Consider this scenario: Sonia is in search of a new skincare product and decides to browse online for some options. Upon searching on Google, an ad for a skincare product catches her attention as it aligns with her needs. She clicks on the ad to learn more.
This scenario highlights how pay per click (PPC) advertising can effectively attract potential customers and drive conversions. By placing an ad at the top of search results, businesses can generate leads and increase their online presence. But what exactly is PPC advertising, and why should businesses consider launching a PPC campaign to generate leads and sales? Let’s find out.
What Is Pay Per Click Advertising?
Pay per click advertising, or PPC advertising, is an effective digital advertising technique wherein the advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked on. It is a way of buying website traffic rather than attempting to earn it organically. PPC advertising is most commonly associated with search engine advertising platforms such as Google Ads and Bing Ads, but it can also be used on social media marketing platforms such as Facebook Ads and LinkedIn Ads.
Working Concept of Pay Per Click Advertising
The working concept of PPC advertising is quite simple. Advertisers bid on specific keywords or phrases relevant to their target audience. Then, when a user searches for those keywords or phrases, the search engine displays relevant ads based on the advertisers’ bids. The search engine will take into account the advertiser’s bid, as well as the quality and relevance of their ad and landing page, when determining which ads to display.
Six Simple Steps to Launching a PPC Advertising Campaign
Although starting your first PPC marketing campaign may seem simple and straightforward, it’s important to remember that the quality of your ads can greatly impact the success of your campaign. To ensure optimal results, take the time to carefully follow each of the six steps involved in setting up your campaign.
Step 1 – Determining Your PPC Advertising Budget
Before launching your pay per click campaign, it’s crucial to establish your budget. Start by deciding on an initial budget that will allow you to test the effectiveness of your campaign. Research industry benchmarks to gain insight into the average cost per conversion.
Next, set daily and lifetime spend limits for your campaigns. This is a critical step in creating a successful PPC campaign since your budget has a significant impact on your ad’s success rate. Take advantage of Google Ads tools to help you determine your budget, and follow Google’s recommendations, as its algorithms are designed to optimize your return on investment.
Google Ads provides an estimate of the number of clicks your budget will generate, allowing you to calculate your potential ROI based on your projected conversion rate. If your budget does not yield significant results, consider alternative marketing methods.
Step 2 – Defining Your Pay Per Click Campaign Objectives
The goals of a pay per click campaign vary depending on the nature of the business. If you’re promoting a startup, your aim may be to increase traffic and awareness, while selling a product may focus on driving conversions.
Your campaign objectives have a significant impact on the success of your marketing efforts, as each objective has a different value. Clicks are less valuable than leads or conversions, and your cost-per-click should reflect this.
Defining your campaign objectives enables you to accurately target your desired audience and measure your ROI. With PPC, you pay for the click, not the customer’s subsequent actions, and the cost of the click remains the same whether or not they make a purchase.
Determine your target audience and the actions you want them to take before optimizing your campaign to encourage them to take these actions. This will lower your costs and improve your campaign’s overall performance.
Step 3 – Choosing the Right Pay Per Click Campaign Type
Choosing the right type of campaign is another key element to consider in PPC advertising. There are numerous options, each providing you with flexibility in how you target your desired audience:
- Search ads: Ads appearing at the top of search engine results
- Social ads: Ads being displayed on social media platforms
- Remarketing ads: Ads targeting people who have previously visited your website
- E-commerce ads: Ads on Google Shopping specifically focused on selling products
- Instream ads: Pre-roll ads on platforms like YouTube
- Display ads: Dynamic ads shown on third-party websites
All of these options provide you with the necessary tools to target your specific audience. You must determine where your target audience is most active and responsive, which may differ depending on the buyer personas you’re targeting.
You don’t have to limit yourself to one type of ad, and many businesses find that a combination of various ad formats works best for them. However, monitoring the ROI for each ad type is critical so that you can adjust your strategy accordingly.
