Whether you’ve heard a bit about PPC marketing and want to learn more, or you already know you want to use PPC to advertise your business but need help figuring out where to begin, you’ve come to the perfect spot! Read the article, to know about what is pay per click.
What Is PPC?
Pay-per-click (PPC) is an advertising technique in which marketers publish ads on an advertisement platform and pay the platform’s host when their ad is clicked.
The purpose of the ad is to direct the person who clicks to the advertiser’s website or app, where the user may complete a valued activity, such as purchasing a product.
Search engines are popular hosting platforms because they allow marketers to display adverts relevant to what visitors are searching for.
Advertising platforms such as Google Ads and Microsoft Ads use real-time bidding (RTB), selling advertising inventory in a private automated auction utilizing real-time data.
PPC Definitions and Terms
What is a marketing channel without a few acronyms and jargon?
You should be aware of a few words if you plan to enter the paid advertising arena. Below, we’ll go over the essential components of a PPC campaign, from broad to specialized.
Below, we’ll go over the essential components of a PPC campaign, from broad to specialized.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
The goal of all types of digital advertising is to rank for a certain term, which may be accomplished through various methods. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) refers to any digital marketing (paid or unpaid) done on a search engine such as Google, Yahoo, or Bing.
SEM is an umbrella phrase that includes paid advertising and search engine optimization or ranking organically for keywords. It’s crucial to remember that not all PPC occurs on search engines; PPC advertising can also be found on social media (think: Facebook Ads).
CPC
The cost-per-click (CPC) is the amount an advertiser pays for each click on your ad. CPC serves as your offer in an auction that decides where your ad will appear. As you may expect, a greater price equals better ad placement.
You set your CPC to the highest price per ad click. The following calculation determines how much you pay:
(Competitor’s Ad Rank / Your Quality Score) + 0.01 = Actual CPC.
Let’s go over the terms in this calculation so you know what you’re paying for:
Maximum Bid
This is the most you’re willing to spend per click on your ad.
Here’s an example from WordStream of what I mean:
You may set your CPC to the manual, where you decide the maximum cost for your advertisements or enhanced, which allows search engines to change your bid depending on your goals. One of these upgraded choices is bid strategies, which automatically alter your offers based on clicks or conversions.
CPM stands for cost per thousand impressions. It is most widely used for paid social and display adverts. There are other sorts of cost per ex: cost-per-engagement, and cost-per-acquisition (CPA), but to conserve your head space, we’ll stay with clicks, a.k.a. CPC.
The first step in creating PPC advertising is defining your marketing plan. Consider your campaign the core message or concept you wish to convey via your adverts.
Now that you understand the fundamentals of PPC, I think your next question is, “Where should I advertise?”
There are dozens of online venues where you may spend your prized ad dollars, and the best way to evaluate them is to examine your prospective ROI on each site.
The most popular advertising platforms are effective because they are simple and, more importantly, heavily visited. However, if you have a limited budget, you should seek a lesser-known option for these major players.
Other factors to consider when selecting a platform are the availability of keyword words, where your target audience spends their time and your advertising budget.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of some of the best PPC platforms.
Facebook Ads
It is a popular and successful platform for sponsored ads (more usually used as CPM than CPC), owing to its particular targeting features. Facebook allows you to target people based on their interests, demographics, geography, and habits.
Furthermore, Facebook allows for native advertisements, which are presented and blended into the social stream. Not to add, you can also utilize Facebook Ads to promote on Instagram.
Google Ads is the largest pay-per-click platform, and it is available on Google, Search Partner sites, and Display Network sites. Ads was established in October 2000 and has undergone various revisions over the previous 17 years. Google Ads targets businesses ranging from tiny to Fortune 500.
Microsoft Advertising, like Google Ads, is a pay-per-click platform that displays advertisements across the Microsoft and Yahoo networks. The platform also makes use of Search Partners. Microsoft Advertising is mostly focused on keyword-based advertising. As of 2017, Microsoft Advertising has 137 million unique desktop searches on the Bing Network.
PPC marketing encompasses a variety of ad platforms, the most prevalent of which are Google Ads and Bing Ads.
There are several ad types available on each of these sites, including:
- Search Ads
- Shopping Ads
- Display Ads
- Video Ads
There are several ad types available on each of these sites, including:
Most businesses begin their PPC marketing with Google Ads because it provides access to the greatest audience of potential clients and consumers, as well as various ways to set up and manage campaigns based on your goals.
However, regardless of platform or ad style, the method PPC works remain mostly the same, and it is a rather straightforward process:
1. Create an advertising account with the platform.
2. Create advertisements (and select the right targeting by adding keywords, audiences, etc.).
3. Determine the maximum fee you will spend for each click.
4. Your ad is entered into an auction with other advertisers bidding on the same keywords.
5. The bidding decides the order in which the adverts appear.
6. You only pay when someone clicks on your ad.
While there are variances between different ad formats (and other bidding tactics that might be employed, for example), the basic principles remain.
But first, let’s look at how the auction works, as this is generally the most troubling aspect of PPC for newcomers.
How Paid Search Works
Every time an ad spot appears on a search engine results page (SERP), an auction for the term is held in real-time.
A mix of variables, including bid amount and ad quality, determines the winner.
These auctions are what keep the wheels of PPC turning. They begin when someone looks for anything on a search engine.
If you are pursuing PPC as a marketing channel for your company, you will want to understand the benefits and why you should invest your cash here rather than elsewhere.
Here are some of the most popular reasons why PPC may be the best advertising channel for you:
1. You can begin receiving clicks very rapidly.
2. PPC can be readily measured and tracked.
3. You have complete control over when and how much you pay for adverts.
4. You can properly target your consumers.
5. There are several ad formats accessible.
What’s the distinction between SEM and PPC?
There is a distinction between Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC).
SEM is an umbrella phrase that includes PPC but is not confined to this type of advertising. It refers to activities that make it easier to locate a website using a search engine. SEM includes paid and unpaid traffic, such as PPC and organic traffic.
PPC is a type of internet advertising that uses search engines and other channels, such as video advertisements (YouTube) and picture ads (Instagram/Facebook).
Go Paid!
Whether you began your business yesterday or have been operating for decades, PPC may be the boost you need to get an edge on your competitors – or at least ahead of them in the SERPs.
Applying the lessons learned in this tutorial on creating a PPC campaign and the best practices for a great PPC strategy will have you well on your way to increasing the traffic and conversions to your website.