PPC, or “Pay Per Click” advertising is a digital marketing strategy where a business pays a fee each time their ad is clicked. This model can apply to paid ads on sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google, and Bing.
Often times, small business owners turn to third parties (like us!) to manage these types of campaigns. While there’s nothing wrong with outsourcing, it’s important to make sure whoever is managing your PPC can do it thoroughly…which can be difficult for agencies that juggle a wide range of accounts.
Why Choose the PPC Advertising Model?
PPC is most effective for reaching users actively searching for your products or services. The budget is usually determined by your audience, competition, and brand awareness goals.
Third parties can be a great resource, since their expertise can guide small business owners toward the most effective PPC strategies.
What Makes PPC Ads Effective?
The goal of a PPC campaign is to reach people who are more likely to convert or complete the ad campaign’s goal. This goal could be anything from purchasing a specific product to submitting a contact information form.
The reason you want to reach these highly motivated customers is so that the revenue generated from their purchases:
- Covers the cost of them clicking your ad
- Results in profit for your business
Clear, high-quality ad content and precise targeting are necessary to create an effective PPC Campaign.
What to Look For in Third Party PPC Advertising Services
While large agencies may come off as more official and worth higher prices, many tend to sacrifice quality for quantity.
Groups that boast managing upwards of 30-50 accounts may not have the time to really dig into campaign analytics and make frequent small (but necessary) adjustments. Sometimes seemingly insignificant tweaks can end up making all the difference.
Vet your third-party options and make sure that they’re not overloaded. It’s important that they can dedicate the appropriate amount of time and effort to your PPC campaigns.
Whether you manage your own campaigns, have a third-party manage them for you, or are looking to start working with a new company, here are our key PPC takeaways:
- PPC is best for targeting highly motivated shoppers, or those who are most likely to convert.
- Clear, high-quality, and precisely-targeted content is most effective.
- Regular, thorough campaign reviews and adjustments are necessary for improvement.
