PPC Marketing
Pay-per-click is referred to as PPC. PPC online marketers receive payment each time a user clicks on one of their ads.
PPC advertising is typically done on the search engine results pages (SERPs) of search engines like Google. In this scenario, advertisers make bids on keywords, and when users conduct searches using those terms, their advertisements are shown at the top of the SERPs.
Online display ads and social media sites like Facebook and Instagram are also used for PPC advertising.
What distinguishes PPC, SEM, and SEO from one another?
There are differences between PPC, SEM (search engine marketing), and SEO (search engine optimisation), despite the fact that these phrases are sometimes used interchangeably. A form of digital advertising known as “pay-per-click” (or “PPC”) involves charging the advertiser each time one of their ads is clicked.
SEM stands for search engine marketing. SEO is a part of search engine marketing, or search marketing as it is more often called, which is the only difference between SEO and SEM. Both strategies aim to increase visibility in search results. Paid and unpaid SEM examples include PPC or organic traffic (SEO).
The acronym SEO stands for “search engine optimisation”. Simply said, SEO is the act of making changes to your website in order to elevate its ranking when users search for your products and services on Google, Microsoft Bing, and other search engines.
PPC or organic traffic (SEO) are examples of paid and unpaid SEM.
What is meant by PPC?
PPC is a form of online marketing that also makes use of other websites and programs like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube in addition to search engines.
A method for making a website’s content and architecture more search engine friendly is called search engine optimisation (SEO). In order to do this, it is necessary to do keyword research and use, optimise the metadata, create high-quality content, and obtain links from other websites. SEO aims to improve a website’s organic (unpaid) search engine rankings and boost traffic from unpaid search results.
What does PPC stand for?
Pay-per-click, or PPC, is an acronym. Each time one of their ads is clicked, PPC marketing agencies get paid a charge. It is simple to picture it as a means of funding website visitors.
How does PPC work in digital marketing?
Advertisers must submit a bid in order for their advertisements to show up for certain keywords or phrases in search engine results. The advertiser’s ad will appear among the top results when a user puts one of those terms or phrases into the search field. After that, each time a user clicks on an advertisement, the advertiser will be paid. Campaigns are developed by advertisers to target particular demographics, regions, and interests. For the terms they want to target, they will decide on the highest bid. The search engine will then choose which ads to display and in what sequence using a complex algorithm.
The algorithm takes into account factors like the following:
- Top PPC platforms
- Total of a bidder’s bid
- Strategy and planning for PPC campaigns
- Ad’s compatibility with the search term
- Quality of the advertisement
Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram can also be used for this kind of advertising.
Why is PPC important?
With an average cost per click (CPC) of $1.16 in 2022, PPC generated $2 in income on average for every $1 invested in it. In 2020, 40% of advertising budgets were spent on search, with 73% of that money going to Google, even if social media is still a popular medium for commercials.
PPC has a number of advantages over SEO and social media, such as:
- Rapid results: While SEO results might not be apparent right away, PPC advertising can significantly improve website traffic. Platforms frequently accept advertising on the same day, providing advertisements with the most exposure feasible right away. This could be a text ad from a Google search results page, a YouTube video, or an Instagram image advertisement. Using a range of platforms and formats raises the visibility of your business.
- Reach your targeted audience: PPC advertising allows for the targeting of specific demographics, interests, and locations, which helps businesses draw in the right clients. Social media sites like Facebook can help you get your advertisement in front of the audience most likely to result in a sale. Even specific people might be targeted based on their behaviour and interests.
- Measurable: PPC marketing produces measurable results. For marketers, it makes it possible to monitor ROI, conversions, and other KPIs.
- Cost-effective: Because advertisers only pay when a user clicks on their ad and has the option to set a budget for their campaign, PPC advertising may be less expensive than more conventional kinds of advertising like television or print ads.
- Branding: Because advertisers only pay when a user clicks on their ad and have the option to select a campaign budget, PPC advertising may be less expensive than more conventional kinds of advertising like television or print ads.
