What is PPC Marketing?
Pay-per-click, explained in plain English - how the auction works, why the channel delivers, and where to run it.
PPC is a digital marketing channel businesses use to increase traffic and improve their search engine results. The most common reasons for running pay-per-click advertising are to improve brand visibility, generate new leads, increase website traffic and lift conversions. PPC comes in many shapes and sizes - literally - and can consist of text, images, video or a combination of all three, appearing in search engines, on websites and across social networks.
Maybe you are looking for the first traffic and sales for a new business, or for ways to expand an established brand's online presence. PPC can be a great way to market your business and attract new customers, but it can be confusing at first for anyone new to the channel. In this guide we will help you understand what PPC marketing is, how it works, how you can use it to help your business succeed, and how the main platforms compare.
The language of PPC
Eight terms you will meet in every campaign:
- Search engine marketing (SEM). Any digital marketing, paid or organic, that aims to rank for a target keyword on search engines such as Google or Bing.
- Cost per click (CPC). The amount an advertiser pays each time someone clicks their ad. CPC works like an auction bid that helps determine where your ad is placed - a higher bid generally means a better placement.
- Cost per mille (CPM). Also called cost per thousand. Under the CPM pricing model, advertisers pay for every 1,000 ad impressions rather than per click.
- Ad rank. Where your ad eventually appears on the search results page (SERP). Ad rank is calculated by multiplying your Quality Score by your maximum bid.
- Campaign. The first step in setting up PPC advertising. Think of the campaign as the central message or theme you want to convey through your ads.
- Ad group. One size does not fit all, so within a campaign you create groups of ads built around sets of highly relevant keywords. You can set a cost per click for each ad group you create.
- Quality Score. The score a search engine gives your ad, based on your click-through rate measured against the average for that position, the relevance of your keywords, the quality of your ad and landing page, and your past SERP performance.
- Maximum bid. The most you are willing to pay for a click on your ad.
Why pay-per-click works for your business
Pay-per-click advertising is an incredibly effective digital marketing strategy for increasing conversions and maximising return on investment. Data-driven PPC management creates valuable opportunities to connect your brand with customers who are ready to buy. These are the main benefits of investing in the channel:
Fast results
One of the biggest advantages of pay-per-click is immediacy. Once your campaign is set up and approved, your ads start showing - and you can begin seeing clicks and enquiries within days rather than months.
Cost effective
PPC campaigns give you complete control over how much you are willing to pay. Because you only pay when a visitor actually clicks through to your website or landing page, every dollar of spend is tied to a genuine expression of interest.
Fast, stable traffic
PPC works hand in hand with SEO to increase brand awareness and drive traffic to your website. It is the fastest way to launch a paid search campaign and start collecting clicks from interested customers while your organic rankings are still growing.
Rank alongside stronger domains
Keywords are increasingly competitive, which makes it difficult for a business with low domain authority to appear high in search results in front of its target audience. PPC lets you rank quickly for the keywords your audience is searching, regardless of where your domain sits organically.
Target your ideal customers
PPC advertising allows you to bypass cold audiences and reach warm ones that are ready to buy your products and services. You bid on the keywords that in-market buyers are searching, and beyond keywords the platforms offer targeting options such as demographics and past online activity, so the right message lands with the right person.
Test quickly
A/B testing is an integral part of pay-per-click advertising. Running different versions of an ad reveals which campaign is worth scaling, and lets you optimise steadily toward the best possible conversion rate.
The main PPC platforms
When it comes to PPC, most budgets go to one (or both) of two platforms: Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising. Here is how they and the alternatives stack up.
Google Ads
Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords) is an advertising platform that lets you display search and shopping ads on Google, video ads on YouTube, Gmail ads, and display ads across the Google Display Network. It is by far the most popular PPC platform, offering opportunities for almost any business to succeed through the channel.
Microsoft Advertising (Bing Ads)
Microsoft Advertising, previously known as Bing Ads, works much like Google Ads and serves ads on Bing as well as Yahoo and AOL. Administratively the two platforms are very similar - the biggest difference is market size and potential reach.
Other ad networks
Beyond the big two, paid placements are available through social and retail platforms - Facebook Ads, LinkedIn Advertising, Twitter Ads and Amazon Ads - and display networks such as AdRoll, RevContent, BidVertiser and AdBlade. Each has its own strengths for particular audiences and objectives.
Whether you started your business yesterday or have been trading for decades, PPC might be the push you need to get an edge over your competition - or at least outrank them in the SERPs. And if you would rather have the channel run for you, our paid search services cover strategy, build and optimisation end to end.