Is it the perfect plastic cup?
Party planning committee, for my TV comedy fans out there?
Outside of marketing, yes.
PPC can be all of those things.
In the context of digital marketing, which is how I’ll use the acronym in this video,
PPC stands for pay-per-click, which is a form of digital advertising in which you pay for
each click on your ads.
Hence the name…pay-per-click.
PPC ads appear on search engines, websites, social media, ecommerce platforms, and other
locations across the web.
They may show up as text-based, image-based, or even video-based ads, depending on where
you advertise.
If you’re wondering whether or not you should invest in PPC ads, I have some statistics
and benefits you may want to consider.
Why should you invest in PPC ads?
Do you like having control over your money?
Because that’s what PPC ads give you — control.
With PPC, you choose how much you want to spend on your ads by setting a budget and
your target bid.
Now, you may need to adjust your investment if it’s not enough to compete with other
businesses, but you can limit your spend to a number that works best for you.
Before I explain this next benefit, let me preface it by saying that search engine optimization
(SEO) is a great way to drive long-lasting results.
However, it may take several months for you to start seeing consistent results from your
efforts if you don’t have a lot of SEO experience.
PPC campaigns can generate results much sooner, so if you need to advertise a sale or promote
something more immediately, these ads offer a great opportunity to reach your audience.
While your ads do appear quickly, I will say that it may take a few months to really start
understanding your audience and creating the most effective campaigns, especially if you’ve
never tried PPC before.
This is still faster than a new SEO campaign.
So, PPC gives you control of your budget and gets results quickly.
There’s more.
Google shares that ads launched through their advertising platform — Google Ads — make,
on average, two dollars for every one dollar you spend.
According to Formstack, marketers list PPC as the third-biggest lead driver (17%), following
right behind email marketing (17.6%) and websites (23.9%).
I can keep going on about the benefits of PPC, but I’ll stop myself after this next
PPC benefit.
PPC platforms let you reach your target audience.
You don’t just create ads and hope they reach the right people.
That was the old way of marketing.
Now, ad platforms let you refine your ad’s audience to people who would be most interested
in what you offer, whether they have interest in topics related to your business or are
actively searching for something your business provides.
You may even be able to upload a list of your customers and reach them directly with your
ads.
Of course, the capabilities of each ad platform differ, but you can get really specific and
avoid spending lots of money on people who will probably never become your customers.
How PPC ads work There’s a lot that happens behind the scenes
when you launch an ad campaign.
Your ad isn’t guaranteed to appear whenever someone you’d like to reach is online.
PPC ads appear because of an auction.
Factors that may impact your ad’s appearance in front of users include the ad’s relevance
to the user, quality assigned by the ad platform, and your bid.
Even if your ad is relevant and high-quality, you may not be bidding enough to beat out
other companies for that coveted spot in front of your ideal customer.
Depending on which platform you’re using, you may be able to implement automation to
improve your campaign’s performance, whether you create dynamic ads that adjust to their
location or maximize your budget with automated bidding.
No matter what PPC ad platform, format or copy you use, keep in mind that your ads should
address something that resonates with your audience.
You may want to share how your business solves a common problem, or how you can make people’s
lives easier.
Maybe even how people can save some time or money with your business.
If you want to save time and money by partnering with a team of PPC experts, get in touch with
us at WebFX.
We’d be happy to help you grow your business with digital advertising.
If you’re not looking for a PPC partner, that’s okay!
You can continue learning about PPC on our YouTube channel or by signing up for Revenue
Weekly, our email newsletter.
Thanks for joining me today!