There’s no denying that digital marketing is a must for virtually every business operating today. Of course, there are many different ways to market your business. But if you’re looking to increase traffic on your site quickly, pay per click marketing is a popular way to go.
Pay per click, or PPC, can certainly boost your business. Since Google receives over 63,000 searches per second, PPC marketing can allow your website to appear more prominently than it would otherwise. But it’s not a foolproof method. In fact, a lot can go wrong if you believe certain misconceptions about the finer points of PPC. Let’s take a closer look at some of those misconceptions in today’s post. Once you know what not to believe about PPC marketing, you and your team can develop a more comprehensive strategy that will translate to success.
Misconception: PPC = Guaranteed Traffic and Sales Overnight
It’s true that PPC can help increase your site’s traffic (and possibly even its sales) in a shorter period than, say, SEO would. However, the decision to use PPC ads doesn’t necessarily mean that those ads will end up being profitable. If you make the right keyword choices, you might see some quick wins. But in order to sustain that growth, you’ll need an actual strategy. And if you make the wrong bids, you might not have much to show for your efforts at all.
In order to make the most of a marketing opportunity, you’ll need an experienced professional to help you. Investing in expert PPC management will allow you to take advantage of this marketing opportunity without the burden of educating yourself on the best practices. With assistance from a reputable PPC professional, you’ll be able to develop and maintain a successful marketing campaign that results in increased traffic and sales.
Misconception: You Should Always Choose Keywords With Higher Search Volumes
It’s easy to think that keyword bids with higher monthly search volumes would be the smarter choice for your PPC ads. After all, if more people are searching for a given term, that means it’s more popular and will result in more clicks… right?
Not necessarily. More people may be searching for a term, but those people might not actually be inclined to click or buy. You need to look at more than search volume when you develop a PPC campaign. You’ll need to thoroughly analyze user intent and choose keywords that align with your customer’s needs. After all, it won’t do you much good to get your ad in front of more users if those users have no use for your product or services. You’ll need to make sure that the keywords you choose are relevant to your business and to your audience.
Misconception: CTR is the Only Metric That Matters
You may already know what click-through rate (also known as CTR) refers to. It’s essentially the rate at which an ad is clicked, meaning the percentage of people who view your ad and then click on it.
Undoubtedly, CTR is an important metric to follow. But in PPC marketing, it never comes down to just one metric. You’ll need to pay attention to other conversion metrics to get a full picture of how successful your ads are. Just clicking on your site may not be enough here; you may also need users to provide their contact information or to make a purchase. And if there’s something keeping them from taking that step, you’ll need to make changes to improve your conversions. If you’re only paying attention to CTR, you’re going to miss those warning signals. What’s more, lower click-through rates may actually not be a bad thing if the users who do click through are more likely to buy. Being hyper-focused on CTR can blind you to other important parts of the PPC marketing process.
It’s undeniable that digital marketing can be incredibly complex. That’s why many businesses seek out help from experts to handle their SEO and PPC management. For more information on how we can develop a viable PPC marketing strategy for your business, please contact us today.