5 Basic Facts to Understand About Pay Per Click Advertising

Pay per click (PPC) advertising has existed for some time. The theory behind PPC ads is that search engines and social media platforms can gather information so that users can be presented with ads tailored to their interests, behaviors, and location. However, in the interest of attracting advertisers, a fee is only assessed when the user clicks on the ad. Hence the name "pay per click" advertising.

Many businesses can benefit from PPC. Here are five basic facts to understand about pay per click advertising to decide if they can help your business:

Targeted

One of the most attractive features of PPC is the ability to target your ads. PPC platforms provide you or your digital marketing provider an interface to manage how your ads are targeted. Just as with search engine optimization (SEO), PPC management encompasses technical knowledge of the platform and understanding of marketing principles. For this reason, many advertisers prefer to engage local Minneapolis PPC management companies to provide their support and experience to tweak pay per click ads.

For example, pay per click ads usually target a particular geographic location based on pre-defined keywords. However, since the targeting often requires refinement as the campaign proceeds, platforms provide metrics showing the performance of your pay per click ads. If the click rate or conversion rate is too low, your ad may be targeting the wrong users and an adjustment will need to be made.

Non-intrusive

Internet users have been peppered with ads almost since the beginning of the World Wide Web in the 1990s. Pop up ads and banner ads are often viewed as highly intrusive by users and can provoke users to avoid clicking on them merely out of spite. This is partly due to their disruption of the browsing experience and partly due to their lack of tailoring to the user.

Pay per click ads, on the other hand, can be tuned so they are less obtrusive by selecting highly targeted keywords and behaviors. This can make PPC ads seem less intrusive and more helpful to users.

Appear With Search Results

To reduce the intrusiveness even further, and create a more organic appearance for your pay per click ads, you can focus your digital marketing campaign on search engines. You may have seen (and clicked on) PPC ads served up by search engines before, without even realizing it.

Google, for example, presents pay per click ads before organic search results. The only way to distinguish PPC ads from organic results is that PPC ads say "sponsored." However, if the pay per click ad is relevant, many users will click it before even viewing the organic search results. This is an important behavior to understand because 80% of search engine users only click on organic search results. Jumping to the head of the search results list can dramatically increase your online leads.

Works with SEO

You will occasionally see two results together at the top of your search results when you conduct a search. One is the sponsored (or pay per click) result and the other is an organic result. This means that the business has astutely used both pay per click advertising and SEO to maximize the chances of garnering clicks.

Briefly, SEO uses keywords to improve the organic ranking for those keyword searches. By using hidden and visible text on a website, a tire shop in Minneapolis can improve its organic search position for any searches containing "truck tires minneapolis." This is similar to the process used in PPC management. By targeting your pay per click ads and optimizing your search engine keywords, you can reach your desired audience.

Only Pay for Clicks

The most characteristic feature of PPC ads is that the platform only charges when a user clicks on the ad. This provides a few benefits to you, and also a warning. The benefits are that if you are not getting very many clicks, you will not be charged while you test and adjust your PPC management. However, this also means that mistargeting your ads can mean you are paying for clicks that do not translate into sales.

PPC ads can be an effective marketing tool when used properly. However, PPC management by an experienced digital marketing company is key to the effectiveness.