What is PPC?
PPC or Pay-Per-Click advertising allows marketers to pay only when their ad is clicked by an online user. This online advertising model enables marketers to display ads in the sponsored results section of the search engine’s results page.
To appear when the right keywords and audience criteria are met, advertisers bid on the perceived value of a click. The ad is displayed in the sponsored links on the results page and a small fee is charged when the ad is clicked. Hence, the term Pay-Per-Click. The most popular PPC advertising programs are provided by Google, Bing, Facebook and Yahoo Search Marketing.
How Does PPC Work?
Every time there is an ad spot on a search engine results page (SERP), an instantaneous auction takes place for the keyword. A combination of multiple factors, including bid amount and the quality of the ad, decide the winner who will appear in the top spot of the SERP. When a user submits the search query, there’s a complex algorithmic calculation done by the search engine which is based on the Ad Auction. The results of these calculations determine the ads that are displayed, their order and by which advertiser.
Simplified: using search engines like Google or Bing, advertisers such as yourself, set up campaigns on particular keyword phrases that are relevant to your target market. Depending on how popular each of the keyword phrases are, is how much you will pay per each click on this advertised space, hence the term pay-per-click or PPC.
Accounts are split into campaigns for ease of management and reporting of different locations, product types, or other useful categorisation, with campaigns being further divided into ad groups that contain keywords and relevant ads.
How Can You Make PPC Work For You?
Do your research, and read as many articles as you can to get a basic understanding of how this type of paid advertising can work for you. Listed below are some helpful links that can get you started.
Of course, if you would rather have someone do it all for you, then you have come to the right place. Please make contact with us to see how we can help.
Resources
A brilliant resource, that I use ALL the time is WordStream. WordStream have software designed to help small and medium sized businesses maximise results from their online advertising. There is FREE tools so that you can see how your digital marketing ranks.
WordStream post almost daily and all their articles can be accessed here.