine $50 dollars for your advertisement.
We’ll discuss the whole logistics of the pricing in more depth later.
Does PPC Affect SEO?
This is a very common question among PPC beginners (and experts for that matter). The short answer is no. These PPC sites work very diligently to separate PPC clicks from organic clicks. This means a click from your PPC advertisement will not boost your organic search rank for the same term.
However, PPC advertising does help establish your brand. As new customers click your ad, they may begin to pursue you company through an organic search result.
In this fashion PPC can affect SEO, by branding your business and possibly driving organic searches in the future.
How Much Does PPC Cost?
The Cost of each PPC campaign is completely different due to the advanced bidding system present with this type of advertising. Instead of a fixed price point for ads, each ad space will cost a different amount. With this being said, the price of an ad is generated using several variables.
Industry
The first factor to consider is your specific industry. Prices for PPC ads will vary widely with the type of keywords, and thus the industry of each business. Some keywords can be rather inexpensive, say $0.50, while others can be much more expensive. For example, keywords related to insurance can average around $55 for a single click.
The price of a click will depend largely on the revenue you will receive from a potential client. If you make less than $55 dollars for your services, then it wouldn’t make any sense to pay this much an a customer!
Quality Score
The next factor in the pricing of ads is something called the quality score. Quality score is made up of several factors including expected CTR (click-thru-rate), relevance and landing page experience. The higher the CTR, relevance and landing page experience, the higher the quality score.
If your site has a high quality score, you will not need to pay as much to get your ad to place in a top position. PPC sites will only charge you the minimum amount your ad needs to be placed in these spots, so a high quality score could save you a lot of money on your campaign!
Monthly Budget
With PPC advertising, you will be able to set a monthly budget on your plan. Using this maximum budget, these sites will run your ads on varied schedules to maximize your budget.
Some ads may go over your maximum daily budget, although you will never pay over your monthly budget at the end of every month. This means you can be smart about the marketing funds spent on PPC strategies.
What are the Different Types of PPC Strategies?
PPC comes in all shapes and sizes, quite literally. Here a few of the most common strategies:
Search Advertising
Search advertising is done on sites such as Google and Bing. These ads are among the most common, and consist of text with a link to your specific website. They are featured on the top and bottom of search results for related terms.
Display Advertising
This type of advertising differs slightly, in that your ad can show up on websites all across the Google Network. These ads can also target specific audiences and demographics specific to your business and services. This means your ads will reach the right audience every time!
Social Media
PPC advertising also extends to social media sites. Most of us have seen Facebook advertising, without noticing these ads are actually pay per click.
These social media sites, especially Facebook and Twitter, use advanced algorithms to show your ads to appropriate audiences. Furthermore, there are over 700 million users who visit Facebook on a mobile device each day alone.
Clearly thats a lot of potential customers at your disposal. Often times these social media strategies could be the missing piece to an advertisement campaign.
Remarketing
Remarketing is a popular advertising strategy for marketing to customers who have already viewed your site. Since these customers are already familiar with your products and services, they are generally more likely to click on these ads and engage with your site.
Remarketing strategies can be used on a number of sites to target these repeat customers.
Regardless of your business goals and objectives, there is a PPC campaign that will fit the needs of your business. Normally, a healthy mix of PPC types is used.
What is Google Adwords?
Google Adwords is the largest PPC advertising platform. With Google Adwords, your ads can run directly on the top and bottom of Google search results. Individuals can bid for specific search terms, keywords, that a customer would type into Google.
Google Adwords dominates the PPC scene for several reasons:
- Businesses make an average of $2 in revenue for every $1 they spend on AdWords. (Google Economic Impact Report)
- 70% of mobile searchers call a business directly from Google Search (AdWords Blog)
- Google’s display campaigns reach 80% of global internet users (Google Content Network)
- Over 1.2 million businesses advertising on the Google Search Network.
For most PPC campaigns Google Adwords is crucial. This system is allows users to easily monitor conversions, and plan potential keywords to benefit their business.
What is Adwords Express?
Adwords Express is useful for businesses who want their Adwords account up in a hurry. This format allows Google to pick the keywords relevant to your business, and thus is less customized than the traditional Google Adwords. Express is generally a more short term solution to PPC, although the format is good for individuals who do not have as much time for Google Adwords.
What are Bing Ads?
Bing Ads are quite similar to Adwords except are showed on the Bing search engine. Bing operates in a similar fashion to Google, with organic searches featured below these ad placements. While there are less searches on this engine, there are some upsides to Bing advertising:
- Better than google for some industries (including automotive and travel)
- Lower CPC than Google (in most cases)
- Over 100 million searches per day
Depending on your industry, and success of PPC campaign, Bing Ads could be needed to give your business a PPC edge.
What’s different with Bing Ads?
