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One of the most important digital marketing goals is to get a site to rank high organically on a search engine results page (most likely Google) for the most high-volume keywords in the industry. However, SEO takes time, effort, and knowledge.
You also need to factor in Google constantly changing its algorithm, but that’s true for all search engines, which means that if you’re on number 1 today, an update to the core algorithm could mean you’re on the third page for a while.
Anyone who is not a web expert with brilliantly laid out sites and has limited knowledge but wants to rule the top half of search results, to bring fresh traffic to the site can use Google Ads, which is the most popular pay-per-click (PPC) platform out there.
However, others also use this model of advertising, but each one works a little differently. For the most part, an advertiser pays for each click. That’s why depending on your industry. You will need to have a realistic search marketing budget for PPC.
What is Pay Per Click Advertising?
Even though we are sure that most people reading this post are already aware of what PPC is, but for those who don’t, we’ll go into explaining what it is briefly.
PPC, or pay-per-click advertising, is a form of advertising where you set a budget to run ads on a platform like Google’s search engine or Facebook (social media platform). The advertiser pays an amount each time the ad is clicked.
Today, a myriad of platforms use either the pay-per-click model or pay-per-impression model; each one works on the premise of you paying for the intended interaction, which can be views, impressions, or clicks.
While PPC is a broad category and includes various mediums and platforms, most of them can fit into two categories, i.e., Social Media Advertising and Google Ads.
How PPC Works on Google Ads?
In a nutshell, the way Google Ads works is to set up PPC campaigns, choose how much you’re willing to pay per click to list the ads on top of organic search listings.
When someone clicks on the ad, you will pay the Cost Per Click (CPC) set, which is deducted from your daily budget. Once your budget has been depleted, Google will stop running the ads until you replenish the account.
However, there are several types of Google ads, i.e., Search Ads, Display Advertising, Remarketing, and Local Search Ads.
Search Ads
Search ads are perhaps one of the most recognized forms of PPC. The ad text is displayed alongside or above organic search results.
Setting up an ad campaign is relatively simple. All you need is to write ad copy, choose the keywords you want to trigger the ads, and set a daily budget.
That said, this isn’t the best way to get the most out of your ads; doing so is an intensive process of fine-tuning and refining the campaign in terms of quality and relevance to yield the highest possible return on investment (ROI).
One of the methods used is to design or craft a landing page for each keyword or ad group.
Seasoned advertisers will work on adding negative keywords, and raising their quality score, to improve ROI, often over a period of several weeks of running a campaign.
Note: Bing ads uses a similar paid advertising model.
Local Search Ads
Local Search Ads are a specialized subset of Google’s standard paid search ads. Usually, these are location-focused ads that are targeted to users who are in a specific location.
For instance, a sushi bar owner in LA will use these ads to show up on Google Maps each time someone in LA searches for “The best Sushi Bar” or something to that effect.
Google Ads, by default, sets an ad campaign to go live nationally. Though if you are a local business, or maybe ship only to a specific area or provide a service in a specific location, then you’ll want to prioritize using Location Targeting.
The Display Network
The Google Display Network does not follow the pay-per-click model by the book, but the process is similar and allows you to reach a much broader audience. Text-based ads or media-rich banners can be deployed across millions of websites and over 650,000 apps.
The company has streamlined the setup process, so all you need is to create an ad that fits the chosen format, decide who sees your ads (broad match is also an option), and set a budget.
You can choose from various payment options depending on your goal for the campaign. These will include Cost-Per-Click (CPC), Cost Per Acquisition (CPA), and Cost Per Thousand Impressions (CPM).
Your budget does not guarantee that the ads will start running right away. The platform runs an automated auction for each ad placement. The auction winner is charged the minimum amount needed to outrank the others in the auction when the ad shows up.
Remarketing or Retargeting Ads
Remarketing Ad groups are meant to be shown to those who have visited your business’s website in the past or used your mobile app.
The ads are designed to help businesses reconnect with visitors who were at one time interested in their services or products. The goal is to encourage past visitors to convert.
Remarketing ads can show up on the Display Network and as regular Google Search Ads. The pricing uses the automatic bidding model.
However, there are a few steps you need to take in order to set up everything, but it is worth it since it helps dramatically raise click-through rates and conversions by narrowing it down to only those who have shown interest in what you sell or offer.
Social Media Marketing Ads
Even though Google Ads may have somewhat of a further reach, usually spanning 98% of the internet, Paid Social Ads offer a level of refinement that’s unheard of with other forms of advertising.
The social media platform ads giant is arguably Facebook, with over 1.5 billion monthly active users. The perk of advertising on the platform is that the company also owns Instagram, so the ads can run seamlessly on both platforms.
Now, if you’re in a B2B industry, LinkedIn may possibly be the best social platform for your ad dollars. Though more expensive compared to Facebook, it is certainly worth it. So how do these platforms work? We’ll examine this in this section.
How Facebook and Instagram Ads Work?
Today, there are a variety of ads associated with the platforms, which vary in format. You have single images, videos, and post ads. You also have the option to define your target audience based on location, demographics, and interest, with a couple of other options.
The Pixel is a small piece of code that advertisers are advised to install in order to get the most out of their ads with Facebook. The Pixel allows the platform to collect data about visitors to your site.
Advertisers can also define look a Look-Alike Audience, which allows you to assess all the commonalities of the current audience.
The feature then allows you to target similar users with FB Ads. You can also build custom landing pages for each type of audience which raises the click-through rate (CTR)
The other great use of the Pixel (as it’s called) is Retargeting Ads. Similar to Google Remarketing Ads, the goal of retargeting is to follow users who may have visited your website with ads about your products or services.
A similar form of Facebook advertising is to boost posts. You can click to boost a post, which transforms your basic post on the business page into ads shown to anyone you choose.
You can also customize placement, timeline, and budget similar to other Facebook advertising. The level of customization means a higher return on ad spend.
How LinkedIn Ads Work As Part of a Marketing Strategy?
If your business is geared towards consumers, Facebook offers the best return on investment regardless of if you choose the PPC or PPM model. That said, if you’re running a B2B business, then LinkedIn Advertising is a better option.
Even though LinkedIn only allows for both text and image ads, statics show that images get 20% more clicks. That’s why it may make sense to start with both. You can then choose your audience, segmentation by company, skills, demographics, and job title.
The PPC ads can be placed at the bottom of the side of the user’s homepage, or they can show in a user’s inbox.
The other option LinkedIn offers is Sponsored Content. The shows up in the audience’s news feed, which can help to boost engagement significantly.
You can choose a target audience similar to display and text as. Then set your bid, which is either cost per thousand impressions (CPM) or cost per click (CPC).
Conclusion – Learning More About PPC Advertisement?
It takes time and a little effort to understand all aspects of running a PPC campaign. Learning to build and optimize a profitable campaign often takes trial and error for many industries. The guides and tools aid people who know what they are doing.
That’s why it’s best to start with the basics, run campaigns, and work on improving them. Learn to use features like match keywords, ad auction, and ad extensions to the benefit of your business.
It is also worth learning what bidding strategies work best. In the long-term, this approach will mean being able to run online ads that do not negatively impact your ROI.
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