Yes, you may have heard the word, but do you know what it is? We’ve got all the info on PPC.
Have you ever been searching for something on Google and encountered ads at the top of the search engine results pages.
If so, then you’ve stumbled across what us digital marketers call PPC advertising. Most businesses use it and those who don’t, should. It’s a great way of advertising and, if done correctly, can bring in so much business for your company. But, what exactly is PPC?
Well, to explain, we spoke to expert digital marketers and leading web designers in Essex, Revive.Digital. They’ve been working in digital marketing for 10+ years, so they know their stuff. See, businesses that don’t know what PPC is, may be hesitant about using it. And that’s okay, any smart person wouldn’t invest in something they know nothing about.
However, you’re reading this. Which means, you’re probably interested in finding out more about PPC, right? If so, you’re in the right place (if not, there’s a back button for a reason…) In this post, you’ll find out more about PPC – what it is, how it works and why it’s essential to use. We cover it all, so you can understand PPC a little more. Get ready to learn about PPC!
What is PPC?
Digital marketers love to shorten things. SMM, SEO, SERPs – we could go on. All you need to know is that PPC means Pay Per Click. It’s a form of advertising on search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo (however, as Google is the biggest, we’ll be talking about it in length – sorry Yahoo and Bing). It means that your business can get extra exposure on search engines, that it might not get organically. So many companies use PPC, on Google alone, to better target consumers searching for related terms.
Tools like Google AdWords let you analyse the market, and help you find some selected keywords that your business performs well in online. From the dashboard, you can conduct keyword research, monitor campaigns and start/pause them with the click of a button. Okay, we’ve made it sound simple but it’s not something anyone can do – without practice.
Google AdWords launched back in 2000, and since then has grown to become the largest form of PPC advertising. You can use Google AdWords to: advertise products, bring in website traffic, increase sales and conversions and promote your brand on search engines. So, if you’re not advertising on Google, then you should be…
How it works – PPC
So, on ol’ Google AdWords, you’ll have to create yourself an account before you can dive in and start advertising. When you search for something on Google, the little phrase you type into the search bar, returns pages and pages of websites relevant to your search. Sometimes, the top 4 search returns will be ads. These are usually marked with a green ‘ad’ box, so that users know – well, that they’re ads. PPC or Pay Per Click, means that the person advertising will be charged every time their ad is clicked on – hence the name.
These ads can appear in the forms of websites, shopping ads and more. Every time one of these ads are clicked, the advertising company will be charged. Your CPC, or cost per click, is determined by multiple factors. It’s basically cost divided by conversion = your CPC. It’s all a bit technical, so we normally leave it to the PPC pros. However, dependent on the keyword your bidding on, your CPC may be higher.
See popular keywords cost more, because more people are bidding for the top spots on Google. Terms like ‘insurance’ are big money ads, because so many big insurance companies are targeting them and are willing to pay a lot for PPC. It all comes down to researching your keywords, one you think potential customers would use to find your business. The ideal is to target relevant keywords for your company – so you appear in the right searches.
You effectively bid against keywords, against your competitors, in order to secure the top spots on Google’s search engine results pages. The maximum that you’re willing to bid on an ad, makes up part of your rank’s position. The quality score of your site, that your ad is linked to, factors into it too. Therefore, maximum bid x quality score = Ad rank. Yes, it is all as complicated as it sounds. That’s why it’s best to leave to PPC management agencies. The pros can refine PPC campaigns, do the keywords research and make sure that your ROI is high.
Does PPC work?
If you want the short answer – it’s yes. PPC is an extremely effective way of getting yourself noticed online. See other search engine marketing work, like SEO or search engine optimisation, takes time. The process if an on-going strategy to organically move your site up through the rankings by unpaid means. SEO is beneficial in the long run, but for those that need a short-term solution, PPC is the ultimate ideal.
A PPC campaign at the right time can do wonders for your business online. Whether it’s an ad to notify searchers about an end of season sale or alerting users to a special offer or deal on your site, PPC takes your site and, if done correctly, gets it to the top of search engine results pages (as an ad).
The only drawback is that PPC can become costly. It’s all dependent on the type of business you are, what keywords you’re targeting and how much you’re willing to spend. However, PPC needs to be looked at as cost vs. profit. Say you’re a sofa company. Each sofa you sell is £400, and the cost per click is around £50 for the ‘sofas’ keywords. Your profit is still around £350, which is good. However, if each click is costing you £200, it might not be worth it. PPC is all about employing the right people to manage your account for you, to make it easier for you.
Although we’ve only scratched the surface of PPC, it’s to give you a basic idea of what PPC is. See, you can do PPC on your own, but business owners don’t have the time to constantly monitor campaigns and update keyword research, that’s why it’s ideal to let the pros do it for you. With the right PPC management company behind you, you’ll see a growth in revenue and a big ROI.
