When used the right way, pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns will help you maximize your reach and connect with your target audiences. The key is knowing how to approach these campaigns to get the best results.
In this blog, Ignite Visibility’s SVP of Paid Media, Meghan Parsons, will guide you through the ins and outs of pay-per-click advertising to help ensure your success with this strategy.
What You’ll Learn:
- What is Pay-Per-Click (PPC)?
- How Does Pay-Per-Click Advertising Work?
- PPC Ad Formats Based on Platform
- How Much Does Pay Per Click Cost?
- FAQs About Pay-Per-Click Marketing
My Expert Opinion on PPC
Pay-per-click advertising campaigns are among the most important advertising tools you’ll ever use. The right strategy will help you connect with millions of people online, many of whom might not find your brand elsewhere. I find these campaigns to be an invaluable asset if you want to dominate search engines when organic search alone won’t cut it.
Using the right target keywords to supplement your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts, incorporating the right messaging and visuals that resonate with your specific audience, and choosing the right placements, will provide you with a winning strategy.
I recommend you set a reasonable budget aside for pay-per-click advertising and use the right digital media platforms. At the same time, you should supplement pay-per-click efforts with other paid media to maximize your reach while honing your targeting. Ultimately, your ads should speak to your audiences with visuals and messaging that connect with each segmented audience, helping you get the most from your budget as your ads drive conversions.
Let’s look more into how pay-per-click advertising works and some steps to take to build your next campaign.
What Is Pay-Per-Click (PPC)?
To start with, what is pay-per-click, exactly? PPC is synonymous with paid search, both falling under paid media. In short, it’s a type of online advertising model that requires businesses to pay a fixed rate whenever a user clicks on their ads.
Using PPC, you’ll bid on keywords and phrases related to your business that people use when searching online. The higher you bid and the more relevant your ads, the higher your ad placement
The cost of the ad will depend on which keywords you choose, how much competition there is, and the quality of your ad.
For instance, when you search “organic food delivery” on Google, sponsored ads appear at the top of the search results. Compared to organic listings, these ads appear with the words “Ad” next to the URL making it clear that these are paid placements.
Your pay-per-click campaign isn’t limited to Google, either. There are plenty of other pay-per-click platforms to reach your audiences, depending on where they are online.
For example, you can use Microsoft Ads to reach audiences on Bing, which is ideal for connecting with older audiences who don’t use Google as often. Meanwhile, if you’re trying to reach professionals in a B2B industry, you could use LinkedIn Ads. Ecommerce audiences, on the other hand, might be easier to advertise using Amazon ads.
There are also many other social media platforms you can use for pay-per-click advertising, from Facebook and Instagram to Pinterest and X.
Using a combination of paid search and paid social campaigns can go a long way in extending your online reach. At the same time, you should use programmatic advertising when possible to help automate the display ad buying process, helping you optimize your pay-per-click strategies with less effort.
Why is PPC Important?
If you’re not using pay-per-click marketing for your brand, you’re missing out on a critical opportunity to build brand awareness and drive traffic to your website.
Pay-per-click ads will get your brand in front of millions of people on multiple platforms, working with other digital and offline marketing strategies to draw more leads and customers.
Regardless of your industry or the size of your business, you’ll benefit from incorporating pay-per-click strategies to reach your target audiences.
PPC Benefits
Here are some of the main reasons businesses use PPC marketing:
- It’s cost-effective: Pay-per-click marketing is much more cost-effective than traditional marketing strategies like radio and television ads.
- It’s trackable: PPC marketing is trackable and measurable, allowing you to see exactly how your campaigns perform.
- It’s fast: With PPC marketing, your ads can go live as soon as you create them.
- It’s targeted: With PPC, you can target your ads to people who have already indicated an interest in your products or services.
- It’s scalable: PPC campaigns can be scaled to fit your budget.
- It’s flexible: PPC campaigns can be easily adjusted to maximize your ROI.
You can also use PPC campaigns to reach new customers, reach different test markets, get feedback on your product, and much more.
