Have you ever heard of the acronym PPC? What does it stand for? PPC, or Pay-Per-Click marketing, is a form of online advertising that utilizes search engines and social media to boost your online presence. In basic terms, you as a business pay each time a potential customer clicks on one of your ads. The more you are willing to pay for each click, the more prominence your ad is given.
PPC ad campaigns run on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Of course, one of the most ubiquitous PPC platforms is Google Search. In the latter example, when someone uses Google to search for a specific keyword that your business is targeting, your ads will appear before any organic, unpaid listings.
Small businesses don’t often have large budgets set aside for advertising. By utilizing PPC as your primary source of advertising, your business can determine exactly how and where advertising money will be spent. You can also track the fruitfulness of the ad campaign and make adjustments at any time. Why is it vital for you to know about this as a small business owner? Here are four reasons PPC advertising is the most cost-effective way for small businesses to make their digital presence known in the community.
1. PPC Marketing is Measurable
PPC marketing campaigns provide your company with valuable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). What are KPIs and what exactly do they measure?
- How many people saw your ad
- Click-through rate (how many people clicked on your ad)
- Conversion rate (how many of those people became customers)
- Average cost-per-click
- Other insights
This allows you to gauge whether your ad campaign is as effective as you need it to be. The real-time statistics give you the ability to optimize your campaigns as they’re running.
2. Your Competition Uses It
Have you ever wondered how potential clients find your competition? Type the product your business offers into Google, along with the words “near me.”
You might have anywhere from a few results to hundreds depending on what word you selected to search. Each PPC listing will be shown with the word “ad” in the upper left-hand corner.
Take note of how your direct competition is already taking advantage of PPC marketing. Are competitors displayed ahead of your business in the search results? Your competitors’ standings are directly linked to their use of PPC
3. It's Cost Effective
Traditional marketing is not obsolete. Yet, it costs much more than PPC marketing, and tracking the results is more challenging. Think about all the money that goes into conventional marketing campaigns. Super Bowl commercials are a prime example of this cost.
In 2022, the starting cost of a Super Bowl commercial was an astounding $6.5 million dollars. This cost doesn’t even include hiring the talent, directors, props, and editing. When you use PPC marketing, it allows you to set your own budget for each campaign.
This budget can be set with a daily maximum spending allowance if you choose. There is no end to the amount of advertising space that can be purchased with PPC campaigns, and yet the total budget is always within your control.
4. Highly-Targeted Advertising Hits the Mark
PPC marketing campaigns have a wide array of targeting capabilities. These targets can include location, household income, age, gender, in-market segments (people looking to buy or hire a particular product or service), and more – the list goes on and on.
Tracking this data brings value to your company within weeks and enables you to replace assumptions with facts. Small business owners can go from having a limited understanding of how customers interact with the online aspect of your business to discovering essential details about your clients’ buyer persona.
This includes information such as your online consumer’s age, gender, income, relative location, what words they use to try to find your products—even what time of day they are most often searching for you.
Seapoint Digital Makes It Easy to Get Started
Getting started with PPC advertising will do wonders for your small business in the long run. If starting your own PPC advertising campaign sounds overwhelming – or if you’re afraid that it’s something you can’t fit into your schedule, we are here to help. Our digital marketing team has the expertise to make the process simple and effective.
Don’t miss out on utilizing this valuable resource: contact Seapoint Digital to get started today.
