PPC advertising has revolutionised the way we market our goods and services. The traditional forms of advertising are quickly taking a backseat, and PPC advertising is rapidly coming to the forefront.
PPC is a hugely accessible form of online advertising that has a global reach. You are the master of your own destiny when it comes to PPC advertising; you set the parameters according to your needs and your budget.
If it’s done the right way, it can become a cost effective, globally reaching form of online advertising.
While PPC advertising can be hugely affordable, it’s not cheap. It’s a professional form of online advertising that needs to be taken seriously by those who use it.
If you approach PPC advertising in a careless way, the results will be messy. It may end up costing you more than what you make from your campaign, so use it wisely.
Approaching it in the correct way may reap you many rewards, not just financial ones. It can hugely increase traffic to your website in a very short amount of time, giving you an opportunity to convert visitors into customers. It’s ability to generate leads rapidly is why it remains one of the leading online advertising methods.
You can easily target the right audience to ensure that your message is being listened to, as well as get real time data about the performance of your campaign.
Nothing is left to chance when it comes to PPC advertising.
Many small businesses around the globe ultimately use PPC advertising to immediately develop brand recognition, maintain a consistent web presence as well as to introduce a steady flow of new leads and website traffic.
Getting PPC advertising right can be a challenge, so engaging a professional PPC services expert is the most prevalent route that most organisations choose. Google certified PPC experts work night and day to ensure that their customers get the highest return on investment (ROI).
They have an in-depth understanding of the key aspects of what makes a PPC campaign successful. From keyword research to competition analysis, they’ll cover every base to ensure that your campaign is getting the exposure it deserves.
PPC advertising can be your worst nightmare or your most valuable asset. If you engage in professional PPC services in Australia, make sure that you work closely with your agency. Receiving regular updates on your campaign’s performance is key to managing its success.
If you aren’t actively involved, you may be left with a large cost rather than a profit. Keep them on their toes when it comes to your PPC campaign to ensure its success.
Here are 10 Essential Things You Must Know Before Starting Your PPC Advertising Campaign:
1. What Is PPC?
Pay-per-click (PPC)/ cost per click (CPC) is a form of online advertising used to drive traffic to websites and generate leads. An advertiser pays a publisher when their ad is clicked by a potential customer.
It’s generally associated with search engines like Google and Bing, but is also utilised on websites and social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.
With search engines, advertisers typically bid on keyword phrases that are relevant to their target market. Whereas, content sites normally charge a fixed price per click.
CPC is calculated by dividing the advertising cost by the number of clicks generated by an advertisement.
It’s important for the advertiser to consider the potential value of a click from a given source i.e. the type of visitor, as well as what they can gain from that visit.
As with other forms of advertising targeting is key. The factors that come into play with PPC campaigns include the target’s interest (i.e. the search term entered, or the content of the page they’re browsing), their intent (i.e. to purchase or not), location, and finally, the day and time they’re browsing.
2. What Can PPC Do For My Business?
PPC advertising can open your business up to a global market and take it to the next level, all on a limited budget.
There are now more than 4 billion people around the globe using the internet who could potentially have access to your business. This is a huge opportunity, not only for revenue growth but also brand exposure.
PPC advertising gives your business a global reach through the worldwide channels that offer it. Getting your message out to potential customers that are scattered around the globe has never been so easy through the likes of Google and Facebook Ads.
PPC marketing also allows you to specifically target the audience you want to reach, rather than offering a blanket approach. Generally, the channels that your business will be using have detailed data about their users and their habits, which is something that your business can tap into through PPC advertising.
3. What Does A PPC Agency Do?
A PPC agency is responsible for your entire PPC advertising strategy and budget.
Professional PPC services in Australia usually include keyword research, selecting target channels (like Google), PPC monitoring (measuring each campaign and keyword for effectiveness, ensuring they’re yielding a positive ROI), competition analysis (observing what the competition is doing, which keywords they’re targeting and the ad creative they’re using).
As well as campaign optimisation which includes monitoring the campaign structure and optimising it based on top performing keywords.
Split testing is also a task that your PPC agency is responsible for. They’ll constantly undergo A/B testing of new ads and landing pages, as well as perform regular experiments across the entire PPC funnel.
4. Why Can’t I Manage My Own PPC Campaign?
Let’s face it, you most likely don’t have the knowledge, skills or tools to maximise your ROI.
While sites like Google try to make their tools as easy as possible, Google Ads is hugely complex when you’re a rookie. PPC experts actually take exams in order to be Google accredited, so its not a walk in the park.
While the free tools provided with programs like Google Ads are helpful, a PPC agency will have additional tools to give their customers a higher ROI.
As an individual setting up a PPC campaign, your awareness of what users are searching for in your specific industry, as well as what your competition is doing, is most likely limited.
