You might have come to the point where you feel your website is the best it can be in terms of Search Engine Optimisation.
But what happens if your website still isn't ranking for the keywords you want to be targeting?
This is where Pay Per Click (PPC) can come in. Essentially, you are paying to advertise your website when certain keywords are searched for. When a user clicks on one of your Ads, you pay the search engine. Or in other words, you Pay Per Click that happens on your Ads.
As long as your campaigns have been set up correctly, you should find that you are paying a minimal amount per click compared to the money you're getting back in from the campaign. For example, you could be paying £1.50 for a click but then getting £100 in from the resulting sale.
However, don't get too excited; like everything in marketing, there are both good and bad bits to doing PPC Advertising.
The good bits
There are several ways that PPC can benefit your business, including:
- You decide your budget up-front, and you can change it at any time
- It's a cost-effective form of advertising
- It's possible for your Ads to be shown on the first page of Google, above the organic results
- It's positive brand exposure that you have full control over
- It's possible to run multiple Ad Campaigns for each keyword you want to target
- It can result in more clicks to your website
Let's look at these points in some more detail.
Budgeting
When looking for a cost-effective form of advertising, look no further. When it comes to PPC Advertising on a search engine (such as Google), you can decide your daily budget up-front, and it will stick to it. So as your business grows, so does your marketing efforts.
Cost-effectiveness
When you create your Campaign, you can specify how much you are willing to pay for each click on your Ads. This can maximise how far your budget can stretch while allowing you to reap the rewards for your efforts.
This makes it a cost-effective form of advertising where no budget is wasted.
Be shown above organic results
If everything is set up and your campaign is running in the best possible way it can, it is possible that your Ads can be shown above the other results on Google, which can increase your business' visibility.
Brand exposure
You have full control over the account, decide what text or images are used in your Ads, and decide which keywords your Ads are displayed against. Plus, you only pay when someone actually clicks on the Ads, which means your Ads can be shown to hundreds of people who can see your business name and what you offer, without you needing to pay unless someone clicks. That can be some good exposure for your business.
Run multiple campaigns
While you might be tempted to include everything you do in a single Ad, this isn't the best way to get people interested in your business. Through Google's targeting algorithms, they will always strive to show the best Ad for what the user is searching for.
So by having multiple Ads, it's more likely that your Ad will be shown to the right person at the right time.
More clicks to your site
If your Ads are being shown above the organic results, more people are likely to click on your site over the others. After all, when was the last time you scrolled down to the bottom of the first page?
With all these things in mind, it may seem as though using PPC Advertising is a no-brainer for your business. However, where there are good bits, there must inevitably be bad bits.
The bad bits
Some of the bad bits:
- Optimisation takes time
- It's not for the faint of heart (it can be complex)
- You need to keep an eye on your spending
- Not every click will turn into a purchase
Now let's take a look at some of these drawbacks:
Optimisation taking time
If you want your account to work perfectly and start generating leads for you, you'll need to make sure your account is optimised. Unfortunately, this takes time.
You're going to have to make sure that you have time you're able to set aside on a weekly/monthly basis to go through your account to make sure everything is working as it should be.
Complexity
Because of the acronyms used, the metrics you need to keep on top of, and the different things you can do with the account, it can be a complex piece of software. That's why many businesses choose to use agencies such as ours to manage their accounts.
Just remember that there is an additional cost with this when it comes to your budgeting.
Keep an eye on your spending
When it comes to PPC, if your accounts are not optimised correctly, you can end up with wasted clicks.
However, if your account is too optimised, you can end up not getting any clicks at all. It's a fine line you have to walk between wasting your money and not spending anything.
Not every click will turn into a purchase
Let's turn back to the example we used above - you spend £1.50 on a click, and you get £100 back as a purchase. But what happens if you get 200 clicks before someone makes a purchase? Suddenly, you're making a loss in your marketing efforts.
Again, this is where account optimisation can help. By targeting the right audience at the right time, it can be possible to get more conversions for your clicks.
Summing Up
When it comes to PPC, you can control every aspect of your account to make sure it's working in the best possible way for your business. From budgeting, to what your Ads say - it's all up to you to decide.
This level of control can be an excellent thing to have in any business when it comes to marketing.
However, before you start using PPC, you also need to consider some of the drawbacks that you may face. From it being complex, to needing to keep an eye on everything that's happening, so you don't have wasted clicks.
But if you look at it, all of the negatives can be managed, either by yourself or by an external agency, such as us.
If you want to start leveraging the power of PPC but don't know where to start, feel free to get in touch and we can have a chat to ensure this is right for your business.
