Nearly two-thirds–65%!–of clicks by potential online shoppers go to paid advertisements. More than 650,000 apps host Google ads, and nearly half of Internet users cannot distinguish between paid ads and organic results on search engine result pages (SERPs).
These statistics make it clear: all businesses, large and small, cannot afford to ignore the many benefits of paid per click (PPC) advertising. If you are a business with lacking or nonexistent pay per click management strategy, here are some things you need to know to get started.
What Is Pay Per Click Advertising?
What is pay per click advertising? Simply put, a host will agree to display an advertisement or allot a certain amount of advertising space to marketers or advertisers. Every time a user clicks on an ad, the advertiser pays the hosting website.
By clicking on the ad, the advertiser hopes to drive traffic to their website and convert visitors to potential sales. In pay per click management or pay per click marketing, it is a very common strategy to purchase ads on search engine result pages like Google and Bing. Paid ads on search engines directly relate to searches, encouraging customers to click on them.
If creating custom web designs, undertaking search engine optimization (SEO), and carefully planning and executing pay per click management seem overwhelming, a full-service marketing company can help. Ask for companies’ full range of services. Some offer everything from web design or hosting to content creation, SEO, and PPC.
Why You Can’t Afford to Ignore PPC
Pay per click management is an important marketing strategy as it offers perks that other mediums simply do not. For example, with PPC, companies have greater freedom to set their budgets. Spending less on web design or web copy can be a gamble with highly variable outcomes. On the other hand, it’s much easier to predict the outcome of spending more or less on PPC.
Similarly, PPC is extremely cost-effective, with the promise of a large return on investment (ROI) in most cases. Just one click costing a few dollars can result in a purchase or purchases totaling $100 or more.
Finally, you get to choose who sees your pay per click advertisements. Pay per click management often offers the freedom to target customers based on keywords, location, gender, age, interests, and language. PPC may include retargeted ads as well. Retargeted ads are especially important given that many first-time web visitors do not convert to sales. Often, someone will make a purchase only after visiting web pages two or three times first.
The Future Of PPC
With a full 39% of online sales coming from search, and with PPC as a straightforward and simple means to rank on SERPs, it is important for businesses to understand the basics of PPC–and how it may evolve and change in the future. What will PPC look like in 2020?
- Video.Users spend 88% more time on pages with video, and YouTube is ever-growing in popularity. Consider placing PPC ads on YouTube–or including PPC ads in video period–to maximize your click through rate (CTR).
- Amazon PPC.If there is one platform that is growing just as fast as YouTube, it’s Amazon. Amazon continues to offer more to consumers–with Prime, Alexa, voice assistants, voice searches, direct delivery, and more. Its ability to meet user demand means Amazon gets a ton of traffic. Take advantage of that with Amazon PPC.
- A new way of branding.as time goes on, companies are increasing their efforts to grow and foster brand loyalty. Today’s consumers have a lot of options to choose from. Standing out means appealing directly to consumers’ needs and emotions. Customers are giving their loyalty to brands who give back, brands with wholesome objectives and messages, and brands who promise information security as electronic payments and app payments rise in popularity.
PPC ads and pay per click management are here to stay. Make the most of this strategy by keeping up with the latest trends. Ask your PPC provider or SEO company about PPC and video or PPC’s role in relatively new, responsive search ads.