Is Pay-Per-Click Advertising The Right Choice For Your Business?

Is pay-per-click advertising the right choice for your business? That is a good question that customers ask us on a regular basis and the answer is not always a simple yes or no as there are a few things to consider in regard to your business. Website development companies like ours have been in the game for quite some time which allows us an experienced perspective on topics like this which we will share with you today.

What is PPC?

Pay-per-click advertising, sometimes called PPC, is a marketing option where the fee is paid each time the online ad gets clicked. The premise is fairly simple and most people have heard of the major PPC options like Google AdWords or Microsoft Bing Ads. Google commonly sends out a free $100 starter card for new websites to try and entice the use of AdWords.

In essence you are buying visits rather than using organic methods to obtain them.

One of the primary methods of PPC is ads on search engines that are typically related to keywords. Google AdWords is this type of model where users bid on keywords then pay for each click on their specific advertisement. In theory this can work out well for a business because the fee per click should result in a much larger sale.

For example, if you paid $5 per click and have a 10% conversion rate then every $50 spent would equal a conversion, which is cost effective if that conversion is worth more than $50. Generally speaking PPC costs are around $1 to $2, but they can work upwards to $50 for those keywords that relate to high paying businesses because they are much more competitive.

Do I need PPC?

Some businesses can benefit greatly from the pay-per-click model, while for others it is financially not the right choice. Let’s look at some considerations:

• PPC is more expensive than SEO over any long period of time. The simple reason is that once you stop paying for it then you have no residual effects. SEO, on the other hand, can still provide results even if you stop actively working on it for periods at a time.
• PPC marketing requires constant monitoring, more than standard SEO marketing. You can review and adjust less often, but doing so will cost you money. As you pay a fee based on clicks and arranged prices, you want the best PPC campaign at all times which simply requires more dedicated actions on your part.
• Standard SEO is much better for raising brand awareness compared to PPC. Social media and blogs can provide a cheaper, easier platform to work from that can have the same or better results.
• Advertising using PPC is most effective for short campaigns or obtaining exposure with a specific targeted audience. Special events, high value sales, limited offers, or aiming at a very specific audience are where you want to focus PPC efforts because not only can campaigns be work-intensive, but they also require very specific goals and targeted content to be utilized. Because PPC has more control than SEO, you can direct people exactly where you want when they click that advertisement.

Are there pitfalls to this method?

PPC campaigns can be a bit overwhelming the first time you try one. While Google AdWords is fairly user-friendly, there is still a lot that goes into a campaign with both keywords and negative keywords, split ad groups and more.

Here are a few tips:

• Start small – The first few campaigns should be trials with no more than $50 spent per day. You don’t want to have an expensive experiment on your hands as it takes a little while to learn how to monitor and adjust the options.
• Have a specific goal – This is a marketing area that requires you be very specific with what you want to accomplish. You will need crisp ad copy, clear CTA’s, and specific landing pages just for this campaign. This is one reason special sales or events work well with PPC.
• Snoop the competition – What are your competitors doing? This is important to know when you are planning keyword usage as well as considering how your ad might compare to their head-to-head. When given two similar choices, how will you stand out?

The bottom line is that pay per click advertising can be the right choice for your business depending on the types of marketing campaigns you generally run. For those businesses that want to attract a specific customer group or have a big sale or event coming up, it can be a great way to increase your exposure and conversions.

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