Initially emerging in the mid 90s, Pay Per Click marketing has rapidly developed into a hugely significant online advertising channel, helping businesses across the globe increase their leads, sales and overall traffic.
Pay Per Click marketing, also known as PPC marketing is mentioned a lot in the world of digital marketing, but what exactly is it and how can it help? Sometimes known as paid ads or sponsored advertising, PPC is a form of digital advertising that is used to send traffic directly to a website or landing page, with the business or organisation paying for each click that the advert receives.
PPC allows advertisers to bid on specific keywords and phrases, essentially paying for the placement of the ad on the page. For example if you wanted to show up in results for the phrase “I need a cake shop in Durham” you could bid on the keywords “cake business Durham.”
Scalable Marketing
One concern many small business owners have with PPC marketing is that they assume it will be a pricey affair, worrying that the cost of clicks will be too expensive or that their clicks will be wasted but the money completely spent. The reality is that you have direct control over how much is spent, meaning that even those with a smaller budget can still use paid ads.
PPC is completely scalable, allowing business owners to change their budget and daily spend as and when their business needs. For example, you might choose to start your Pay Per Click campaign with a budget of £300 a month, however as business grows and your marketing budget increases over time, you can grow your spend up to £3000 a month, it’s all up to you.
Measure Your Performance
PPC can be beneficial for small business due to it’s ability to be monitored and measured from multiple angles. With most PPC platforms you can easily see how well your campaigns are performing, including the number of clicks, views, visits and conversions, as well as allowing you to monitor your costs, profits and gains throughout your chosen timeframe.
By gaining this knowledge you can get more of an understanding of how much you’ve spent and whether or not the campaign is achieving positive results or negative results. Through working out what is going on with your campaign you can make important decisions in where to go next with your marketing and how you can improve it to achieve even better results.
Faster Results
Organic search results can take some time to build high rankings, often taking months to provide any return on investment, which is where Pay Per Click marketing can work for many businesses. While PPC may not produce instant results, given how relatively simple PPC campaigns are to set up, they can produce quicker results that SEO, often leading to visible results within a couple of days or weeks.
For those looking to stand out in an overly crowded marketplace and looking to generate those results now, PPC is a quick, cost effective marketing tool that can encourage more sales and leads in a shorted amount of time.
Final Thoughts
PPC advertising is a must for any business, however it can be a hugely important tool for small businesses looking to grow both online and offline, without PPC you could be missing out on a number of significant opportunities, opportunities that could encourage sales and leads.
If you’re a small business owner looking to generate results online then Pay Per Click is a necessity, don’t miss out on your opportunity!
Article by Sarah Seymour of Discovery Design.
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