How can PPC marketing help your business?

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Get your brand in front of those who have an active intent to buy. 

Pay-per-click (PPC) marketing is an effective way to seize prime real estate on social platforms and search engine results pages (SERP). This gives brands the exposure they need to increase conversions and expand their customer base

What is PPC marketing? 

PPC is an advertising model used to direct traffic to websites, where the marketer only pays for an ad when a user clicks on it. PPC ads are typically found in the top section of SERP, in the body of third-party website pages and in social media feeds. 

As we’ve previously unpacked, PPC and paid search are often used interchangeably. This is because PPC is frequently used as a paid search marketing tactic. Paid search ads are ads which leverage search engines as their distribution platforms (e.g. Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc). 

However, PPC isn’t exclusive to paid search. PPC also straddles the paid social arena in that social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter can also serve PPC ads. 

Whether search, web or social, the end-goal of a PPC ad is to lead users to the brand’s website, where they are compelled to move throughout the digital sales funnel and convert.  

Conversion actions include (but are not limited to): 

  • booking a consultation
  • purchasing a product or service
  • signing up to a newsletter
  • registering for a webinar.

How does PPC marketing work? 

PPC starts with auctions. If multiple marketers are interested in showing ads related to a user search query, an auction is triggered based on keyword bidding. 

To participate in these auctions, marketers use platforms like Google Ads to build and distribute their ads. Marketers then decide how much they’re willing to spend on a given keyword. Ads that win the auction are displayed in the top section of the relevant SERP. 

Marketers themselves also undergo a scoring process during the bid. This weighs heavily on their chance to win the auction. For example, Google ranks potential marketers on their ad quality

Factors involved in determining an ad quality score include:

  • bid amount
  • historical click-through-rate (CTR) 
  • relevance of keyword (and ad) to search query.

Ads with higher quality scores are shown more often and earn more clicks as a result. 

Now, let’s get into the benefits of PPC marketing for businesses. 

Complements SEO

PPC ads can help brands compensate for slow-moving organic SEO efforts. When marketers complement organic media with a paid marketing tactic like PPC, they have an increased chance of appearing in front of users with an active intent to buy. This is because PPC ads can jump to the top of SERP within hours of the initial launch if the right keywords have been chosen. 

Successful PPC ads:

  • contain a clear message that speaks to a user pain point; and 
  • direct users to a high-quality landing page that is fast-loading, easy-to-navigate, visually appealing and relevant to what was advertised. 

Even if a brand website has low domain authority, PPC ads (when executed correctly), can offer something of a second chance for brands to rank high on SERP.

Bolsters brand recognition

Because PPC ads appear at the top of SERP, this marketing tactic can help brands reach more users. In a Clutch Consumer Research Report which surveyed 506 people, 75% of participants said paid search ads make it easier to find the information they’re seeking. Users actively searching for products and market solutions regard the ads they see at the top of SERP as a key driver in their decision-making. 

Marketers can situate their PPC ads in this prime position by harnessing the precise targeting options within the ad inventory they’re using. 

These targeting options include: 

  • demographics 
  • device 
  • location 
  • time of day.

Precise targeting options increase the likelihood of ads being shown to the ideal audience the business wants to reach. With precise targeting, marketers can be as specific in their targeting as – 18+ users on a mobile within a certain radius of a location at 5pm. When the right users see a brand’s ads, greater exposure, industry trust and conversions is gained.

Greater budget control

PPC can be highly cost-effective as marketers can decide how much they’re willing to spend on each keyword. Since marketers only pay when users click the link in the ad which takes them to the brand’s website, there’s an improved chance of earning a high return on advertising spend (ROAS)

It goes without saying that this makes for an efficient way to grow a customer base. A recent Brain Labs Digital report found that 74% of brands attribute PPC as a key driver of business growth.

Marketers can maintain the momentum of a successful PPC campaign when they study the corresponding performance data. The data enables marketers to actualize valuable insights into audience and buyer behavior, allowing them to make astute decisions for future campaigns. 

But how can marketers easily source PPC performance data? 

When marketers connect their paid, social media and website analytics accounts into the Digivizer platform, they can obtain a side-by-side view of how all their digital marketing campaigns are performing. This gives marketers instant access to key performance metrics (e.g. engagement rate, impressions, etc) and thus enables them to easily see what’s working and what isn’t. 

Sign up for free today to experience the data-driven difference for yourself.

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