The Benefits of Paid Search: PPC Ads 101
TNT Growth is all about paid search. We typically help companies who are well along their journeys with paid search. However, there are times when companies need to start from scratch and learn quickly. If you’re just getting started, this article is here to help you with all the basics you need to understand paid search.
So you want to learn more about PPC? Are you a masochist or for some reason seeking ways to torture yourself? Alright, you’ve come to the right spot. Obviously, we’re joking – ppc is not nearly that bad. But it’s safe to say that most people do not find PPC to be a stimulating or entertaining topic. In fact, some people would rather watch paint dry or do all manner of boring or unreasonable things simply to avoid dealing with their PPC accounts. Well, the good news is when you get started on the right foot it all becomes a lot easier to grasp.
So, without future ado, pay per click (PPC), also sometimes referred to as paid search, is a type of online advertising that companies can use to drive specific visitors to their websites and sales pages. Paid search allows businesses to target their advertising messages to people who are searching for specific terms, which often indicate their buying intent, on search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Because of its ability to target buyers during the buying phase, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising can be an extremely effective tactic for connecting with potential customers who are already interested in what you have to offer.
Many businesses include PPC advertising into their marketing strategies simply because it’s a tried and true way to reach target audiences. If you’re considering PPC ads, they can help your business target customers who fit a specific profile with relevant ads that are tailored to convert. PPC campaigns can be adjusted to meet the needs of a wide variety of businesses, which is one of the biggest advantages. Additionally, PPC can be an effective way to measure the success of a marketing campaign and to determine which marketing strategies will work best for a business.
Needless to say, there are many benefits to using paid search as part of your online marketing strategy. Paid search allows you to target your audience more accurately, increasing the chances that you will reach the right people with your advertising. Additionally, paid search results can appear at the top of the SERPs which means they have better visibility than organic search results. With paid search you can be sure that your messages will get seen by more people.
Paid search also provides a multitude of data on every advertising campaign. This information can allow you to track your results more closely, so you can see how well your ads are performing and make necessary adjustments. Overall, paid search is a great way to reach more potential customers and improve your online marketing results.
TNT’s PPC Lexicon
OK, so now that we’ve covered the basics of what PPC is and given a broad overview of how it works it’s time to build your PPC vocabulary with a quick overview of each of the components.
- Ads are your creative content that appears on the SERP.
- Account This area houses your business information, including your payment details.
- Ad Groups contain one or more ads and keywords. An ad group should contain ads that share similar targets.
- Campaigns are where your ad groups live. Each campaign can only support one ad type (ie, Display vs Search). You may have multiple ad groups within a campaign, and you may also have multiple campaigns per account.
- Cost per Acquisition (CPA) how much it costs to get a customer to complete the action in your ad
- Cost per Click (CPC) how much it costs to get a customer to click your ad
- Cost per Mille (CPM) also known as cost per thousand, is your cost per one thousand impressions
- Keywords are the words or phrases that trigger your ads to show in the search engine results page (SERP). Keywords are words or phrases on your web or landing pages that should closely match the words and phrases users are entering into search engines.
- Maximum Bid the maximum amount you propose to spend for each click on your ad
- Quality Score search engines will score your ad based on several factors including your clickthrough rate (CTR), average CTR of ads in the same position, keyword relevance, landing page quality, and past SERP performance.
- Search Engine Marketing the term includes all forms of digital marketing (paid or unpaid) performed on a search engine, such as Bing, DuckDuckGo, Google, or Yahoo.
How to Get Started with PPC
If you’ve never ran an ad before and you’re starting from scratch, you’re probably feeling pretty intimidated. That’s OK, it’s completely natural to feel overwhelmed. There’s a saying that can be applied to a lot of topics, but it’s especially true for PPC. The saying goes: It’s not hard to learn, but it is difficult to master. So, for today let’s focus on the “learning” part. We’ll leave the mastering for a later date. 😉
The best place to start is on paper. Interestingly enough, in the beginning you won’t need to focus your attention on advertising. You’ll start by focusing on your business. What do you hope to achieve with paid search? What resources are available? What are your anticipated returns? Next, take a look at the competition. How are they using PPC ads and what are there results? This information gathering stage is critical as it will help you evaluate the costs and benefits of your PPC program and develop a realistic budget and advertising plan.
There are a few things businesses should keep in mind when using PPC. First, targeting is everything. It’s critical that you target the right audience with your ads. The key to succeeding with PPC is to reach the right people at the right time with the right offer. These are the people who are most likely to buy what you have to offer. Secondly, you need to make sure your ads are well-written and persuasive. Your goal is to connect with your prospects and woo them into clicking on your ad. Finally, you need to track your results and make sure you’re making a profit from your PPC campaigns. Make sure that you’re getting enough clicks to cover your costs and make a profit.
In today’s digital age, it’s more important than ever for businesses to have a strong online presence. Paid search is a great way to get your business in front of the right people and generate traffic that can convert into sales. If you’re not currently using paid search, it’s a great time to start.
Not every business that tries paid search will succeed. But businesses that use paid search with proven best practices can generally expect to see an increase in website traffic and conversions, as well as a better return on investment (ROI) than other online advertising methods. If you’re interested in exploring paid search for your business, contact TNT today. We’re here to help.