PPC vs SEO vs SEM
Not sure what the difference is between pay-per-click (PPC), search engine optimization (SEO), and search engine marketing (SEM) strategies?
The following is a breakdown of the differences between them:
In short, pay-per-click and search engine optimization both fall under the umbrella of search engine marketing.
How Does Pay-Per-Click Advertising Work?
Now that you have an answer to the question of “What is pay-per-click marketing,” you’re likely wondering, “How does pay-per-click advertising work?” Before launching a PPC campaign, it’s crucial to have a plan in place. At a minimum, a campaign should include these 11 steps.
1. Goals
What do you hope to accomplish with your PPC campaign?
For example, do you want to increase traffic to your website? Generate more leads? Increase sales? These goals will give your pay-per-click campaign a clear direction and inform your approach.
2. Audience
Who do you want to target with your ads?
This includes demographic characteristics like age, location, job title, etc. Your audience could also depend on the stage of the marketing funnel they’re in, whether they’re first encountering your brand or need remarketing ads to bring them back to you.
When you’ve identified audiences through market research, you can segment them into individual personas to guide every aspect of your ads, from the copy and visuals to the platforms you use for your campaigns.
3. Budget
How much are you willing to spend on your campaign?
If you’re starting, you may want to start with a smaller budget to get your campaign up and running. Over time, as your campaigns grow and you have more money to work with, you can expand your budget, which could help you reach wider audiences and appear for more terms.
4. Keywords
What keywords or phrases will you target with your ads?
Not All Campaigns Rely On Keywords
First of all, not all paid media campaigns use keywords. Certain campaigns such as Performance Max (PMax), social media ads, or Display campaigns in Google can be highly effective when reaching specific audiences based on criteria other than search terms.
These types of campaigns allow marketers to target audiences throughout different parts of the customer journey. In this way, ads are not restricted to specific searches, allowing leads to be nurtured consistently across various platforms and touchpoints.
Keyword Campaign List
To start, create a list of relevant keywords. Then, you can use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner or Aherfs Keyword Tool to help you find keywords with a high search volume but as low competition as possible.
Once you have a list of relevant keywords, narrow it down to the best ones. Try grouping similar keywords into “ad groups” and focusing on a few high-performing keywords for each ad group.
There are three main keyword match types your ads may reach based on your goals:
- Broad Match – Related to your target keyword
- Phrase Match – Related variations of your keyword’s meaning
- Exact Match – Match your target keyword’s meaning
Target Long-Tail Keywords
While broad short-tail keywords of one or two words are often more competitive and lack distinct intent in many cases, long-tail keywords comprise three or more words and are often more cost-effective. At the same time, long-tail keywords often have clearer intent behind them, giving you a better idea of which stage of the funnel people are in when entering them.
Consider Negative Keywords
Don’t target every keyword with your pay-per-click advertising campaigns. Add a list of words that are irrelevant to your ads, which will help with targeting and making the most of your budget.
Conduct Competitor Analysis
Another critical step in keyword research is taking a look at your competitors’ campaigns. What keywords are they using for their ads? Are there any gaps you can fill, i.e., low-hanging fruit that you can target with PPC in addition to SEO?
Use the Right Tools
There are plenty of tools to help you with keyword and competitive research. The following are some helpful tools for pay-per-click campaign optimization:
5. Ad Format
What kind of ads will you run?
Depending on your goals, you may choose to search, display, or video ads. The specific type of ad you choose will ultimately depend on your audience and the location where your ads will appear.
Which pay-per-click ad type might you want to use? Here’s a brief breakdown of the different kinds of ad formats available:
- Responsive Search Ads: These ads appear in search results with different messaging based on your audiences and the various headlines and descriptions you use.
- Video Ads: You can also use video ads across the web to connect with audiences in a more engaging visual format.
- Discovery Ads: These Google ads show up in mobile apps for YouTube, Google, and Gmail with personalized messaging.
- Local Services Ads: If you own a local business, you can use these Google ads to connect with people who are performing local searches for your services.
