What is Pay-Per-Click?
Pay Per Click, better known as PPC, is a form of digital advertising where advertisers pay a fee when their advert is clicked. These can be displayed on websites as banners, but are more commonly found on search engines like Google and Microsoft Ads as listings.
There are plenty of benefits to using PPC as a marketing tool, as it’s a quick way to get your products in front of potential customers when they’ve turned to search for your product or service i.e. getting ads in front of users at the exact moment they’re looking for it.
Through granular targeting options, you can choose what type of people the adverts appear to including specifying demographics, geographic locations and what time of day.
And financially, not only can PPC drive up your profit, but you get to set your own budget meaning your PPC campaign will only last for how far your budget stretches, meaning you have full control and you’ll never be spending above your advertising budget.
Types of PPC
There are multiple types of pay-per-click advertising campaigns you can run, each coming with unique benefits to your business.
Performance Max (Shopping)
Performance Max ads, previously known as Smart Shopping ads, are the main adverts used in eCommerce campaigns and would be what an eCommerce business would be spending their money on during a PPC campaign. The adverts themselves allow advertisers to display image-based ads at the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs) along with other product information such as price, discounts, product reviews and more.
The only drawback to Performance Max advertising is that you can’t choose which keywords this type of advert show for, as Google would use the information provided for each product to determine what search terms the adverts show for.
Search
These will appear as text-based advertisements on the SERPs, looking very similar to the regular search engine results. When you use PPC, you can guarantee that your result will be near the top, if not hitting the top spot itself.
And unlike the Performance Max ads, you can target this type of advert for specific keywords, which is important when it comes to matching the keywords you’re targeting through your site. These could be niche keywords or local keywords, which can allow you to carve out your own niche on Google results.
Remarketing
Looking similar to a text-based search advert, you can specifically target PPC ads for remarketing. Campaigns can be set up to target specific audiences such as customers who were previously converted, users who visited your site but didn’t convert, and even email subscribers.
Remarketing is such a powerful PPC option as the customers you’re targeting are already partway through their customer journey and have shown interest in your business or products before. So to convert, even a little advert on the SERPs can lead to quick conversions.
Display
These would be in the form of a banner and would be found on websites instead of on search engine pages. As they come in the form of a graphic or photo, they will benefit businesses that rely on aesthetics and brand awareness, especially if there are memorable logos, colours and fonts. They’re generally used by clients with bigger budgets and can give you significant reach through multiple websites and be used for remarketing.
YouTube
Ever since YouTube introduced video ads, using them as a form of PPC advertising has become increasingly popular. It’s a cost-effective way of doing video advertising, and you can target your adverts to only show with prospective audiences (through demographics or specific interests) or engaged audiences ( such as previous converters, site visitors and email subscribers).
PPC and eCommerce
Pay-per-click advertising is really effective when it comes to selling products. By utilising a number of different types of PPC advertising, you can get your products right in front of users knowing that there’s a good chance they’re looking for something just like the product you’re selling.
And with pay per click, it means you’ll only be paying for advertising when someone shows an interest in your product. And even if they visit your site briefly, you’ll be able to turn a prospective customer into an engaged customer and apply remarketing tactics through PPC.
Does Pay Per Click Really Work?
Not only does PPC work, but DNRG has a great track record in delivering results. For one client, they saw a 108.9% increase in conversions by launching a PPC campaign with us, whilst another benefitted from a huge 712% return on ad spend (ROAS).
You can also pair your PPC campaign(s) with paid social advertising, gain organic results through search engine optimisation (SEO) and make sure your website is working well to convert customers through conversion rate optimisation (CRO).
