PPC Ad Campaign –Is It a Powerful Marketing Tool, Why Go For It?

Web world has been taken by storm with endless possibilities of technology. Advancement in technology has transformed the ways of communication and information exchange. This has led to new simplified and cost effective ways of doing business. It has also provided equal opportunities to small and large organizations to increase their online presence. Many businesses worldwide have gone online, and the number of personal website owners is rising day by day.

Having a web presence is a pathway for business to reach their target audience beyond geographical boundaries.  This web transformation has also opened various avenues for earning money. Nowadays PPC (Pay Per Click) has acquired the center stage for increasing traffic on the website. It not only helps businesses to earn indirectly, but also increases the traffic on the websites.

What is PPC?

PPC is a type of online advertising, widely used on different websites and search engines. In this, the advertiser only pays if the user clicks on their advertisement. Hence the title is given pay per click.

It has an extremely basic design. It consists of a headline, two short lines of text and URL. IT does not have graphics or videos. Though the design may look basic, but it can do wonders for businesses. It works for both, the site owners as well as the people looking to earn while on the web. Websites have space to enable business and enterprise owner to display their ads on their sites. Any website visitor on the PPC site clicks on the links for which PPC-campaign owner gets commission. On the other hand, the advertisers get a large number of visitors on their websites. It is a cost effective means to get the business recognized among the target audience.

How PPC works?

PPC in a way works like a silent auction. Advertisers identify keywords and phrases that they think their target audience would type in the search box, to locate certain goods and services. When the web user types in the keywords in the search engine, and if the keywords match with the advertiser, the user is being taken to the content that correlates to the keywords entered by the user. The relevant Google Ads as PPC is displayed.

Typically in search engines, the ad will be on the right hand side of the screen. On websites, the ads will be seen on the place given by the website owner for advertisement. In order to separate the PPC ads from the natural search engine results, search engine often place the ads under sponsored ads or links. This makes it visible and noticeable even on the page crowded with text and other competitive items competing to gain attention.

Types of PPC campaign

There are two main types of PPC campaigns, these are:

Flat rate PPC

In this, the publisher and advertiser come to a common agreement in terms of cost to be paid for each click. The publisher essentially holds the upper hand as it has the rate that determines the cost per click on the basis of competition. This implies that the cost is decided on the basis of how many other people want to pay for that click too.

Bid based PPC

In this type, the advertisers sign an agreement that allows them to compare against other competitors in an advertising networks such as Microsoft Adcenter and Google AdWords. The advertisers set the maximum amount that he/she is willing to pay during the auction for a given place on the website on the basis of the keywords. The auction moves ahead automatically as the visitor clicks on the ad spot for result pages displayed by the SERP.

Business can select any type, depending on the budget of the business. If the potential for expenditure is more, then businesses can target the consumers directly with flat-rate ad. If the businesses are in the testing stage with a smaller budget, then it can start with bidding on few key phrases and wait for the search engine to group them.

Why go for PPC?

PPC is cheap and can be an effective part of marketing strategy. It enhances search engine visibility, increases traffic and also allows customer retention. Below mentioned are some of the important reasons for businesses to go for PPC.

PPC comes into effect immediately

This type of advertisement gives the business instant visibility. Business owners can create account, set up the billing preferences, ad groups and campaigns and instantly start the PPC venture.

Greater reach

Businesses can target a wide range of market beyond geographical boundaries. Specific audience relevant to the products and services can be targeted, which otherwise may not be possible to achieve in organic listings.

Great accountability

It has great accountability as it allows businesses to monitor its performance. It gives control on the amount spent and set a budget, set the maximum price for paying for a click, set the targeted regions and also monitor the number of clicks converted into sales. Further, it also gives the stats on ROI, this may help to determine whether to continue with PPC or not.

Google Analytics

It allows linking the Google analytics with Google ad words PPC account to track the keywords which provides sales and leads, and which ones don’t.

Gain targeted traffic from particular target areas

Businesses can set a target area or a region to get the ads particularly in those areas. PPC ads will only be shown for that area.

Cost effective

It is cost effective as businesses only pay for the clicks. With a targeted campaign, it also allows elimination of unnecessary clicks.

Effective Marketing tool

It allows businesses to make decisions as per the need of the customers. It helps to determine the exact keywords user is typing to find services and products.

Need for PPC management

No doubt PPC is a powerful marketing tool, only if managed properly. It does require proper planning and pathway to lead businesses to success. Businesses need to do intensive research and identify the target areas before launching the campaign. The use of keywords and phrases is another vital aspect of PPC. It is necessary to consider clients, business model and the bidding amount, before finalizing the keywords. The best way to ensure good returns is hire professional PPC management service.

In addition, the success of a PPC campaign is determined by the willingness to bid. Businesses should not side line the necessity and power of keyword. It is essential to bid for keyword. However, paying in access for keywords should be avoided. The performance of keywords should be tested on a regular basis to generate traffic on the website.

PPC can be included as a part of successful business strategy. The options it provides are difficult to get from any other online marketing method. But businesses need to have patience as the set up of ads is easy and cost effective, but it takes time to thrive. It should be considered as just another marketing strategy with quantifiable short or medium term goal in mind, but businesses need to concentrate on conversions rather than clicks on the ads.