February 25th, 2019 | Updated on February 28th, 2019
What Is PPC?
PPC stands for pay-per-click.
This is a type of advertising where the advertiser pays for people to click on their ad. You’ll most commonly see these on search engines such as Google and Bing.
Paid search ads are highly targeted: PPC visitors are 50% more likely to purchase something than organic visitors. So, if you’re looking to drive traffic to your site, PPC could be the way for you to achieve this. Read on to find out how it works and if it’s right for your business.
The Benefits
The main advantage of PPC advertising is that you only pay when someone takes action and clicks on your ad. Unlike most advertising where you pay just for your ad to be shown.
Also, your results are measurable. Everything that goes on with your ads is tracked, analysed and compiled into data for you to look at. So from this, you can clearly tell what is and isn’t working meaning you can easily make adjustments to your campaigns. This helps to avoid wasting budget unnecessarily and means you can continue to improve.
This kind of specific data isn’t typically available for other types of advertising. More traditional mediums such as posters and newspaper ads are much harder to track and it can be difficult to see if it’s profitable.
In comparison, it doesn’t cost you anything to make small tweaks to your PPC ads, so you can test different versions to see their varying success. This allows you to continually improve and get the best results you can.
How PPC Costs Are Calculated
The cost-per-click (CPC) varies depending on a range of factors.
Firstly, the price can be fixed so that the advertiser pays the same amount each time their ad is clicked. However, it’s more common for the cost to be taken from a daily budget. The CPC will be based on how much competition there is.
But how do search engines work out whose ad to show?
Well, platforms such as Google Ads and Bing Ads let advertisers manage their ad accounts. Inside this, they can not only write their ads but bid on keywords relevant to their business. After entering your relevant keywords and attaching conditions to determine what you do and do not want to appear for, the auction begins.
The rank of your ad is determined upon two factors: your maximum bid and your quality score.
Your maximum bid is chosen entirely by yourself and should be a careful consideration based on your business goals and budget.
Google dictates your quality score based on how relevant and useful your ad is. The advantage of this is that it’s not just those with the most money who win the top spots. If your site provides a better user experience and uses more relevant keywords, your quality score will be much higher than theirs.
Your PPC Ad Budget
It’s up to you to decide how much your PPC ads are going to cost you.
You should determine your daily budget based on the specifics of your own business. What is right for someone else may not work for you if your goals are different.
But, what kind of traffic can you handle?
If your business can only cater to a certain number of clients, work out the cost of getting those customers. Calculate the CPA (cost-per-acquisition) of a customer and work backwards from there to determine what a good budget would be.
Secondly, take a look at the cost of your keywords. The more popular a keyword is the higher its price. For example, keywords like ‘insurance’ and ‘loans’ can cost upwards of $50 per click because of how saturated those markets are.
In contrast, if your ads are super specific or are in a niche market, you could get clicks for as cheap as a penny. Therefore, the cost varies massively and also depends on what you set your daily budget as.
Because every business is different, every business’ budget will be too. It’s possible to spend as much or as little on PPC as you like, but at the end of the day, the more money you put into it, the more you’re likely to get out.
Of course, it’s possible to waste your budget by bidding on the wrong keywords; make sure you invest your time into learning how to ensure you’re doing it right.
Is PPC Worth It?
You’re probably wondering if PPC ads are worth your time and money.
Of course, with any advertising, there are advantages and disadvantages. But there are some pretty impressive statistics that make PPC a good choice.
For instance, businesses make an average of $2 in revenue for every $1 they spend on AdWords. PPC ads have also been proven to boost brand awareness by 80% and that the traffic they bring converts 50% more than organic views do.
The primary reason PPC works so well is that it’s targeting people that are more likely to buy. If people are already searching for what you’re offering, they’re more receptive to your ad. In comparison, people that have no interest in your product are likely to ignore it completely.
So, whilst it takes more effort to target people, you’re more likely to make sales because of it.
Getting Started
It’s easy to begin setting up your PPC campaigns. Just decide where you want your ads to appear – if you want your ads on Google, make a Google Ads account.
From there, work out your budget, keywords and write your ads. If you get stuck with any of these stages, there are plenty of handy guides out there to help you.
If you feel you’d benefit from expert help, companies such as Adzooma can create and manage your PPC campaigns for you at an affordable price.
They also offer custom-made websites designed and written specifically for your business. So you can be sure your customers are not only being targeted correctly but being directed to a page which makes it easy for them to become your customer.
If you already have ads up and running, take advantage of their free report which shows you how you can improve your PPC performance.
It’s important to continually manage your PPC ads to ensure you’re not wasting budget.
Increase Your Clicks
With PPC, you’re in control. You can measure your results and keep track of everything easily. So, if you’re unsure of whether it’s right for you, start small and give it a try.
Remember, PPC visitors are 50% more likely to purchase something than organic visitors.