- Mobile-First Design: In many cases, ads should appeal to mobile users with responsive ad designs that work with the user’s screen and mobile layout.
6. Ad Text
What will your ads say?
This includes both the headlines and descriptions of your ad. Your ad text should be relevant and appealing to audiences, accurately conveying the kind of content your audience will find on the corresponding landing page. It’s also best to keep your text concise and short, offering real value to potential customers.
7. Landing Page
What page on your site will users be directed to when they click on your ad?
This is typically a product or service page or a page specifically created for your PPC campaign. The best landing pages have clear above-the-fold headlines and text, content that matches the corresponding link, and visuals aligned with the rest of your branding, with a clear call to action.
8. Bidding Strategies
When running PPC campaigns, you’ll need to choose a bidding strategy. Bidding strategies tell Google (or Bing) how much you will pay per click.
Manual Bidding Strategies
With manual bidding, you set your bids for each keyword. This allows you to adjust your bids based on what you’re willing to pay for each click—and helps you stay within your budget.
To illustrate, imagine you’re running a search ad for a local law firm. You know that “family lawyer” is a keyword you want to target, but it’s also a highly competitive keyword.
Using manual bidding, you can set a higher bid for this keyword, ensuring your ad appears at the top of the page—and potentially paying more per click than you would for less competitive keywords.
Manual bidding begins with a default bid for the entire ad group, but it’s also possible to separate bids based on placement or keywords. To save time, Google Ads enables you to use a Maximize Clicks strategy to automatically set bids to maximize clicks for your ads.
Automated Bidding Strategies
Automated bidding strategies are beneficial if you don’t have the time or resources to manage your bids manually.
These strategies allow you to set a goal (such as cost per acquisition or CPA) and Google’s algorithms adjust your bids to meet that goal. If you’re aiming for a lower CPA, Google will adjust your bids to try to get you the most conversions at the lowest cost.
Some types of automatic bidding strategies:
- Value-based bidding (Target ROAS)
- Target CPA
- Maximize conversions
- Max Clicks – get your campaign up and running and pivot once conversion data comes in
Another option for using Google Ads Smart Bidding is building a Target ROAS Bidding strategy. This solution uses Google AI to determine the value of every prospective conversion whenever people search for your advertised offerings. In turn, you can maximize your return on ad spend (ROAS).
9. Ad Auction
An ad auction entails determining which ads will connect with specific keyword search terms and how they’ll appear on various platforms. Google, Facebook, and all other platforms showing pay-per-click advertising will incorporate an auction process.
Google Ads runs on a unique auction system. This system is how Google decides which ads to serve before each search query and how much each advertiser pays for that query.
The auction works by ranking all ads according to their “Ad Rank.” AdRank is determined by an algorithm considering several factors, such as an ad’s bid and quality score.
- A bid is the amount a business is willing to pay for a particular term or group of terms to target PPC ads
- Ad quality measures the quality of ads based on the user experience they offer when people click on them and land on your corresponding pages
Advertisers are then charged a cost per click (CPC) based on AdRank. The higher the Ad Rank, the more an advertiser pays for each click.
Advertisers also have the option to set bid limits on their campaigns, which helps manage budgets. With bid limits, advertisers can set a maximum bid they’re willing to pay, and Google will not charge more than their limit.
Depending on what you want to achieve with your ads, you can also add certain ad extensions. These elements enhance your ads with more details, such as your business’s phone number, product ratings, location information, and links to your site.
10. A/B Testing
How will you know which ad is the best to run?
To get the best results from your pay-per-click campaigns, you should also perform A/B tests on different variations.
An A/B test would involve running two ads with one element changed, whether it’s the copy, the image, or the placement. Based on the level of engagement each ad receives, you can determine which to use for your pay-per-click strategy.
11. Evaluate Results with KPIs
How will you track your campaign’s performance?
Some PPC KPIs to track include:
- Click-Through Rate (CTR): Percentage of people who click on your ad after viewing it.
- Cost Per Click (CPC): Amount you pay each time someone clicks on your ad.
