Do you want to get the top positions in a search result? Well, who doesn’t?
You might already know that way to make it to the top is through search engine optimization. But it is often a slow organic process riddled with challenges from the competition.
When you need immediate results and are in a hurry to market your seasonal promotions and products, PPC advertising is the most effective way available. About 45% of small businesses use paid ads.
While the keyword competition is comparatively lesser than what you will experience with SEO, you will still face strong competition over high-value keywords. There is a cost involved with every ad click you get through PPC advertising.
Hence, it is all the more necessary to understand PPC advertising basics and do it the right way to get the higher ROI you so badly need.
Read on to get a good understanding of PPC concepts and how best you can use PPC advertising.
PPC – Related Terms and Concepts
Let’s get done with all the jargon, so it becomes easy for you to create and explore PPC ads.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Search Engine Marketing is an umbrella term used to group all marketing types geared towards increasing your visibility in search results. So, both search PPC ad campaigns and SEO form a part of SEM.
Cost Per Click (CPC)
CPC refers to the cost you have to pay every time your ad gets clicked. This is the amount you bid for at the keyword auction for a particular keyword you choose. The higher your bid value, the higher will be the chances of your ad placement. The CPC value is calculated as = (Competitor’s ad ranking/quality score) +0.01.
Where
- Ad rank is Maximum Bid × Quality score
- The quality score is an approximation based on the click-through rates of your ad.
- Maximum Bid is the highest value you are willing to pay per click.
Cost Per Mile (CPM)
Some ads can be set to be charged based on impressions and not on clicks. This type of cost is usually associated with display ads and social media ads, where getting a better reach is the goal. CPM is the cost per thousand impressions.
Campaign
The campaign refers to the key message or intent behind an ad.
Ad Group
Ad groups are used for better structuring of your ads and are helpful in better ad placement. Ads can be grouped based on the keywords used and can be assigned a common CPC.
Keywords
Each ad you put up using any ad platform will be centered on a particular keyword or related keywords. These keywords are what relate your ad to be relevant to any search phrases used by your target audience. You will have to conduct a good deal of keyword planning and research, bid on them, and create your ad content accordingly.
Ad Text
Ad text is the content your ad carries. It could be information like product title and description. You have to make sure your ad text is consistent with the target keyword you have chosen for your ad.
Landing Page
The landing page is the webpage you lead your target audience into when they click on your ad. It could be a product page, your home page, a sign-up form, or any other page which enables you to achieve your end goal.
Retargeting Campaigns
These are ad campaigns that target people who have already interacted with your site or visited your site. It has a higher conversion rate as it focuses on people who have already shown an interest in your site and have a higher chance of coming back and completing a pending transaction or for more exploration.
Types of PPC Ads: Should You Advertise?
There are many choices available for PPC advertising – think of search engine based ad platforms, social media ad platforms, and more. Each comes with its own ad model, available campaigns, and pricing plans.
So, your final choices should be based on your budget constraints, expected ROI, and target audience. In most cases, though, the most popular ad platforms are the safest bet you can take, given their wide range of features and reach.
Here is a list of PPC advertising platforms you can check out.
Google Ads
Google is the world’s most popular search engine with over 90% market share. It processes about 40,000 search queries every second giving you ample opportunities to reach a sizable audience.
It also provides versatile ad options like shopping ads, display network ads, YouTube video ads, and more. But with such a huge reach comes a good level of competition as well. You may have to spend more on your advertising budget and be more careful with your keyword planning and ad quality to meet your ROI expectations.
Bing Ads
Bing Ads is the next big thing in Search engine ad platforms. While it may not have the same popularity as Google, it has a decent user base and relatively lower CPC, which can suit a small business’s needs with budget constraints.
Facebook Ads
Social media giant, Facebook, has its own ad platform that shows native Facebook ads on newsfeeds and Instagram feeds. With Facebook, you can run several targeted ad campaigns for specific user personas and retargeting campaigns. The biggest difference between the usual search engine PPC ads and Facebook ads is that Facebook uses CPM instead of CPC.
AdRoll
AdRoll is an advertising platform that specializes in retargeting campaigns. While retargeting is available on other platforms, the advantage of using AdRoll is that it can be used to place ads on Google and social media sites.
RevContent
RevContent is an ad platform that emphasizes the content of the ad and your landing page. It has a relatively low CPC and also increases your conversion rates as you get more engaged traffic. Use this platform to promote your content and get people to subscribe to your content services like YouTube channels and blogs.
Tips to Execute PPC Advertising like a Pro
While the setting up of ad accounts and tools used may differ across the various platforms, the essence of successful PPC advertising doesn’t vary much.
Follow these best practices and tips to get your PPC advertising on the right track.
Set Your Goals and Metrics
Decide on how much you want to spend and your end goals for each ad campaign. Some of the common PPC goals can be:
- Brand awareness
- Lead generation
- Sales
- increase in site traffic
Establish the metrics by which you can measure the success with respect to the goals you have set.
Determine Your Target Audience
Untargeted ads are mostly wasted effort. Make sure to conduct research on your target audience, create user personas if required, and try to narrow down your keyword selections for running efficient ad campaigns.
Determine Your Ad Type
Once you know what to advertise and how to advertise, the next step is to determine the best suitable ad type. The most common PPC ad types are:
- Search ads
- Display ads
- Social media ads
- Remarketing ads
- Google shopping ads
Each type of ad listed above has its own way in which your ad is displayed and determined for placement. Choose the ad types based on your end goals and target audience. For instance, if you are running an online store, shopping ads will be a good choice to display your products when someone searches for them.
Track Your Ad Performance
Track your ad performance with the established metrics and improve. Even small tweaks to ad title and description can significantly increase your ad quality score.
Focus On Quality Ad Copy
Make your ad copy consistent and relevant to the target keywords. Ensure that the intended message is delivered clearly and in an appealing manner.
Perform Ad Testing
Make use of the ad platform tools to test your ads before making them live. Check for any keyword inconsistencies, negative locations, and proofread your copy to avoid any costly mistakes.
Your Turn
So, these were a few PPC types to run your ads and gain the required exposure. Undoubtedly, PPC ads can provide quick returns on input, especially if you are looking for quick action from your target audiences.
Are you finding it tough to launch your PPC campaign? Talk to us to learn how we can help you out!