Paid tools can be used to uncover this data, which means that your campaign can be set up more effectively from the get-go.
PPC advertising isn’t set and forget. PPC campaigns require constant monitoring and adjustment. Using analytical tools and consistently compiling data from various sources are tasks that PPC agencies are accustomed to. They’re also accustomed to adapting when platforms make regular changes.
5. Which Is Better – PPC Or SEO?
Neither is better or worse than the other when it comes to online advertising. They both have their benefits as well as their drawbacks, and are used in different ways.
Generally, PPC advertising produces quicker results with instant increases in website traffic and lead generation. It’s a great strategy for new businesses, new products and services, events, promotions etc., as it boosts engagement quickly.
However, when you stop utilising PPC, you stop seeing results, it’s as simple as that.
SEO on the other hand, is a longer-term strategy that generally doesn’t take immediate effect, and therefore doesn’t generate immediate results.
If you opt to go down the SEO route, you’re in it for the long haul. It takes longer to show results; however, those results have a lasting effect, even after you stop utilising it. It’s a great strategy for improving brand awareness, building brand loyalty etc.
6. What Does It Cost To Run A PPC Campaign?
When it comes to PPC advertising, there is no one standard cost. That’s the joy of PPC and why it works so well with so many different types of businesses.
It’s tailored exactly to your needs, and to your budget. It’s also hugely flexible so you can adjust your strategy according to your changing budget or advertising needs. And you only pay when you see results i.e. when your potential customers take action.
You don’t need a huge advertising budget to get a high ROI when it comes to PPC advertising.
Costs to consider when planning your PPC campaign include fees for PPC services if you go down the agency route, as well as the platform costs for the actual PPC adverts. Platforms like Google, Facebook, Instagram etc. don’t have set costs, so once again, it depends which platform you (or your agency) decide to utilise for your campaign, and what your needs are.
7. What Is A Good CTR?
A clickthrough rate (CTR) identifies how often people who view your ad, actually click it. A CTR can be used to help you determine the quality of your PPC advertising campaign including the effectiveness of your imagery, positioning and keywords.
Across all industries, the average CTR for a search ad is around 2%, and 0.35% for a display ad.
Search ads are ads that appear when a potential customer searches for your product or service in a search engine. They are small snippets of text that sit above or below the top-ranked search results.
Display ads come in various forms, including banner ads, rich media etc. Unlike text-based ads, display advertising relies on elements such as images, audio and video to communicate a message.
Having a benchmark is key to determining a good CTR. The average industry rates are a good guideline however, doing some research for industry specific CTR data is recommended; niche industries may have higher CTRs. Knowing how others in your industry are performing is a great place to start.
8. Will PPC Work For My Business?
If done right, PPC can work for any business. Paid search marketing is hugely mouldable and can therefore adapt to any need.
Make sure you identify your goals before jumping head first into a PPC campaign. What you want to achieve from it will have a large influence on how its executed. So, make sure you have clear goals outlined before you start the process.
PPC advertising does require some form of investment. As with any type of advertising, what you put in, you get out. If you invest in your PPC marketing, you will reap the benefits.
Having an involvement in the process is crucial to the success of your campaign. If you decide to leave it to the experts, make sure you’re getting regular updates in regards to the performance of your campaign.
9. How Can I Measure The ROI Of A PPC Marketing Campaign?
Return on Investment for PPC advertising can be measured in various ways.
Return on ad spend (RAOS) is a percentage calculated as PPC revenue minus PPC cost, divided by PPC cost. Whereas return on investment takes all costs into account (like PPC agency fees), not just click fees.
Profit per impression and profit per click take a holistic view of the search process. Conversions include things like choosing the right keywords, getting ads in front of searchers, obtaining clicks at a good cost and turning browsers into buyers.
To calculate profit per impression, divide profit by impressions; for profit per click, divide profit by clicks.
You’ll need data for impressions, clicks, total cost and total sales value. To calculate profit, simply subtract the total cost from the total sales value (you can factor in overhead costs here).
10. How Will I Know When To Hire A PPC Agency To Manage My Campaign?
This is determined by the end result you’re looking for i.e. the goal you want to achieve. If your business is happy to dabble in PPC advertising and get limited results, then going it alone isn’t such a bad idea. However, implementing a slapdash PPC advertising campaign may actually have a negative effect on your brand.
If your expectations are high, then you’ll most likely determine that hiring a PPC agency is worth it. As mentioned, a successful PPC advertising campaign has many aspects to it. It takes a high degree of expertise and knowledge in order to maximise the ROI from PPC marketing.
It’s fairly simple, unless you have the knowledge, skills and time required to successfully implement and manage a PPC advertising campaign, then its best that you reach out to the experts. PPC experts know how to advertise your business in the right way; they’ll drastically improve your ROI and ensure that your brand identity is preserved.