Is PPC Right for Your Business?

For many businesses, getting in front of customers at the right time is difficult to do organically. Especially when a market is particularly saturated with competitors, it is difficult to stand out and requires a core strategy. One of the best ways for customers to uncover new businesses, services and products is through personal research. Search engines are perfect places to mine for gold.

Pay per click advertising is a fantastic way to reach your target audience at the exact point they are looking. When we talk about Pay per Click (or PPC), we are referring to paid search advertising, typically through Google Ads. Whether the customer is in the research phase or the buying phase, visibility around the most popular or relevant search queries will distinguish your brand as a key player and drive brand awareness. The essence of PPC is paying to appear at the top of relevant search results.

For many that are new to search engine marketing, there are lots of questions to ask. We want to make sure that digital advertising is right for your business and for your marketing strategy.

Here’s our short guide to PPC…

The basics of pay per click advertising

What is Google Pay-per-Click?

PPC refers to pay per click, a form of paid advertising that pays to show ads in search results for specific keywords. The cost per keyword varies depending on the value of the keyword and the density of search traffic using the keyword in their queries. The ultimate goal is to drive conversions, such as specific customer actions like: purchases, sign ups or engagements. We are focusing on Google Ads here, however a number of other major PPC platforms exist. For instance, Bing Ads and social platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn ads.

Understanding your audience

First, you need to address who you are planning to reach with your ads. For example, are you targeting customers, clients, partners?

Different industries will approach this in different ways, for some a straightforward list of core keywords around your brand is suitable. For others, keyword choice may span multiple industries or audiences, each with their own keywords to focus on.

Specific keywords or search queries each have a cost per click (CPC). This can depend on a number of factors. e.g. search volumes, keyword relevancy, market saturation, clarity of terms and more.

Depending on what sort of business you operate, keyword usage may vary. For example, if you are B2B your keywords will be more industry focused. Whereas B2C may focus on high search volume keywords that are more generic. A good option is to filter your audiences by different buying stages. This ensures you are appearing for the most relevant keywords. Similarly, if you have multiple target audiences with different needs, these could be split out in your media plan.

Types of PPC ads

Your PPC ad types will vary whether you are advertising a text advert, product, shopping ad, responsive ad or dabbling in Display Network.

It’ll also depend on what you’re selling, whether users expect a shopping button, landing page, lead form, video or something else entirely. PPC is very varied - it's also a great stomping ground for testing and analysis. Search behaviour varies, so we need to appear useful and informative in places that reach people at the right time.

The type of PPC advertising you use will greatly depend on what you are selling. e.g. If you are selling a product, shoppings ads are more visual and put the customer in the buying mindset. Alternatively, display ads or responsive search ads are good for visual engagement when you’re placed next to other brands. Shopping ads are most effective for e-commerce, but they have a higher cost per click (CPC) than text ads.

PPC ads can act as an independent revenue stream for your business, or simply an additional tool. It is worth considering the size of your requirements and the time and resources required to manage this in house.

Choosing the right keywords

Google Ads allows you to build keyword lists within the platform, however it is valuable to prepare a PPC keyword research strategy ahead of time to ensure you have a handle on audiences, keywords and costs before jumping in. You can strategise to utilise lower cost keywords and not deplete your budget too quickly. Furthermore, this allows you to optimise your bidding and maximise your return on ad spend.

Ongoing PPC management 

A successful PPC strategy will flex with the changing market, and adjustments will be made each week based on received results. This requires time to manage the campaign effectively and report on progress, alongside making amends such as keyword usage, ad placement and ad spend. Google has a native Keyword Planner which is valuable for keyword research and to build forecasted strategies before proceeding. However there are many third party tools available as well.

We would recommend at least half a day each week to manage and review the campaign data and make vital improvements. Important metrics to review include: click through rate, quality score, impression and conversion rates.

If you are going for a less campaign-led approach and want to just focus on a small pool of brand keywords, you can take a more hands-off approach. However, smaller budgets may not garner the same level of results or reach as many users. The return on ad spend depends on what, where and how regularly you are appearing for your target keywords.

Using PPC ads to meet your goals

If the goal is to simply fend your corner and appear for the most important and relevant search terms for your business, such as brand names, core service offerings or competitor offerings, this may be more of a cyclical approach.

If on the other hand you require campaign-led and fluctuating search trends based on product, service or season, outsourcing your PPC may alleviate some stress and allow you to take a holistic view of how everything is going.

Conversion tracking is important to ensure your Google Ads are getting the results you want, and can clearly pinpoint where your engagement is best.

PPC is a core tool to a strong business model, using customer behaviour to facilitate brand awareness and e-commerce sales. When used correctly and efficiently, there is clear value.

The benefits of PPC

For businesses that don’t have the resources to manage their PPC services in house, outsourcing to an agency can be a valuable step. Outsourcing ensures that paid advertising is being carefully handled and carried out efficiently. It also frees up time and adds trust.

The benefits of outsourcing your PPC include the following:

• Consistent monitoring and campaign management
• Informed and meticulous ad optimisation
• Hands free conversion tracking set up and debugging
• Intelligent financial control and bidding suggestions based on your set spend
• A friendly and supportive digital team at your disposal
• Regular reporting and email support to manage expectations

Get started with PPC

If you are considering what PPC could add to your business strategy, our digital team is more than happy to discuss the potential for your PPC campaign strategy.

Get in touch today to get the ball rolling and we can see if pay per click is the right fit for you.

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