- Complementing SEO: SEO efforts may benefit from PPC advertising. PPC can be utilised to draw instant attention to a website while SEO efforts are being done while SEO focuses on boosting organic traffic.
- Track your goals: Using programs like Google Analytics, you may keep track of your goals. Monitoring the effectiveness of your advertisements in real-time will allow you to ascertain what has to be done in order to more successfully reach your objectives.
- Reputation management: By using PPC to place bids on terms associated with a reputation event and send traffic to a landing page that specifically addresses the issue, you can quickly and effectively manage the narrative. PPC marketing is frequently a quantitative and cost-effective strategy to engage a certain demographic, produce leads and purchases, and ultimately raise brand awareness.
What factors are crucial for PPC campaign planning?
When organising a PPC campaign, you should adhere to the following essential steps:
- Define your target audience: Determine the target audience for your advertisements’ age, gender, location, interests, and other details.
- Set and specify specific objectives: Set goals for your PPC campaign, such as boosting website traffic, boosting online sales, or generating leads.
- Research keywords: Use keyword research tools to identify the terms and phrases your target audience is searching for online while creating your ad text and website content
- Make intriguing marketing copy: Create catchy headlines and descriptions for your advertising to persuade visitors to click through to your website.
- Pick the best advertising platforms: Choose the advertising networks you want to use, such as Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, the Meta Ads on Facebook and Instagram, etc.
- Monitor and optimize your campaign: You can improve your campaign and accomplish your goals by keeping track of the efficacy of your advertisements.
- Test different ad formats and targeting options: By testing multiple targeting options and various ad types (such as text, picture, and video), you can determine what works best for your campaign.
- Set a budget: Decide how much you’re going to invest in your campaign, and make sure to keep it under your allocated spending limit.
Top PPC advertising platforms
Many well-known websites offer PPC advertising chances. The most well-known ones are Microsoft Bing, Google, and Facebook. Videos (on YouTube or Facebook/Instagram Reels) and other formats, such as search, display, retargeting, and others, can be used by different ad platforms to present different results.
Google Ads
The most popular search engine is Google. Its attraction is unmatched on a worldwide scale. Paid adverts through Google Ads are therefore more expensive. Advertisers must place bids in order to have their services, goods, promotions, or films listed on Google. On mobile applications, movies, and websites that aren’t search engines, you can choose to see advertisements (search partners).
The most popular pay-per-click service is Google Ads. Given that Google processes over 99,000 search requests each second, there is a good chance that your advertisement will be viewed by your target market and result in a sale or financial gain. Google Ads is ideal for Fortune 500 organisations as well as smaller businesses.
Facebook Ads
Businesses and organisations can use Facebook advertising as a platform to promote their goods and services. The Facebook users’ news feeds, the right-hand column on desktop computers, and the Stories section on mobile devices all display the adverts.
Types of Facebook ads include:
- Image and video ads: These ads often include a single image or video, a condensed title, and a call-to-action button.
- Messenger ads: On the Facebook Messenger tab, you can view messenger advertisements. Due to the fact that people spend more time chatting with friends and family on Messenger than they do scrolling through picture or video ads, Messenger advertising feels more personal. To contact your business, people can respond to Messenger advertisements that appear in their conversations. These adverts are an excellent approach to entice viewers to interact with your business
- Lead ads: Only mobile devices can support lead advertising. In order to avoid having to type a lot, people can easily give you their contact information this way. They effectively persuade people to subscribe to your newsletter, try out your goods, or request more information from you. Numerous automakers have used them to great effect to encourage test drives.
- Carousel ads: Carousel adverts allow users to navigate between ten images or videos at once. Each has its own title, synopsis, or link. On carousels, a range of products can be displayed successfully. Clicking on any image in the carousel will take you to a landing page that is tailored to each product or service, which is much better.
This Facebook ad format can also be helpful for guiding viewers through a process or displaying a group of related products by distributing each step across multiple parts of your carousel. - Slideshow ads: Advertising slideshows often contain 3–10 photos or a single movie. These adverts use up to five times less bandwidth than movies, making them an excellent substitute. Slide show commercials are a great place to start if you’ve never made a video before.