- Conversion Rate: Percentage of people who take a desired action after clicking your ad.
- ROI: Ratio of revenue generated by your ads compared to your ad spend.
Also, consider your ads’ overall Quality Score according to Google. This solution helps you gauge the quality of your ads compared to competitors’. The tool rates your ads on a scale of one to 10 and depends on a few key factors, including:
- Expected click-through rate (CTR): The chances of people clicking on your ads.
- Ad Relevance: The precise relevance of your keywords to users’ search intent.
- Landing Page Experience: The level of helpfulness and relevance of your landing pages based on user engagement.
The better your Quality Score, the more you can save on your campaigns and dominate competitors.
12. Automate Your Pay-Per-Click Campaign
Today’s innovations in PPC automation make it easier than ever to streamline the entire process of optimizing your pay-per-click ads.
More specifically, you can use tools like Smart Bidding and Performance Max campaigns to keep things simple.
Smart Bidding is a Google Ads feature that helps you automatically adjust your bids based on your input budget. In the process, it optimizes your ad campaigns based on factors like time of day, user behaviour, dynamic keywords, and the devices your audience uses.
Performance Max uses Smart Bidding and other features to increase the ease of many tasks, with the ability to launch ads on all Google and Google Partner platforms, adapt ads based on placement, hyper-target audiences, and provide invaluable insights into overall campaign performance.
Ad Formats Based on Platform
Depending on which platforms you use, there are several different ad formats you can choose from.
- Search Ads: Text-based ads at the top of the search results page.
- Display Ads: Image-based ads on other websites within the Google Display Network.
- Video Ads: Appear on YouTube, the Google Display Network, or the search results page.
- Shopping Ads: Feature product images, prices, and descriptions to shoppers on Google Shopping or other online stores.
Bing (Microsoft)
- App Install Ads: Include a call to action leading people to download an app.
- Dynamic Search Ads: Target related search terms that match the content of the corresponding website.
- Bing Smart Search: Target Windows 8.1 Smart Search results and can include a preview of your landing page.
- Audience Ads: Microsoft AI helps connect these ads with audiences based on their interests and search intent.
- Multimedia Ads: Large visuals can highlight products or brands to grab attention.
- Product Ads: Appear in search results as text ads with details such as pricing and seller information.
- Responsive Search Ads: Easily create ads that combine as many as 4 descriptions and 15 headlines based on which combos work best.
- Vertical Ads: Personalized vertical ads can attract more click-through rates at lower costs.
- Video Ads: Appear on the user’s newsfeed.
- Carousel Ads: Ads featuring multiple images, videos, or products that can be scrolled through by the user.
- Lead Ads: Encourage users to sign up for a service by submitting their contact information directly from the website.
- Photo Ads: A single image that appears in people’s main Instagram feeds.
- Video Ads: Appear in people’s feeds but include videos instead of images.
- Carousel Ads: Showcase multiple images or videos in a single ad.
- Stories Ads: Full-screen videos or images show up between users’ Instagram Stories.
- Collection Ads: Highlight a collection of products for ecommerce businesses.
- Explore Ads: Appear in Instagram’s Explore section where users can view new content.
- Shopping Ads: Sell products directly through Instagram with a short checkout process.
- Reels Ads: Video ads that appear between users’ Reels.
- Sponsored Content Ads: Appear in the news feed.
- Text Ads: Appear on the right-hand side of the screen.
- Dynamic Ads: Tailored to the user’s interests, job title, and other criteria.
YouTube
- Skippable Video Ads: Users can skip these ads after five seconds.
- Non-Skippable Video Ads: Users must watch these ads in their entirety before viewing a video.
- Bumper Ads: These non-skippable ads are up to six seconds long.
TikTok
- In-Feed Ads: Video ads appear in users’ feeds as they scroll.
- TopView Ads: Appear in users’ feeds, but show up at the top as the first video they see.
- Brand Takeover Ads: Full-screen ads show up front and center to showcase a brand and its offerings, which is ideal for brand awareness.