Google and Bing have largely different audiences it seems. While Bing is used less frequently, it is argued that the Bing audience spends more on average when compared to the Google audience. Furthermore, Bing users tend to be more highly educated and belong to higher socioeconomic classes, when compared to their Google counterparts.
What does this mean?
Well, quite simply put, the two platforms are very different. One strategy could be largely effective on Google, but not on Bing (and vice versa). It’s important to understand that each platform has unique users, that may be better suited for your business.
How Do I start my PPC Campaign?
The initial step for starting the PPC process is developing a website for your business. A relevant, quality landing page will help you in the long run. Make sure this landing page loads quickly and is engaging to users.
If your business does not have a website, or a quality landing page, our website design services can help you begin the process.
2. After your landing page is up and running, you’re ready to begin PPC ads for your services. It’s best to get certified in Google Adwords and Bing Ads to understand how each system works for your business. These classes are done entirely online and are completely free. Once you’re certified, you’ll be able to set up these PPC campaigns.
3. Prior to starting your PPC campaign, it is important to understand and set a reasonable budget for your advertising. If your budget is too high, you’ll obviously spend too much on these ads. However, if your budget is too limited, your ad will not show as much as it should and will thus affect your clicks and conversions. Budgets can always be adjusted later based on performance of various campaigns and ad groups.
4. Finally, you can begin planning keywords. Your business is unique, we recommend you use the Keyword Planner tool, to understand which terms related to your services are searched at a high rate. You will also be able to see the estimate bid for these keywords.
Once you have your desired keywords, you’re ready to start advertising. After some time, you’ll be able to look at the metrics for each adgroup and keyword you have created.
Common PPC Mistakes to Avoid
While there a number of PPC mistakes a beginner may be susceptible to, here are some of the most common mistakes you should avoid with your PPC campaign.
Unrelated keywords
If your keywords don’t match your services exactly, you’ll often be paying for clicks that will never convert. Imagine if your run a clothing store, but don’t sell men’s clothing. In this case any keywords related to men’s clothing will generate clicks that do not convert.
Unrealistic Budget
This is a very common problem with all PPC advertisers. While setting a budget, one must set a budget that allows for enough leeway to reach customers. Although it’s tempting to set a smaller budget to save money, your strategy will need an appropriate budget to reach customers.
How Do You Optimize a PPC Campaign?
Once your campaign is up and running, you’ll be able to see various metrics to inform you on how your strategy is working. Some useful metrics include CTR, Conversion Rate and Average Position.
What if my CTR is low?
If an ad group has an especially low CTR , or click thru rate, then the ad may not be inviting to customers. Try to go over these ads and make them more engaging to users. A well written description with a good call to action can make your post more engaging to customers, generating far more clicks.
What if my conversion rates are low?
This problem may have to do with your landing page experience. If customers are reaching your page, but aren’t buying your products, they may be having trouble with your site. If this is the case, it’s best to look at your landing page and the user experience of your site. Add more engaging features and make this page easy for customers to navigate.
What if my Average Positions are low?
If all of these problems are resolved, it may be your average position. In general, you want your ad to be placed in the number 1 or 2 position on a search page. If your Average Position is higher than 3 (meaning it’s placed below the 3rd listing), than customers may be missing your sight altogether. This will be reflected by low impressions and clicks on your site. Increasing your quality score can improve your Average Position drastically.
While these are useful metrics, they are not the only problems you will encounter with your campaign. Optimizing a campaign can be tricky, but a dedicated agency can help with this, if these solutions aren’t helpful.
Do I need an Agency for my PPC work?
This question largely depends on the individual and business. For the most part, agencies will be able to produce much more favorable PPC results for your business. You should way the pros and cons of this decision, although if your PPC strategy is struggling for whatever reason, an agency will be able to help solve the problem.
How Do I find the Right Agency?
The investment in an agency and your PPC services is an investment, thus you want someone you can trust to run your campaign. When choosing an agency, it’s important to look for one with a proven track record. They should outline the necessary changes to be made to your campaign, and how these will benefit your PPC goals. These are some good characteristics of a PPC agency:
- Proven track record with PPC Management
- Understanding your requirements, business goals and your unique services
- Willingness to work with your budget
- Ability to describe the process out for you
These are just some general guidelines for a good PPC agency. Finding a company you trust can be hard, but you should never settle on your services.
Your Next Steps Towards Getting Started with PPC
By this point, you should understand the basic of pay-per-click advertising. However, if you desire further assistance, Mack Media is here to assist you through every step of the process. Our professional PPC management services are designed around the needs of your business.
We sit down to get to know your business and understand how to make it grow effectively. We’ll provide PPC management services based on your requirements and budget. Likewise, our team of PPC professionals will make the PPC advertising process clear for you and your business!