- Stories ads: Ads stories: With Stories advertisements, a full-screen vertical video format only accessible on mobile devices, you can optimise screen space without requiring consumers to flip their devices. Carousels, films, or just still images can all be used to tell a story.
- Instant Experience ads: Instant Experience advertisements, formerly known as Canvas advertisements and only accessible on mobile devices, allow users to engage with your sponsored content on Facebook. Instant Experience advertisements allow users to move the screen in different directions, swipe through a carousel of photos, and zoom in or out of the content. Facebook suggests using five to seven images and videos in each Instant Experience advertisement to maximise the likelihood that people would interact with it. You can save time and keep your main theme continuous throughout the advertisement by using pre-made themes. Companies may also choose to allow Facebook’s algorithm to select which items from their catalogue are displayed to each user.
Consider employing collection advertisements if your business provides a wide range of products and services. Other ad forms, such as carousels, can be more appropriate for smaller firms with a more constrained product selection.
- Collection ads: Collection advertising improves the user experience, much like immersive carousels. With collection advertising, customers may window shop your product line on their mobile devices. They are full-screen and offer more customization than carousels. Direct product purchases can be made by users via the Collection advertisement. Advertisers can design campaigns to specifically target certain demographics, regions, and interests. Facebook’s This information is used by an algorithm to target people who are most likely to be interested in the products or services being promoted.
YouTube
Businesses and individuals can use YouTube advertising to promote their products and services on the YouTube network.
These advertisements come in a variety of formats, including:
- Skippable video ads: You can skip these adverts after a set period of time, often five seconds. They can last up to 60 seconds.
- Non-skippable video ads: These adverts must be seen in their entirety before viewing the main content. Their duration is up to 15 seconds.
- Bumper ads: These are six-second-long, skippable, and quick ads.
- Sponsored cards: These are very few cards that appear on the television during the commercial and give more information about the product or service.
- Overlay ads: These semi-transparent advertisements are located in the bottom third of the video.
An advertiser can select a target audience based on traits like demographics, interests, and behaviours. A cost-per-view (CPV) or cost-per-click (CPC) basis is available for the purchase of YouTube advertising, and the advertiser is charged each time the ad is viewed or clicked.
Microsoft
Businesses and individuals can connect via the Microsoft Bing search engine and the Microsoft Advertising Network, a group of websites and apps that partner with Microsoft to display adverts. Microsoft Advertising is an advertising platform that was originally known as Bing Ads.
Advertisers can create a wide range of ads using the platform, including search ads, product ads, shopping ads, display ads, and video ads. These ads, which are available for purchase on a pay-per-click or pay-per-impression basis, are specifically targeted at particular audiences based on demographics, interests, and behaviour. As a result, each time an advertiser’s ad is viewed or clicked, they are charged.
TikTok
On the TikTok app, people and businesses may advertise and market their products and services. These advertisements usually incorporate TikTok challenges, trends, or music to make them entertaining and creative.
The following are just a few of the commercials that TikTok offers:
- Full-screen, image- or video-based “in-feed” advertisements show up in the app’s home feed.
- Brand takeover ads—full-screen, image- or video-based advertisements—appear when a user launches an app.
- By watching adverts for hashtag contests and uploading their own films with the branded hashtag, viewers are encouraged to take part in branded hashtag competitions.
- Branded effects, which are unique effects made by brands, are effects that customers can use in their own videos.
Based on traits like demographics, hobbies, and behaviours, an advertiser can select a target audience. Advertisers can purchase TikTok advertising on a cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM) or cost-per-click (CPC) basis, and they are billed each time their advertisement is seen or clicked.
TikTok provides a self-service platform for small and medium-sized enterprises and a managed solution for bigger companies.
Based on traits like demographics, hobbies, and behaviours, an advertiser can select a target audience. Advertisers can purchase TikTok advertising on a cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM) or cost-per-click (CPC) basis, and they are billed each time their advertisement is seen or clicked.
