PPC Ads for Beginners: Everything You Need to Know About Pay-Per-Click Ads and How to Get Started

As a small business, you have to allocate your marketing spend carefully, paying close attention to generating maximum return on investment. Where does PPC fit in? If you’ve never tried pay-per-click advertising, you may find the prospect intimidating. Here’s a simple primer on what you need to know to get started with PPC.

What are PPC Ads?

Pay-per-click advertising is relatively self-explanatory. It’s a form of online marketing in which a company creates and posts ads, and then pays a publisher (a search engine, website, or social media platform, for example) when those ads are clicked by consumers, who are then directed to the company’s website.

Paid search ads are among the most common type because they appear for relevant searches, or users who are ostensibly seeking what a company has to offer. However, paid social ads are also gaining popularity because of the ability to target very specific demographics.

Why Pay for PPC Advertising?

There are a variety of ways to allocate online marketing spend. Why should PPC be part of your strategy? You stand to gain several benefits in the process, such as:

• Relatively quick and easy entry, unlike more intensive marketing and SEO efforts
• Budget flexibility
• Control over keywords, ad placement, and more
• Detailed targeting options
• Ability to support/coordinate with other online marketing efforts
• Ability to pursue specific conversions and business goals
• Ability to track and measure metrics and ROI
• Ability to pivot quickly to capitalize on successes or reverse shortcomings by monitoring results

When to Run PPC Ads

If you think a lot of strategy goes into the content of your PPC ads, just wait until you start considering when to run them. The timing of your ads, the frequency with which you run them, and the length of your campaigns can all have a marked impact on how many targeted consumers they reach, how successful they are and the lasting impact they have on your online presence.

Deciding when to run ads will depend largely on your budget and your goals, but you cannot phone it in here-you need a solid strategy designed to deliver maximum ROI.

PPC Ad Creation

The content of your PPC ads is an essential contributor to outcomes. While there’s no specific formula for creating successful ads, there are several guidelines you can follow to increase the odds of connecting with consumers and driving desired conversions, including:

• Understanding the wants and needs of your target audience
• Conveying the benefits of your products/services
• Convincing your audience you’re better than competitors
• Coordinating with other marketing/branding efforts
• Utilizing relevant keywords
• Including compelling content like pricing or statistics
• Including a compelling CTA

You should also conduct testing to determine content variants that deliver the best conversions and ROI. Following these guidelines gives you the best chance to reach your business goals with PPC.

Keywords and Content Rule the Scene

Perhaps the most important guidelines from the list above are to 1.) utilize relevant keywords and 2.) include compelling content. In order to get someone to actually click on your ad and convert, it has to be compelling and related to their needs.

For example, if someone searches for dog collars and sees that one of the results (shown higher up in the list because it’s a sponsored ad) says something like “USA-Made Dog Collars – Buy One Get One 50% Off”, they might feel compelled to check them out over another result that doesn’t say American-made or have the special offer. Of course, you won’t always have a special deal to offer, but you should always focus on the aspects that make your product or service unique and the best on the market.

Explore Your Opportunities with PPC Advertising

We understand that you don’t necessarily have the time to remember all the specifics of how to create, set up and run PPC ads. What you do need to remember is that it’s a great opportunity to reach more people and get more conversions. We can orchestrate the rest to help you get results. Contact Sanctuary today to learn more or set up a consultation!