Pay per Click advertising (PPC) allows you to promote your business in search results online. There are various tools you can use to do this but the most well known are Google Adwords and Bing Ads. You design and run your ads, and you only pay when someone clicks on your ad.
PPC is a great way to grow your business and increase brand awareness. You have complete control over what you spend and can start to see fast results even with a small budget.
So what are the main benefits of PPC?
1. Fast results
If you have a website, you can set up a google adwords account, create your ads, get them running and get traffic to your site very quickly. Businesses want results immediately and PPC provides that opportunity. PPC can be particularly beneficial if you have a new website which you want to get out in front of your customers as soon as possible. While employing SEO techniques is equally important, this can take time to see results.
2. Highly measurable
Everything within your PPC campaign is highly measurable; impressions, clicks, cost, the list goes on. You can access your results at any stage, see what is working well and make changes to improve your performance.
3. Get to your target audience
PPC allows you to run a highly targeted campaign. You are in complete control of who sees your ad, when, where and even on which devices! This incredible flexibility means you can deliver your service or product to the right audience at the right time.
4. Increase brand awareness
The main aim for your PPC campaign is to increase traffic to your website but don’t underestimate how much it can also increase brand awareness. You can target a wide range of keywords and get your business name directly in front of your audience. Combined with successful SEO and good organic rankings, a paid ad helps you to increase your ‘real estate’ on the search engine results page.
5. It’s great for local search
PPC works really well for local search. Your customers can find your products and services on their mobile, click through to your website and even get directions to your shop or office. Don’t miss out on those lucrative local customers, if they don’t find your business then they are going to find a competitor!
6. Complete control over your budget
Costs can easily run away with you in business…..but PPC allows you complete control and flexibility in your budget. You set a daily budget, and how much you are willing to pay for a click. Analysing your results then allows you to make changes to this budget to ensure you achieve maximum ROI.
7. User friendly reporting
As discussed, PPC is highly measurable and you can create reports which allow you to clearly see what is working well, what is working less well and the best way to maximise profits for your business.
Of course, setting up and running a PPC campaign can be a bit of a minefield if it’s new to you. To get the best return on your investment:
- Don’t spend more on the PPC than the return you get for your business
- Make sure you optimise your campaigns – allow some time and effort for this
- Make sure you test out your campaign – run different ads, use different slogans and strategies. See what works and what doesn’t!
- Look at what your competitors are doing