For larger businesses, TikTok offers a managed solution, and for small and medium-sized businesses, it offers a self-service platform.
- Sponsored employment: These career opportunities are advertised at the top of the platform’s jobs section.
- Sponsored content: These ads, which appear in users’ newsfeeds, resemble real posts and maybe text-based, visual, or audio-based.
- Sponsored InMail: These advertising are displayed right away in users’ email inboxes.
- Display ads: On the platform’s right side are banner ads that can be customised for particular audiences.
- Dynamic advertisements: Depending on the user’s browsing preferences, these advertisements automatically provide tailored content for each viewer.
Based on variables like demographics, job titles, firm size, industry, skills, and habits, advertisers can target particular audiences.
You will be charged each time an ad is clicked or viewed if you decide to purchase LinkedIn adverts on a cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM) basis. Small and medium-sized businesses can conduct their campaigns using a self-service platform, while larger businesses can choose a managed solution offered by LinkedIn.
Instagram Ads
Individuals and companies can advertise on Instagram to promote their goods and services. These advertisements are disguised as sponsored posts that may be readily added to consumers’ newsfeeds and look just like regular posts.
Instagram provides a variety of adverts, including the following:
- A single image is used in a photo commercial to market a product or service.
- Videos are used in these commercials to promote a product or service.
- Instagram collection advertising resembles carousel and shopping ads in certain ways. Collections ads show products that are directly from your product line.
- Collection ads are ideal for e-commerce businesses since they let customers buy products right from the campaign. After clicking the advertisement, users are taken to an Instagram Instant Experience Storefront where they can read more about the product and make a purchase.
- Carousel advertisements, these enable businesses to display a large number of images or videos at once and let visitors swipe through them. Stories are commercials that appear in the Instagram Stories section and disappear after a day.
- Full-screen Instagram pictures or video advertising are displayed in between user stories.
Over 500 million Instagram users watch Stories daily, making it a popular feature of the programme. Because Story advertisements fill the entire mobile screen and are much more immersive than in-feed ads, engagement is often higher with them. The most effective Instagram Stories advertisements are ones that don’t stick out and instead blend in with other users’ stories. Businesses may fully utilise Instagram Stories’ built-in features, such as filters, text, GIFs, and interactive stickers when creating Stories advertising.
Carousels, movies, and still images can all be used in ads for stories. The call-to-action is located in a swipe-up link at the bottom of the Story.
- Advertisements that are specifically targeted to Instagram users can be found on the platform’s Explore page, where users can discover new content and accounts. Instead of appearing in the Explore grid or the subject channels, Instagram Explore ads appear after a user clicks on a picture or a video from Explore. Since the information in users’ Explore tabs is always changing, Explore advertising allows businesses to be featured with content that is currently popular and relevant to the culture.
Additionally, exploratory advertising can be used with images and videos.
- Reels will now enable advertising, Instagram just revealed, following the successful launch of Reels. Between reels, there are up to 60-second commercial breaks. They are vertical full-screen videos with the same features as Stories advertising. To blend in with organic Reels correctly, they need to have sound or melody. They should have sound or melody in order to mix in with organic Reels. Each Instagram Reels ad will have a Sponsored mark next to the account name. Reel videos on Instagram will play indefinitely unless stopped. Additionally, users have the option to “like,” “share,” “comment,” and “save” your Reels advertising.
- Shopping ads: It makes logical that Instagram has significantly expanded its e-commerce capabilities over the past two to three years given that 44% of its users conduct purchases on the platform each week. Users may now view and buy things without leaving the app thanks to Instagram’s most recent shopping feature (restricted to companies who have enabled Instagram Checkout). Users who click on Instagram Shopping ads are taken immediately to the app’s product detail page. After that, they can make a purchase on your mobile website. You must first set up your Instagram shopping catalogue in order to conduct shopping adverts on the platform. Use the Shopify link between Hootsuite and Shopify to access your catalogue directly from the Hootsuite dashboard.
