What is Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising?
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a form of online advertising in which advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked. PPC is a way of buying visits to your site, rather than attempting to “earn” those visits organically. Search engine advertising is one of the most popular forms of PPC. It allows advertisers to bid for ad placement in a search engine’s sponsored links when someone searches on a keyword that is related to their business offering.
PPC can be a very effective way of driving targeted traffic to your website, so should be considered when developing your digital marketing strategy. It allows you to target specific keywords and demographics, making it more likely that the people who click on your ads are interested in what you have to offer. This, in turn, can lead to higher conversion rates, more revenue and improved ROI.
PPC With Google Adwords
One of the most popular platforms for PPC advertising is Google AdWords. AdWords allows you to create ads and target them to specific keywords and demographics. Google AdWords also provides tools to help you measure the effectiveness of your ads, such as click-through rates (CTR) and conversion rates. There are other PPC platforms available, including Bing Ads and Yahoo! Search Marketing, but Adwords is by far the leader in the market. Somewhat confusingly, the term PPC is also used to refer to paid advertising such as Facebook Ads and LinkedIn Ads – although these are strictly PPC advertising, it tends to be simpler to refer to them as “paid ads” to avoid confusing the two forms.
How To Set Up A PPC Campaign
When setting up a PPC campaign, it’s vital to choose the right keywords. These are the words and phrases that potential customers might use when searching for products or services like yours. Once you’ve selected your keywords, you can create ads that will be displayed when people search for them. This ensures a high level of relevance and puts your business in front of people who are actively looking for someone who does what you do. The immediacy and relevance of PPC advertising is one of the key factors behind its popularity.
It’s also important to consider the demographics of your target audience. For example, if you’re selling a product or service that’s most popular with older people, it might not be the best idea to target your ads to a younger demographic. Depending on the platform you’re using, targeting options can vary widely. Google Adwords enables a decent level of targeting but it’s nowhere near as pinpoint as that available within LinkedIn Ads for example. For that reason, if you offer a very niche product or service, it’s worth considering where it would be most profitable to invest your marketing budget.
Choosing The Right Ad Copy
A key aspect of PPC advertising is ad copy. The text of your ad should be clear and concise, highly relevant to the search intent shown by the keywords the searcher has used, and should highlight the benefits of your product or service. It’s also essential to include a very specific call to action (CTA) in your ad, such as “Learn more” or “Buy now.” Bear in mind that someone who is searching the web for a product or service is likely to be at the top end of the marketing funnel, so likely less inclined to click a Buy Now link than a Learn More or Visit Our Website. At this stage, they may well be investigating the available options, and Buy Now could be too aggressive or intimidating a CTA.
The landing pages you direct your traffic to are also a very important aspect of PPC advertising. A landing page is the web page that a person is directed to after clicking on your ad. It must be highly relevant to the ad and should include a clear and compelling call to action. If your landing page is not relevant or does not include a clear call to action, it’s likely that the person will leave your site without taking any action.
Maximising Your ROI On PPC
Unlike Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), there’s a very direct and measurable cost to pay-per-click advertising. PPC campaigns can be set up on a variety of budget, and you can adjust your budget at any time. You can set a daily budget for your campaign, so you know how much you’re spending each day. You can also set a maximum cost-per-click (CPC) for your ads, so you know how much you’re willing to pay each time someone clicks on one of your ads.
Measuring the success of your PPC campaign is crucial to determine if your advertising spend is being used effectively. Key metrics that you should track include click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, and total revenue generated. By analysing these metrics, you can determine which ads and keywords are performing well, and which ones are not.
PPC advertising can be a very effective way of driving targeted traffic to your website, but it is important to set up your campaign correctly and track your performance. By choosing the right keywords, targeting the right demographics, and creating effective ad copy and landing pages, you can increase your ROI and achieve your desired results. It’s important to note that PPC doesn’t work for everyone, so you should ensure you continually monitor the performance and cost of your campaigns, particularly in the early stages. Even when it does work, PPC can be a costly way to generate new traffic so ensure you’re constantly optimising your keywords and landing pages to drive conversions within an acceptable level of budget.