You have probably heard the term PPC ads before, but do you know what pay-per-click advertising is?
Advertisements influence 90% of people to make a purchase. Additionally, Google search advertising is used by over 50% of small businesses.
PPC advertising lets you quickly increase website traffic, online conversions, and sales. Whether you want to implement PPC or learn more about this form of paid advertising, we are here to help you!
What is Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising?
Pay-per-click (PPC) is an advertising method in which you pay a fee to have your business website appear on top of the organic search engine results page when someone types in specific keywords or phrases.
When implementing PPC, the search engine results page (SERP) will show the advertising you create to direct site visitors, and the price you pay will be determined by how many people click on your ad.
Pay-per-click ads are primarily used in search engine results pages like Google or Bing, but you can also use them on social media platforms.
What are the Best PPC Advertising Platforms?
Google Ads (AdWords)
Google Ads, formerly known as AdWords, is the most popular and largest platform for paid advertising.
Google processes approximately 99,000 searches each second, giving you several opportunities to target keywords that would persuade your target audience to click. However, this also makes keywords on this platform highly competitive, resulting in a higher ad cost.
How PPC works on Google is that digital marketers have to bid for keywords, with the advertising slot awarded to the highest bidder for each keyword. Who gets the ad slot will depend on the relevance and quality of the keywords chosen and past click-through rates (CTRs) for other campaigns.
Youtube Ads
Because Google acquired Youtube in 2006, ad campaigns for Youtube are also managed and created on the Google Ads platform. If you already have an AdWords account, then this makes testing or implementing video advertising simple.
Youtube has over 2.5 billion active users, making it a fantastic platform for digital marketers to reach their target demographic successfully. In addition, Youtube Analytics also provides valuable information about your target audience, such as engagement and demographics.
Microsoft Advertising (Bing Ads)
Microsoft Advertising, formerly known as Bing Ads, is a pay-per-click platform that displays advertisements throughout the Microsoft and Yahoo networks. Microsoft Advertising uses Search Partners and is mainly focused on keyword advertising.
The main benefit of choosing Bing Ads as opposed to Google Ads is a slightly lower cost-per-click (CPC) at the sacrifice of a broader audience.
Facebook and Instagram (Meta Ads)
Facebook and Instagram are united under the same umbrella known as Meta. Campaigns for both social channels are created and managed through Meta Business Suite.
Facebook Ads
Facebook is becoming an increasingly popular medium for advertising, with pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns at the center of the platform’s marketing options. Not to mention, Facebook is the social media channel with the most active user, surpassing the 2 billion mark.
Facebook Ads is a platform that targets specific audiences. Rather than targeting keywords as you would with Google Ads, Facebook focuses on your target audience based on their interests, demographics, habits, or actions on your website.
Lastly, Facebook offers more PPC ad options than any other advertising platform, ranging from carousel advertising to video ads.
Instagram Ads
On the other hand, Instagram has over 1 billion active users and offers a younger demographic than Facebook. Similar to Facebook, Instagram offers a wide variety of PPC ad options.
You can use Instagram Feeds and Stories in conjunction with any Facebook placement.
Benefits of Pay-Per-Click Advertising
PPC ads will help you leverage your small business and stay ahead of the competition. Here are the main benefits of using Pay-Per-Click advertising:
Pay-Per-Click Ads are Cost Effective
PPC ensures you will be getting your money’s worth since you only pay when people click the link to your business website or landing page, which increases the chances of conversion.
Ultimately, PPC ads are cost-effective because you can control how much money you want to spend on your ad campaigns.
You Obtain Fast Results with Pay-Per-Click Advertising
Getting on top of the SERPs can be challenging, especially for small businesses. However, PPC offers a faster, more convenient, and more effective way to increase your organic, social, or direct traffic.
Unlike organic ranking, which takes months or even years to obtain, optimized pay-per-click ads will help you rank on top of the search engine result page (SERP) within hours of launching your ad campaign.
Target Your Ideal Market Using PPC Advertisements
Pay-per-click advertising offers multiple targeting options, including keywords, demographics, and past online activity.
Therefore, PPC advertising allows you to target warm leads who are eager to purchase your goods or services rather than cold leads who will be uninterested.
Furthermore, Pay-per-click (PPC) ads allow you to create retargeting campaigns to reach visitors who did not purchase after landing on your business site.
Conclusion: Is Pay-Per-Click Advertising Worth It?
By now, you should know that pay-per-click (PPC) is a method of online advertising in which you pay a fee to have your website appear on top of the organic SERP when someone types in specific keywords or phrases.
The most popular PPC advertising platforms are Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, and Meta ads. Each of these platforms offers different targeting options and reach opportunities.
PPC has several advantages, such as fast results, cost-effectiveness, and better targeting. Therefore, we can undoubtedly say that PPC ads benefit small businesses.
If you want to get started or learn more about PPC ads, one of our online marketing consultants will gladly help you. Contact us today!