“X” formerly known as Twitter
The distinct method of content delivery used by Twitter (now known as “X”) helps explain why it has a greater average click-through rate than other platforms. X (formerly known as “Twitter”) link advertisements typically have a CTR of 2% as opposed to 0.72% on Facebook. on Instagram, 0.94% These ads that are intended for a broad audience are frequently utilised to enhance website traffic, create brand awareness, and generate leads.
X (formerly known as “Twitter”) provides a variety of ad kinds, including:
- Website cards: A picture, a title, and a description are used in these advertising to promote a website or landing page.
- App install cards: An advertiser can select a target audience based on traits like demographics, interests, and behaviours. For X (previously “Twitter”) ads, the number of interactions (likes, retweets, responses, etc.) or clicks that the advertisement receives defines the cost-per-engagement or cost-per-click.
- Promoted accounts: These X (formerly “Twitter”) account advertisements can be found in the website’s “who to follow” section.
- Promoted trends: These advertisements place a certain hashtag at the top of the list of hot topics.
- Promoted X’s: These are the “promoted” Xs that are displayed at the top of users’ timelines or search results pages. They could appear as text, images, or videos.
Additionally, larger organisations can run their adverts on X (formerly “Twitter”) using a managed solution, while small and medium-sized enterprises can use a self-service platform.
What are the types of PPC ads?
Search-related PPC ads are the most prevalent type of PPC ads. A search ad will appear at the top of the first page of search engine results, or SERPs when a user inputs a certain query (keyword or phrase) into a search engine (the two most popular ones being Google and Microsoft Bing).
These mostly text-based adverts are designed to be very relevant to the user’s search.
Advertisers often pay each time a user clicks on one of their advertisements; this payment is known as the CPC, or cost per click. Search advertisements are the most popular strategy used by businesses to promote their products or services and generate website traffic.
Video
A video advertisement promotes your company, service, or product using video content. You can watch these commercials on a variety of channels, including websites, streaming services like YouTube, and social media (posts or reels). Pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll video ads can run before, during, or after videos on YouTube. You have the option of skipping video adverts.
Calls to action, links, and other clickable components are typically present in interactive video advertising. The majority of the time, they are bought on a cost-per-view (CPV) or cost-per-click (CPC) basis, meaning that the advertiser pays each time their ad is viewed or clicked.
Display
A display advertisement is a particular kind of advertisement that appears on websites, mobile applications, and other digital platforms. It frequently appears as a banner or other graphical component. Display advertisements are designed to be aesthetically pleasant and can use a variety of media, such as images, videos, and interactive features.
Display ads are widely used to promote products or services, create brand recognition, or boost website traffic. Display ads are typically purchased on a cost-per-impression (CPI) or cost-per-thousand-impression (CPM) basis, meaning that the advertiser is charged each time the ad is displayed a certain number of times.
Remarketing (or retargeting)
Remarketing is a type of marketing that enables companies to target clients with adverts after they have already interacted with their website or mobile application. Remarketing adverts are commonly provided to users of mobile apps and visitors to other websites. They are intended to boost brand recognition and promote frequent use of the website or app. Remarketing advertisements can be distributed in display, search, video, and social media forms. Cost-per-click (CPC) and cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM) are the two most common methods of payment.
Remarketing programmes are highly targeted and successful at increasing sales and conversions. They function by monitoring user activity on a website or mobile app and then using that information to display pertinent advertising to users while they explore other websites or use different apps. To accomplish this, a cookie or pixel is placed on the user’s browser or device. This makes it possible to identify the user and send them appropriate advertising.
Need help?
At Tron Media, we have a dedicated team of experts in PPC marketing who can help you find the best solution when it comes to PPC.
They will guide you and support you through the process of getting you noticed on search engines.
TRON Media is a leading Digital Marketing Agency in Brighton. Get in touch today to discover more about our services and learn what a creative digital agency can do for your business. Contact us using our Contact Form, call us on 020 3006 6889 or email us at: [email protected].