The digital landscape is highly competitive and many brands rely on paid marketing to reach their target audience and grow their businesses.
Let’s find out what Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is and how it can benefit your business.
What's PPC and how does it work?
PPC is an advertising model where the advertiser is charged a fee for every click their ad receives. It lets you reach large audiences, boost engagement and increase conversions.
PPC advertising works by allowing you to bid on particular keywords you want to target. Your bid amount, ad relevance and keyword competitiveness determine the ad's placement in the search engine results page (SERP) and how much you'll pay when a user clicks.
You can use PPC advertising to generate leads on many platforms, including Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising.
So, which PPC service is best for your business? When it comes to search engines, Google is the most widely used, accounting for more than 84% of the market share, according to Statista. This could imply that you have access to a larger audience, resulting in better-performing ads. But it really depends on your business and audience.
What are the benefits of PPC advertising?
Pay-per-click advertising contributes to your digital marketing strategies and can help you to engage effectively with your customers (both new and old).
PPC advertising has plenty more benefits, including:
- Visibility – while SEO strategies may take months to achieve results, PPC advertising allows you to quickly rank at the top of the SERPs and gain visibility fast.
- Targeted audience – you can target your audience using specific demographics and interests.
- Cost-effective – you only pay when a user interacts with your ad, so you won't be charged for views that don't lead to actions.
- Clear messaging – simple text-based PPC ads allow you to communicate a clear message to the user—without spending time and money on creating images or video.
What to consider before you start PPC advertising
Before you begin your PPC campaigns, you should think about the following:
- Marketing goals – can help you determine whether your PPC ads are worth running.
- Budget – set a budget for what you are willing to spend and only what your business can afford. Setting limits can also help you avoid overspending on your PPC advertising.
- Ad quality – optimise your ads to get the best results. If your ad is highly relevant and high-quality, it can often achieve a lower cost-per-click because you'll gain more visibility in the SERP.
- Target audience – you'll want to get your ad in front of the right people, so targeting a specific audience through demographics and interests is crucial.
- Landing page – when users click on your ad, your landing page should meet their expectations to keep them on the page and encourage them to take action.
Is pay-per-click advertising worth it?
Whether PPC is worthwhile for your business depends on various factors, such as your campaign objective and budget.
PPC is typically cost-effective, and you have complete control of how much you're willing to spend on an ad campaign. Plus, because you only pay when someone clicks on your ad, you get great value for your money.
Coming soon: We’ll be publishing a blog on the different types of PPC ads and how to set them up. Let us know if you found this helpful or if your business already uses PPC ads.