Engaging in pay-per-click (PPC) advertising has its own benefits and
drawbacks. But what exactly is PPC advertising and what it can do to your
business?
Business nowadays is doing different kinds of austerity measures when it
comes to advertising their products and services. This is because of the high
rates of placing ads in print and on television. But there is a fast-growing approach
that businessmen can utilize to bring their services closer to the people and
that is through Internet Marketing.
One tool that is causing internet marketing popularity is PPC
advertising. This is a technique used in search engine marketing that requires
one to pay a fee every time someone clicks an ad on your website. Usually, this
placement is done through a bidding process. If you are a top bidder for your
keywords/phrases, you are sure to be on the number one spot on all search
engines. Just be sure of the effectiveness of your ad copy to get the most
number of clicks you need for your business.
Here are the benefits of PPC advertising are:
- You
need not be a genius in computer and technology to be able to run this ad
campaign.
- Immediate
results are seen after a few days.
- No
need to make a website conform to the SEO rules.
- Nothing
to lose even if you do not top the pages of different search engines. You
can still always choose PPC advertising.
- You
can make use any search engine available.
- You
can type in any keyword you like.
Cons of PPC advertising include:
- Fixed
payments every month to the search engine you choose.
- Pay
for each click received by your website. At times, visitors are just
competitors or people playing pranks on search engines. This hassle wastes
money you put in to this advertising.
- Inability
to pay for the fees next month would mean removal of your website on the
paid listings.
- This
advertising can only be used temporarily because it is difficult to handle
in the long run.
- Pay-per-click
pricing can be costly for long periods of time, therefore, this should be
stopped after an ad campaign.
But how exactly PPC advertising can increase traffic, leads and sales?
PRE-QUALIFIED TRAFFIC. All visitors of your website are already
considered as qualified consumers or buyers of your product. PPC advertising
leads your customers to you for a lesser cost.
INSTANT EXPOSURE, IMMEDIATE PROFITS. PPC search engines enable you to
get your desired results fast. They will have your website live within just a
few hours which means an immediate increase in sales.
CONSISTENT TOP LISTINGS. This is to get your website on top of the
sponsored search results for free. You just have to choose the keywords related
to your site and business and place them within your web pages. After this, you
are done.
PPC advertising enables advertisers to control their advertising
campaigns. Advertisers have effectively targeted their audience and set their
own price per click. PPC advertising networks provide the platform to identify
the desired audience by geographic setting, topic, and industry. These networks
have a list of websites of the publishers where the ads will be placed.
Tools are provided by the networks to check how the pay-per-click limit
is working for a certain advertiser. If it's still competitive, would it be
even listed among the paid search lists or does it generate sales? Of course,
if the advertiser made the highest bid, the better chances the ad will be seen
in the search engine. These networks too provide protection for advertisers
against click fraud. This advertising set-up allows advertisers to set a daily
budget for their ads, thus, less spending for unnecessary clicks. Advertisers
will never go over his budget.
In PPC advertising, what is important are the keywords and phrases. You
have to select at least ten "very specific" keywords that would give
you the best traffic in the search. Then, write the ad creatively but
straightforward. Tell the truth about your product or service and do not lie.
Good thing if your product or service will not disappoint those that are
relying on your ad's promise - but what if it did otherwise? Important too is
the clarity of the ad. Do not use very vague language. Include important
details like the price.
You should also remember to budget your bids. Do not go overbidding
because you will only lose your money and do not go so low that your ads will
never get the chance to show up. Check your profit against your spending. If
you see no progress then most likely you have to drop your ad campaign.
More and more advertisers have been using PPC advertising and it will
continue to grow faster than any online advertising technique. From revenues of
$2.6 billion in 2004 to $5.5 billion in 2009, cost per click will dramatically
go up as well from $0.29 to $0.36.
PPC advertising is new in online marketing and it is going to continue
in the years to come. For advertisers, this means increased revenues with fewer
advertising expenses, savings, more sales, good return of investment (ROI), and
effective ad campaigns in the days to come.