Step 4 – Conduct Thorough Keyword Research
The success of your PPC campaign relies heavily on effective keyword research. While you may have a general idea of how your target audience searches for your products or services, you need to delve deeper and identify the keywords that are most likely to drive conversions.
In order to conduct thorough keyword research, it’s important to consider the intent behind the search terms. For example, someone searching for “best restaurants near me” likely has a different intent than someone searching for “how to cook spaghetti.” By understanding the intent behind different search terms, you can choose keywords that are more likely to result in conversions.
Additionally, you’ll want to consider the competition for each keyword. Some highly competitive keywords may be prohibitively expensive, while others may be too niche to generate much traffic. Finding the right balance is key.
There are many tools available to help with keyword research, including Google’s Keyword Planner, SEMrush, and Ahrefs. By using these tools and analyzing the data, you can identify the most effective keywords for your campaign and adjust your budget accordingly.
Step 5 - Place Bids on Your Selected Keywords
Different bidding options are available on various platforms, allowing you to optimize for specific goals. Google Ads, for instance, enables you to optimize for:
- Target cost per action (CPA),
- Return on ad spend (ROAS),
- Maximum clicks,
- Maximum conversions,
- Target impression share
Google automatically bids on your behalf, using algorithms to optimize for your desired goal. However, you still have some control over your bid. For instance, if you maximize clicks, you can set a maximum bid. If you optimize for conversions, you can set a target CPA.
Step 6 – Create keyword-focused copy
The effectiveness of your PPC campaign goes beyond simply getting clicks on your ads. What happens after a user clicks on your ad really matters.
For users to take action, your landing pages need to be unique, engaging, and, most importantly, relevant to the ad. They should offer a seamless user experience and provide the information people are looking for quickly. If your landing page isn’t relevant to the user’s search intent, they will likely leave and click on a different result.
Benefits of Pay Per Click Advertising
Pay only for ad visits
With pay per click, you pay only for the visits your ad receives, unlike other models where you pay a fee for displaying the ad with no guarantee of generating results.
Complete performance data
Pay per click provides comprehensive data on impressions, clicks, and conversions, allowing for real-time course correction for underperforming ads.
Targeted audience
Pay per click ensures that your ad reaches the right audience, eliminating wasted clicks and resulting in a lower cost per click.
Budget control
Advertisers can set a maximum budget per day, starting from as low as INR 100 to 150, allowing for precise control over campaign spending.
Ad placement control
Advertisers can select specific platforms and locations and even choose the days and times when their ads will be displayed.
Improved visibility
Pay per click allows for ads to be displayed on high-traffic sites, resulting in better positioning and visibility.
Discover the Significance of Pay Per Click Advertising
At Brains Media Solutions, our team of marketing experts can provide businesses with valuable insights into why PPC is crucial for achieving sustainable business growth through digital marketing. We utilize a variety of search engine management techniques to help brands enhance their online presence.
Get in touch with us to explore the importance of PPC and to avail our comprehensive PPC advertising services for your business.
FAQs
Yes, SEO (search engine optimization) and pay per click advertising can work together to improve the overall online visibility of a business. They can also help in generating leads or sales.
The top PPC advertising platforms include Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Bing Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and Twitter Ads, among others.
The cost of pay per click advertising can vary depending on the platform, targeting options, competition, and other factors. Advertisers typically set a budget and bid on keywords or ad placements, and the cost is determined by the number of clicks or impressions the ad receives.
Results from pay per click advertising can be seen immediately, as soon as the ad campaign is launched. However, it may take some time to optimize the campaign and see significant improvements in performance.
Yes, pay per click advertising can be an effective digital marketing strategy for small businesses. With precise targeting options and budget control, pay per click advertising allows small businesses to reach their desired audience with a limited budget. Advertisers can set a daily budget and target specific geographic locations, demographics, or interests.
