Pay-per-click (PPC) marketing is a form of digital marketing that relies heavily on PPC advertising. Marketers utilize digital ads placed on search engines, mobile apps, websites, etc. How much do you know about this form of marketing? More importantly, does your company make use of it?
Years ago, PPC marketing was one of the best ways to get a company’s message in front of consumers. Things have changed since then. PPC marketing is still a valuable tool, but it’s not the only tool. It is also not the best option in every scenario. This suggests that when using PPC, we need to be judicious and use the right approach.
A Brief PPC Marketing Explanation
Getting the most out of PPC marketing relies on knowing the five fundamentals behind it. Before we get to those fundamentals, a brief explanation is in order. The simplest way to understand PPC advertising is to think of online ads that only cost you something when people actually click on them. That’s where the whole idea of pay-per-click comes from.
PPC marketing was made the entity it is today by Google and its constant investment in the model. Being the world’s most dominant search engine gives Google a lot of authority in the PPC ad space. Its global ad network goes well beyond organic search results to include mobile apps, video platforms, and a whole lot more.
The 5 Fundamentals of PPC Marketing
With an explanation of PPC out of the way, we can get to the five fundamentals. Each of these concepts is critical to getting the most out of PPC marketing. No single concept is more important than the rest. They all work together to support strong PPC ad campaigns that generate results.
1. Keyword Research
Platforms like Google need some way of determining how and when to display ads. Because of the way people use the internet, they can’t simply sell ad slots the same way TV and radio stations do. So how do they decide how and when to display? Through keywords.
PPC ads are displayed based on the keywords people use to search for things. This dictates that advertisers be very particular about the keywords they choose for their ads. In order to choose correctly, keyword research must be done.
Keyword research identifies relevant keywords that a target audience is likely to use when searching. But it also identifies the key phrases that are most likely to generate traffic for a given set of ads. This distinction is important for the simple fact that the highest traffic keywords do not always work well for PPC ads.
2. Bid Management
Keywords are the main tool publishing platforms use to determine how and when to display ads. But there is another tool they combine with keywords: advertiser bids. Simply put, advertisers bid on the amount they want to pay for every click based on certain keywords. The more attractive the keyword, the higher the bid price tends to be.
Bid management becomes important when you understand how easy it is to spend money on keywords that don’t generate results. It is also an issue when a PPC ad campaign is hit by click fraud. The bottom line is this: bid management is critical to maintaining a PPC marketing budget while still converting ad clicks into actual purchases.
3. Content Creation
PPC marketing includes an element of content creation inasmuch as the ads themselves need to be produced. Ideally, the goal is to create ads that are interesting enough to persuade people to click. That’s not as easy as it sounds. Digital messages bombard modern culture from all directions.
Content creators need to break through the digital noise to grab a consumer’s attention. They do so with a combination of creativity, skill, and knowledge about their target audience. If an ad is compelling enough, it will accomplish its primary purpose of encouraging clicks.
4. Landing Page Development
Every click on a PPC ad redirects a consumer’s browser to a new website. Here’s where things get interesting. Advertisers can have their ads point to their homepage. They can also have them point to a landing page. The latter is the better option.
A landing page is specific to the ad being clicked. It expands on the same compelling ideas found in the ad itself. Most importantly, a well-designed landing page with an interesting message and the right elements puts customers on a direct path to purchasing.
5. Campaign Tracking
Campaign tracking is the final concept here. As with anything else in the digital marketing arena, PPC marketing is only as good as the tracking behind it. Marketers track campaign productivity as a way of discovering what works and what doesn’t. They pay attention to key metrics that tell them everything from how often ads are clicked to how much time people redirected by the ads are spending on the advertiser’s website.
Without effective tracking, there is no way to know how well PPC ads are performing. Then there is no way to fully understand ROI, either. Needless to say that any digital marketing agency that offers PPC services should be able to show its tracking capabilities.
Haphazard PPC Marketing Will Fail
We recommend advertisers let professionals handle their PPC marketing. Based on the five fundamentals described in this post, it should be clear that there is more to the PPC game than setting up an advertiser’s account and buying ads. Without the right knowledge and experience, PPC marketing is haphazard. And haphazard marketing will ultimately fail.
Professional PPC marketing services are just what their name implies. Paid marketers handle keyword research and ad creation. They take care of bid management and landing page development. Above all, they track performance with the goal of continually using analytics data to improve advertising ROI.
We offer PPC management services here at Webtek Digital Marketing. We would be more than happy to explain how paid services can take your PPC advertising strategy to a whole new level.
