If you are an Internet Marketer reading this post, you probably get good results from free online advertising and other promotional methods. But if you are a severe entrepreneur, you are most likely aware of the principle of value for value. That is, if you want to get something, you must be willing to give something in return. Free promotional methods can bring good results, but if you want great results for your business, you should seriously consider trying out paid online advertising methods such as pay-per-click or PPC marketing. We have provided several reasons below why it can significantly impact your business and the benefits you can get from it.
So, whether you’re trying to convince your boss or a client about the value of Google Ads (or Microsoft Ads), there’s a compelling case to be made. Ultimately, pay-per-click marketing is good for everyone:
- It’s good for searchers – Research indicates that searchers click on paid search ads more often than any other form of digital advertising. This means that people don’t mind being advertised, provided that the products and services advertised fit the searcher’s needs. And because we use search engines when we’re looking for products and services, the results, including the ads, are generally highly relevant to what we’re looking for. Plus, Google has developed an excellent formula for ensuring that Pay Per Click ads meet users’ needs.
- It’s suitable for advertisers – Advertisers are offered a unique means of putting their message in front of an audience who is actively and specifically seeking out their product. Because searchers reveal their intent through their search query, advertisers can measure the quality of traffic that results from search engine clicks.
- It’s suitable for search engines – Pay Per Click enables search engines to cater to searchers and advertisers simultaneously. The searchers comprise their user-base, while the advertisers provide them with their revenue stream. The engines want to provide relevant results, first and foremost, while offering a highly targeted, revenue-driving advertising channel.
Immediate and Consistent Results
This is arguably the single most significant draw for using Pay Per Click. Unlike search engine optimization that focuses on “organic” traffic growth, Pay Per Click advertising can give marketers results as soon as their ads go live – practically overnight.
This is why PPC is crucial for businesses particularly interested in generating revenue quickly or taking advantage of a very short-term marketing window (such as for special events, product launches, holidays, seasonal sales, etc.). In fact, for broad advertising strategies, Pay Per Click is important as the core part of a short-term & long-term digital marketing strategy.
For search ads on Google or Bing, advertisers set up their ads through each platform’s portal, set up their ad campaigns/ad groups, set up a budget, and determine their ad parameters. Once the ads are launched, they can immediately appear in search results and immediately begin attracting clicks/conversions. However, it’s important to note that Pay Per Click campaigns can get better results once they offer enough feedback data on campaign performance. This data can be used to finetune campaign scope, improve keyword targeting, focus on high-value audiences, and use bid strategies more efficiently.
Part of the importance of PPC lies in using its resulting short-term data to reduce/cancel budgets for non-effective campaign attributes and to focus on high-value campaign attributes.
Which Search Engine Advertising Platforms Should I Use?
When small businesses elect to pay for advertising on search engines, typically, they seek to take advantage of a user’s need for demand fulfillment. Users who visit search engines already know what they want and are actively looking for your business or someone like your business.
Google Adwords and Bing Ads are the two most popular and commonly used search engine PPC advertising platforms. As paid search becomes increasingly competitive, the top media tend to cost more per click and are certainly not the only options for small businesses. Here are some ad platforms to consider:
- Google – The king of all search engines, research your campaign’s top keywords to price out the PPC prices. Based on your small business niche, you may be able to rank for a reasonable price.
- Bing – The second most popular search engine, Bing consistently holds a 33% market share on paid search engine advertising. Bing advertisements are also displayed on Yahoo through a partnership agreement, so advertising on Bing may cost less than Google in many cases and will show your ads on two search engines.
- Yelp – Yelp Ads is a popular way for small businesses to expand their paid search reach to target specific local, region, or national markets. Yelp Ads appear conspicuously on the top of searches as well as on competitor pages. Yelp Ads are especially effective for small businesses because they encourage engagement and direct response through reviews and sharing.
- Yahoo – Yahoo Gemini, also known as Yahoo Stream Ads, supplies small businesses with a healthy amount of conversions through their model, referred to as “native advertising.” Advertisements displayed on the Yahoo Stream platform are inserted into relevant content within the feed with a “sponsored” box at the end of the ad. Because the content is within the native content, these ads realize a high engagement rate.
What Types of Small Businesses Can Benefit from Pay-Per-Click Advertising?
Virtually every small business can benefit from implementing a pay-per-click marketing strategy to build its web presence. The trick is to identify targeted, relevant keywords, understand your target audience, and develop a plan to drive the suitable types of leads.
There are a few characteristics of small businesses that can lead to increased PPC results, and they are:
- Increased Customer Lifetime Value – Doctors, educational programs, utility providers, and subscription services can typically establish higher PPC budgets because each conversion has the potential to yield a very high lifetime value for each new customer.
- High-Profit Margins – If your advertised product has a high profit, your business campaign may choose to pay more per click. Some examples are home renovations, big-ticket items, lawsuits, or vehicles.
- Niche Products – Selling a product or service that is difficult for consumers to find locally makes your business a great candidate for PPC advertising campaigns. People often rely on internet searches to locate unusual or rare products.
If any of these business traits sound like your small business, begin your pay-per-click advertising campaign right away.
Use Pay Per Click Ads to Grow Your Business
In this article, you’ve learned the different types of PPC advertising available and several ways you can benefit by launching a PPC campaign.
Every business is unique with different needs. Perhaps you may benefit from PPC advertising on search engines. Maybe you may benefit more from social ads. Or maybe, a combination of both will give you the best results.
A professional PPC agency like Voix Digital can help you map out a strategy. If you’re already running PPC advertising, we can help you perform an audit on it and spot opportunities for improvement. We can also point out loopholes in the campaign where you’re wasting ad spend and untapped opportunities worth pursuing. We’re here, when you’re ready, to help you grow your business with PPC advertising.
Don’t forget to share your views on this article in the comment section. For more informative blogs, don’t forget to follow us on our social media handles.
Check out our other blogs and social media accounts too!
