Pay-per-click is a method of online marketing in which advertisers pay a fee each time a viewer clicks on one of their ads. It is essentially a way to purchase increased traffic to a website through PPC advertising links.
Business owners bid for placement based on specific keywords, so their website will appear at the top of the search results.
Main Platforms
- Google Ads runs search and shopping promotions on Google, Gmail and YouTube. It offers opportunities for any company to gain website traffic. Search advertisements target specific keywords and show up above or to the right of the organic results.
- Bing Ads is like Google Ads and lets an organization run paid links on Bing, Yahoo and AOL. The potential reach on Bing is much lower than Google but can have a better ROI.
- Social Media advertising can reach potential clients on sharing sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. A business targets its audience based on location, demographics and interests to increase brand awareness and new leads.
Keywords
Keywords are a crucial element of Google ads. The keywords of an advertisement must match the words a user types into a search. Keyword research is essential to gain insight into the average cost-per-click, which words perform the best, and the amount of competition there is for those terms.
A company’s entire PPC campaign revolves around keywords. The most successful advertisers of this type continuously refine their targeted word lists to ensure successful strategies.
Budget
A business must first determine its marketing budget before creating advertisements. Money allocated specifically for advertising efforts needs to be realistic. An owner should conduct thorough research into types of ads and their pricing structures, ROI and available capital to determine the amount set aside for marketing.
Campaigns
A campaign houses ad groups, which contain ads and keywords. Marketers set campaign goals and then create relevant groups and ads that support that objective.
Ad groups are various ads that have a similar target and keywords. Advertisers place a maximum bid on their chosen keywords, which triggers the promotions to appear in a query’s search results. Google determines where they show up based on the maximum bid amount and the quality score.
Ads
These are what appear in the search engine results encouraging a user to click. A company can have many within a group. The most effective marketers write engaging copy with a clear message and call-to-action.
Well-executed PPC advertising is a profitable marketing option for businesses. An organization that takes the time to set attainable goals and launch an optimized campaign will likely increase traffic, leads, and conversions.