Diving Deep Into How PPC Advertising Works
Updated July 2023
Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising is one great way to get your business in front of more potential customers. However, setting up and managing PPC campaigns that produce consistent net positive results can be tricky.
In my own business, I've typically relied on a combination of organic search results, content marketing, email marketing, and referrals to find clients and customers. Those are time-intensive strategies, however, and sometimes a paid advertising campaign is the best alternative.
Five Essential Components Of A Good PPC Campaign
There are five essential components of a good PPC Campaign:
Find the right keywords
Create compelling ads
Design effective landing pages
Bid wisely on your keywords
Write persuasive and relevant ad copy
Let's dive a little deeper into a few of these steps.
Start With A Keyword Search
Keyword search is an essential part of any PPC campaign. You can learn more about digital advertising and PPC campaigns from Naver PPC from Inquivix and see how important it is to find the most relevant keyword phrases for the terms your audience is searching online. The most successful PPC campaigns are carefully created to reach the right people at the right time, often based on the quality of keyword research performed ahead of time.
The best way to do keyword research is to start with a list of potential keywords and then use keyword tools like Google AdWords, Keyword Planner or Moz to discover your keyword volume (how many people are searching the term or terms). Once you have a list of relevant, high-traffic keywords, you can start creating your PPC ads around those words.
Scale Your Budget
You can set up a successful low-budget PPC campaign regardless of your budget since you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. This is where the term "pay-per-click" (PPC) comes from, and it's a way to get in front of potential customers who are actively searching for what you have to offer without breaking the bank.
These low-budget but highly targeted campaigns ensure you never lose too much money on a single campaign and that you can scale your PPC campaigns as big or small as you want with relatively low risk. It's also important to keep an eye on your PPC budget pacing, which means keeping a close eye on the amount you're spending over time.
PPC advertising is often more effective than social media advertising because people who see your ad are likely already interested in what you have to say. They're actively searching for terms related to your product or service, which means they're more likely to convert into customers.
Choose The Right Pay-Per-Click Model
There are two primary models for PPC advertising: flat-rate and bid-based. In a flat-rate model, the advertiser pays a fixed amount for each click, regardless of how much the advertiser bid on the keyword. In a bid-based model, the advertiser pays a variable amount based on their bid and ad quality score.
The most popular PPC advertising platform is Google AdWords. AdWords uses a bid-based model, where advertisers can choose to pay either per click or per impression. The cost-per-click (CPC) varies depending on the keyword's competitiveness and the ad's quality score. Quality score is determined by relevance, clickthrough rate (CTR), and the landing page experience.
A Note On Quality Score
A quick note here on quality score - one of the most critical factors in successful PPC advertising, yet it is also misunderstood. Essentially, it is a metric used by Google (and other search engines) to determine the quality and relevance of your ads and keywords.
A high-quality score means that your ad is relevant and valuable to the searcher, while a low-quality score indicates that your ad is not as relevant or useful. Therefore, the quality score plays a significant role in determining how much you pay per click (CPC) and where your ad appears on the search engine results page (SERP).
Establish A Campaign Management Plan
When engaging in this advertising method, it's critical to designate someone to manage your campaign on an ongoing basis. This person is responsible for ensuring your campaign is running smoothly and that you're getting the desired results. They'll also be able to make changes to your campaign as needed to improve its performance.
The campaign manager will also be responsible for creating new ads and testing different ad copy and strategies. They'll need a good understanding of how PPC works to be successful and a solid understanding of your advertising goals.
Final Thoughts
A search-focused, evergreen marketing strategy is one of the most vital marketing decisions a business owner can make. This type of strategy means focusing on the actual humans searching for your products or services and using advertising tactics that are ethical, respectful of user privacy, and crafted not to manipulate or sell but to inform and offer solutions.
Pay-Per-Click ads are a great way to experiment with paid search marketing tools and test how receptive your audience (or potential audience) is to your message. When used in conjunction with consistent content marketing, a superior customer or client experience, and insightful analytics, the strategy has a strong chance of success.
Are you using PPC advertising? What strategies have worked best, or what advice would you give others experimenting with it for the first time?
One Nine Design is a digital marketing company helping small businesses and nonprofits learn how to use their website and email list to grow their reach and make a bigger impact!
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