If you have landed on this page, it probably means you are in the market for some pay-per-click or PPC Marketing services but are not really sure what it is or how it actually works. The good thing is that you are in the right place!
In this blog post we are going to take a very deep look into what ppc marketing is, how it works and why you should definitely have it in your arsenal if you want to grow your business, so let’s get started right away!
So What Is PPC Marketing?
PPC is an acronym that stands for Pay-Per-Click. Basically, it is a form of online marketing where you are charged every time a user clicks on your ad.
So does that mean that PPC Marketing can only be implemented through search engines such as Google or Bing?
Well actually no! It is true that a large portion of PPC Marketing is done with Google Ads or Bing Ads through bidding systems, that are based on their keywords and half-a-dozen other criteria, where the advertiser appears on top results of the search engine results pages (SERPs), however there are places and platforms where users can perform a click-action right? You are bound to have come across sponsored content on Instagram; that also categorizes as PPC ads.
But that’s not even it yet. The ads you see on YouTube and pretty much across other websites are all channels of PPC marketing.
What’s the difference between PPC, SEM and SEO?
So here’s the thing, many rookies tend to use PPC, SEM and SEO interchangeably however, these are obviously not the same.
So far we have understood that PPC stands for Pay Per Click. Now let’s take a look at the other two.
SEO
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is basically an arsenal of techniques and methods to help search engines make the right decision: yourwebsite is better than the rest! Your visibility on a search engine is mostly done using SEO. Things like optimizing your website speed, using relevant keywords and writing better meta descriptions are the things that will help improve the visibility of your website. Now don’t let all that fool you though; SEO is professional work. There are lots of technical aspects to it such as on-page seo and backlink acquisition! You can read all about SEO in our dedicated SEO page here.
SEM
Now SEM is a much broader term. It stands for Search Engine Marketing. As you may have already guessed, it is an umbrella term which covers PPC as well SEO. What SEM essentially does is that it makes it easier for the users or the potential customers to come across your website or other digital platforms or products within search engines like Google and Bing. By now you should have already guessed how steep the competition can be here!
How does PPC work?
While PPC Marketing sounds like something with a twisted backbone, it actually isn’t. It basically works like a very simple auction system allowing the advertising to bid on specific keywords or phrases with which they think their ads will be most effective and so want shown to the users within the search engine results. So when a user searches for one of these keywords, the advertiser’s adverts will appear among the top results of the page often with a tiny “Sponsored” mark on its top left. The advertiser is then charged everytime someone clicks on their ad or makes a certain interaction with it depending on the goals of that campaign.
Sounds easy? It actually is not!
The number of metrics that need to be adjusted are literally countless when it comes to PPC Marketing. Some of the more common metrics are maximum bid and daily scheduling. Campaigns can also be created and modified based on the targeted demographics, interests, locations and even devices where they are shown.
Once an advertiser has set all the above along with other specifications they deem necessary, then the algorithm starts to enter them in the auctions while taking the below factors into account:
- Advertiser’s bid amount
- Relevance of the ad to the keyword
- Quality of the ad
- PPC strategy and campaign planning
- Relevance and quality of the landing page
Why is PPC important?
There are countless reasons why PPC Marketing is the most important form of advertising today. We are sure you must have thought of a number of reasons already. Let’s take a look at some of them here.
Everybody Is Already There
Whether you like it or not, all your competitors are already investing in PPC Marketing so staying out of it only means that your online presence is not going to be as dominant as it could.
All Your Customers Are There
Who doesn’t go online to search for the services or products they need? This can mean only one thing and that is your customers will not be able to find you if you are not investing in PPC Marketing.
Yields Quick Results
PPC advertising can drive traffic to a website pretty much instantly immediately, while organic endeavors such as SEO can take some time to show results. Platforms usually approve ads the same day, providing maximum exposure almost immediately. This could be a text ad via Google search, an image ad through Instagram, or even a video featured on YouTube. Using multiple platforms in different formats can increase your brand’s visibility.
Helps Protect Your Brand Against Fraud
While this is highly penaltied by advertising platforms, it is possible that sometimes your competitors would want to run ads based on your brand name. So to protect your brand it is a good practice to dedicate some budget to running ads on your brand name.
Reaching Targeted Audience
Provided your PPC Marketing is done right by the pros, you will be able to reach very specific target audiences. This means your advertising will be much more effective and efficient compared to other traditional channels such as TV or billboards.
Progress Is Trackable
Yet another reason why you should invest in PPC Marketing is that the results are actually trackable. You can easily see how your campaigns are performing and how your money is being spent.
What Are The Top PPC Advertising Platforms?
To sum up the most important PPC Marketing platforms are:
- Bing
- YouTube
- Amazon
There are many other platforms that function in a similar way and can be used depending on your niche and location. For example let’s say you are a clothing producer and your region has a famous online clothing shop that everybody visits. In that case you may be wanting to carry out some PPC marketing in that area as well.
Final Words
While PPC Marketing has become one of the backbones of digital marketing, and even though there are countless tutorials available on the internet, it is actually a quiet complicated thing to do. It requires dedication and experience or your money will disappear in a matter of hours! That is why you need to consider choosing a company with the right experience and tools to see to it!
At OC Digital Firm, we are here to take your digital marketing and specifically PPC Marketing to a whole new level!