- Spark Ads: Convert your own videos or, with their permission, other users’ videos into in-feed ads.
X
- Image Ads: Highlight your brand or offering with an image ad featuring a single photo.
- Video Ads: Connect with audiences through video ads in their feeds.
- Carousel Ads: Show as many as six swipeable videos or images to highlight several offerings or promotions.
- Text Ads: Reach wider audiences with text ads that appear as posts in people’s feeds.
Snapchat
- Single Image or Video Ads: Boost awareness or remarket to your audiences with single videos or images in Spotlight or Stories ad placements.
- Story Ads: These are tappable ads featuring multiple videos or images that appear in Discover Feeds, Stories, or Spotlight placements.
- Collection Ads: Showcase multiple products and make it easy for new customers to browse and shop.
- AR Ads: Snapchat Lenses allow advertisers to create an augmented reality experience that can help their ads stand apart.
- Standard Ads: Include image or video ads that appear in the Home Feed, Related pins, or Search.
- Max Width Video Ads: Mobile-only ads that appear in the app and run ideally for six to 15 seconds.
- Idea Ads: Full-screen shoppable ads can tell a brand story.
- Collection Ads: Show several products in a collection.
- Shopping Ads: These are similar to standard ads, but include additional product details such as pricing.
Let’s compare these platforms and their benefits.
Search Platforms
Google Ads is the most popular PPC platform. It’s a comprehensive platform that can be used to create and manage search and display campaigns.
Google Ads is great for businesses of all sizes, as it’s highly customizable and has various features that allow you to set and adjust your bidding strategies, budget, and even schedule ad campaigns.
It’s also integrated with Google’s other products, like Google Analytics, which can provide valuable insights into your ad campaigns.
The different ad formats you can use on Google Ads include:
- Search ads
- Display ads
- Shopping ads
- Video ads
- App ads
- Discovery ads
- Local Services ads
- Performance Max ads
- Smart ads
Bing Ads is Microsoft’s PPC platform. It works similarly to Google’s pay-per-click ads but has a few differences. For example, it has fewer search engine partners, making it less comprehensive than Google Ads.
Bing Ads is best for businesses targeting users who use Bing as their primary search engine or businesses that want to supplement their Google Ads campaigns.
On Bing, you can use the following ad formats:
- Multimedia ads
- Microsoft Audience ads
- Dynamic Search ads
- App Install ads
- Product ads
- Responsive Search ads
- Expanded Text ads
Social Platforms
Before selecting which social media platform to launch your pay-per-click advertising on, it’s essential to know where your audience spends the most time online and the pros and cons that come with each platform.
Let’s look at them now.
There are plenty of ad types you can launch on these platforms, such as:
- Image ads
- Video ads
- Carousel ads
- Collection ads
- Story ads
- Shopping ads
- Messaging ads
- Dynamic ads
How Much Does Pay Per Click Cost?
The average cost per click of PPC campaigns varies across platforms and industries. When building your strategy, note how much of your budget you’d like to spend on PPC.
Generally, the cost of PPC ads is determined by a bidding system, where you compete with other advertisers for the same keyword—and the highest bidder wins.
And if your industry has a high average order value, marketers will be willing to pay a higher amount per click, as they know they’ll get a good return on their investment. For example, a more competitive industry such as injury attorneys can be as high as $200 per click, depending on the market.
The most precise way to figure out how much you should be paying is to use Google Ads’ Keyword Planner tool. It’s free and estimates how much you should expect to pay for each keyword.
Using the Keyword Planner Tool, you can also see other related pay-per-click advertising metrics, such as “Top of page bid” at low and high ranges.
How Long Does PPC Take to Produce Results?
PPC campaigns take a certain amount of time to produce results, depending on factors including the keywords you’re targeting, your ad copy, and your budget.
Of course, the basic answer is “as long as it takes to set up your account.” But, in practice, the time frame for PPC campaigns can vary drastically.
For example, if you’re running a search campaign, you may see results within just a few days. But, if you’re running a more complex display campaign, it could take weeks or even months to mature.
In short, pay-per-click advertising isn’t a “set it and forget it” strategy. It takes time and ongoing optimization efforts to get the most out of your campaigns.
How Often Should I Monitor My PPC Campaigns?
Day-by-Day
- Monitor your campaigns daily and tweak your bids as necessary based on performance
- Keep an eye on your traffic quality to ensure you’re getting the best possible results.
- Incorporate negative keywords into your campaigns to ensure ads are relevant and drive higher ROI
Week-by-Week
- Assess your campaigns’ performance and adjust your budgets and targeting as needed
- Consider adding new ad groups or keywords if you do not see the results you want
- Split-test different ad copies to see which works best
- Continually optimize your ad copy to determine what messaging resonates most
Month-by-Month
- Analyze and assess your campaigns’ performance over the past month
- Identify campaigns that are performing well and campaigns that need improving
- Evaluate your targeting and make changes if needed
- Set new goals and readjust your budget as necessary
- Optimize ad scheduling as needed to reach the right audiences when they’re most active
PPC Trends to Watch
As 2024 progresses, you might ask, “What are pay-per-click ads going to look like in the future?” Here are some trends to watch for in the coming years:
1. Voice Search Ads for PPC
What is pay-per-click going to look like in the world of voice search? Ultimately, it’s going to cater more toward conversational search terms, as more than 50% of people today use voice search on a daily basis. Your ads should target the kinds of searches people will perform verbally on their smartphones and devices like Amazon Alexa and Google Home.
2. Visual Search Integrations
If you want to connect with younger audiences using your ads, you’ll also want to integrate visual search. In fact, 62% of millennials and Gen Zers prefer visual search. Optimizing campaigns for this function would entail having your ads appear when people conduct searches by uploading images to Google and other platforms.
3. Audience Segmentation & First-Party Data Targeting
To improve your targeting and personalization capabilities in a world that prioritizes first-party cookies, you’ll need to segment your audiences and collect valuable first-party data. Using tools like your website metrics and Google Analytics, you can learn more about how people engage with your website and get detailed information about audiences, helping you gear your ads for better targeting.
FAQs About Pay-Per-Click Advertising
1. How do I select the best keywords for my pay-per-click marketing?
What is a pay-per-click campaign without effective keyword research? Quality keywords will make or break your campaign. To ensure that you are using the right keywords, you’ll need to do some research. Tools like SEMRush, SpyFu, or Similar Web can make your research easier. Before you start, consider things that will affect your audiences’ searches like search intent, seasonality, competition, or geographic location.
2. How many keywords should I have in an ad group?
This one will also depend on your product and who’s managing your campaign. Some prefer to use less, but keep in mind that the most important aspect of keywords is relevancy. The more keywords you have, the less likely it is that each one is relevant. It’s generally recommended to use less than 20 per ad group.
3. How long does it take to see results?
This will vary from campaign to campaign, so don’t lose hope if you don’t see immediate results. It usually takes a few weeks to build an account. Then you need to gather data. In most cases, after 2 to 4 months you will know if pay-per-click marketing is right for your business.
4. What are some common mistakes to watch out for?
Some common mistakes include:
- Not using keyword match correctly. You can choose between three options, broad match, phrase match, or exact match. The match type you choose can have a big impact on your campaign, as each is suited to different ad goals.
- Not using negative keywords. Opposite of your chosen keywords, negative keywords are words or phrases you don’t want your ad to show for. They can be chosen in much the same way as your positive keywords.
- Not testing your ads. A/B tests are particularly handy for testing different ad elements like CTAs, creatives, messaging, and match type to see which is most effective for your goals.
5. What is CPC?
CPC stands for “cost per click.” It’s based on the number of times users click on an ad. It’s an important concept to understand if you’re running pay-per-click campaigns because this will affect the amount of money you’re charged to run your ads on certain sites.
6. How can I reduce my Google Ads CPC?
You can lower your CPC for your Google Ads PPC campaign by improving your Quality Score. Here are some ways to do that:
- Improve your click-through rate (CTR) – Your CTR measures the percentage of people who click on your ad after seeing it. The higher the CTR, the better your Quality Score.
- Optimize your ad and landing page for your keyword – Make sure your ad titles and descriptions use your keywords. Also, make sure your landing pages are optimized for your keywords as well.
- Create a landing page with a positive user experience – Finally, create a landing page that offers a positive user experience.
7. What are some PPC best practices?
There are several basic principles you should follow to ensure that you generate a positive return with your PPC campaign:
- Split-test your ads. Never assume that your ad is going to be successful. Try multiple ad versions with different headlines and descriptions.
- Don’t use multiple keywords in the same ad. As a rule of thumb, it’s best to keep a 1:1 ratio between PPC ads and keywords.
- Track conversions as well as clicks. You might think that your ad is fabulous because it has a high click-through rate. But if people aren’t becoming paying customers once they get to your landing page, something is wrong.
- Don’t use your home page as your landing page. Use a landing page that’s optimized specifically for your keyword and is designed to land sales.
- Don’t rely on broad-match keywords. You might be under the impression that broad-match keywords will get you the most clicks. That might be the case, but they aren’t necessarily clicks from people in your target market.
8. What is a bidding strategy?
Many pay-per-click platforms operate on an auction system. That means people are bidding for digital real estate on a website or a keyword.
Here are some of the more popular pay per click bidding strategies:
- Maximize conversions – This is where you throw caution to the wind and bid high so that you can get as many clicks on your ad as possible.
- Cost per acquisition – You set a budget per acquisition instead of per click. The ad platform will optimize your bidding so that you hit your target.
- Return on ad spend – You specify how much revenue you expect to gain above your costs. The ad platform adjusts your bid so that you earn the expected return.
9. What is pay-per-click management?
It’s quite possible that you have better things to do than manage your PPC campaigns. If that’s the case, then you should outsource your pay per click advertising to a qualified digital marketing team.
10. Should I use Yelp’s PPC advertising program?
Yelp CPCs vary quite a bit, which means you may see your ROAS differ. But if you’re already using Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising yet still have marketing money to allocate, it may be the right option for you.
11. What’s a good click-through rate (CTR)?
A good CTR will vary largely by industry. According to a Wordstream study, the average CTR for PPC ads across all industries is 1.91% for search and 0.35% for display.
12. Is PPC expensive?
PPC can be expensive at times but like all other forms of advertisement, it all comes down to the quality of the return on your investment. If done right, the expense will be totally worth it. On the flip side, if you don’t have a good strategy and execution, you probably won’t see PPC as a worthwhile investment.
13. Does pay-per-click work?
It sure does! In fact, studies have shown that PPC visitors are 50% more likely to purchase from a site than an organic visitor. The top three positions account for around 12% of the clicks on the page.
14. When should I use PPC?
PPC campaigns can be a great way to quickly get your message in front of a large audience. It’s beneficial for businesses that need to reach a specific customer base or drive traffic quickly. PPC is also an excellent option for lead generation or ecommerce businesses thanks to its ability to skip the SERPs ranking process.
15. How does PPC differ from SEO?
PPC is typically a short-term solution, while SEO requires a more long-term approach. SEO also requires more time and expertise, while PPC can be implemented relatively quickly and requires less expertise. SEO’s main advantage is, of course, that each click is free, while PPC ads require a budget. Also, organic search traffic tends to have higher conversion rates than PPC traffic.
Succeed With Your Pay-Per-Click Campaign
While you may understand the importance of PPC for your business, you may not have the time or resources to devote to these campaigns. That’s where Ignite Visibility can help with effective PPC management.
With our help, you can:
- Develop successful pay-per-click campaigns that get real results
- Continually improve your pay-per-click ads’ performance
- Find the right audiences and platforms to maximize reach and ROI
- Get help with SEO and other digital marketing efforts
If you like the sound of that, reach out to the pros at Ignite Visibility today to get started on your next campaign.
