You cannot know about digital marketing without knowing about PPC, whether you are a budding digital marketer or a small business. One thing you already know is the importance of PPC.
As a digital marketing consultant, a significant part of my work involves PPC management, as it is one of the specialties my digital marketing agency offers.
According to Statista, search ad spending is estimated to reach around 260 billion dollars in 2022. The total market size is expected to go up to 435.20 billion dollars by 2027. As you can see, the PPC market is enormous.
Since you are here, you most definitely understand that you need to explore it. So, in the following passages, I will give you an overview of pay-per-click advertising, also known as search advertising.
I will cover everything from what PPC stands for to why you should look into it, PPC campaign management, PPC for small businesses, and white-label PPC management. Hopefully, by the end, you will know all there is to know about it. So, without any further delay, let's get into it!
What Is PPC?
PPC or PPC Ads stand for pay-per-click advertising. It is an internet marketing apparatus in which marketers pay a fee every time one of their online ads is clicked.
It acts as a paid option to reach a wider audience fast, as opposed to organic traffic, which takes time. PPC comes in a few different forms, and one of the most popular forms of it is search engine advertising.
In search engine advertising, a marketer or business bids for ad placement in the sponsored links section so that their ad will appear when a user searches with a keyword related to their niche.
As easy as it may sound, PPC requires a lot of effort and preparation. Here is what usually goes on behind the scenes when a digital marketer like me is running a PPC campaign:
Niche research
Keyword selection
Organizing select keywords for campaign organization and ad groups
Creating highly optimized landing pages for better conversion
As a digital marketer, I ensure the campaign is relevant and intelligently targeted. The more relevant and optimized it is, the more likely search engines are to favor the ads. If users like your landing pages and ads, search engines tend to charge less for clicks.
Now that you know what PPC stands for, let's look at some PPC stats that show how important it is for growing a business!
7 Important PPC Stats You Should Know About
PPC is a massive part of digital marketing, and because it is so big, you will find plenty of numbers from other marketers and experts.
However, you don't need to know all of them. Here are seven crucial PPC stats you should know about if you are a small business:
One Hanapin Marketing 2019-2020 report stated that 74% of businesses cite PPC as a significant driver for their business.
One Clutch.io study showed that 58% of millennials bought something due to an online or social media ad.
According to Clutch, 45% of small businesses invest in PPC to grow their business.
One WordStream study showed that 90% of ads placed on the Google display network 90% of internet users.
According to Moz, traffic brought through PPC converts 50% more than organic traffic.
The Google AI blog states that 89% of the traffic generated by Google Ads drives incremental traffic, meaning it's not replaced by organic clicks when the ad is stopped.
According to Unbounce, 50% of PPC traffic that arrives at a retailer's site is more likely to buy than organic clicks.
Now that you know the stats that show the importance of PPC, you can move into a more detailed conversation about it. Next, I will tell you about the PPC model, how it works, and how many types of PPC models there are. So let's check that out!
How Does PPC Work?
PPC is mainly keyword-based because it is usually based on what a user searches for, especially in search advertising. It's one of the reasons why I always emphasize keyword and niche research, as these are the critical components in making a PPC campaign successful.
A well-designed campaign can help both the advertiser and the user, ensuring the user finds what they are looking for while generating leads for the business.
There are two primary PPC models out there. They are the flat-rate model and the bid-based model. So let's check both of them out!
The Flat-Rate Model
The flat-rate model of PPC is where the advertiser pays the publisher a flat rate for the clicks. You will usually find a list of PPC rates from the publisher for different areas of the site.
However, some publishers generally negotiate the rates with advertisers. For example, for flat-rate PPC, a publisher is likelier to lower the rates if the advertiser offers a long-term contract.
The Bid-Based Model
Bid-based models are most popular in PPC, and search engines like Google use them. In this model, advertisers bid with the maximum amount of money they are willing to pay for an ad spot.
Advertisers use automated tools on Google and other search engines to partake in an auction for the spot. The auction starts when a user searches for the specific term for which the spot is optimized.
One important thing to remember here is that it's not about how much money you bid for an ad spot. It's about the ad's rank and overall quality.
Several factors go into ensuring which ad wins the spot. To make sure you understand it better, you will find a simplified version of how Google Ads works!
How Does Google Ads Work?
Google Ads is the most prominent PPC tool out there, as Google holds 83.84% of the search market share. When done right, it can even generate 800% ROI, so ensuring you have your Google Ads optimized is vital. Here is the general run down of how it works:
Finding highly-targeted keywords for a specific niche.
Creating fully optimized ads using the relevant keywords.
The user searches for one of the relevant keywords.
The automated auction starts with all the bidders and relevant keywords (one keyword per account)
The winner is determined by calculating the quality score.
The quality score ranges on a scale of 1-10; it is calculated by adding up the user experience, keyword relevance, and expected CTR.
Then Google Ads multiplies your quality score with the max bid to determine the Ad rank.
The next step is the price; it's determined by dividing the ad rank of the bidder below you by your quality score and then adding 0.01 dollars, and that's your ad price.
So that's the simplified version of how Google Ads works. Getting a high ad ranking from Google Ads isn't easy, but it isn't hard either.
Next, I will tell you about most of the relevant factors you should be looking to optimize for your PPC campaign. So let's check them out!
What Are The Major Factors Of Creating A Successful PPC Campaign?
Ensuring how often your PPC ads appear on search engines depends on how relevant the keywords and match types are in your campaign.
Creating a successful PPC campaign is a part of my PPC campaign management services, and I know several factors go into making it successful.
However, there are a few significant factors that you can focus on to achieve a lot through PPC. So here are the important factors you should know about:
Ensuring keyword relevance. You must create a PPC keyword list, tight keyword groups, and proper ad text relevant to your product or service.
Creating highly optimized landing pages with engaging content and clear calls to action relevant to specific search queries.
Ensuring a high-quality score on Google Ads. It's Google's way of determining how good and relevant your keywords, landing pages, and PPC campaigns are. Remember, ads with a good quality score have a lower cost per click.
Creativity sells. Ensuring you have enticing copies is vital to successful PPC campaigns. It's especially true if you are working on the display network. Make sure you create designer-quality ads that demand clicks.
Those are the significant factors in creating a successful PPC campaign. As you can see, keywords are vital to creating highly successful PPC campaigns. Next, I will tell you how to find keywords for PPC campaigns; let's check out how!
How To Do Keyword Research For PPC?
Finding the right keyword cluster for a PPC campaign can be time-consuming. However, no one will ever deny its importance. A PPC campaign is entirely built around keywords, and effective marketers will continuously refine their PPC keyword list.
You are missing out on thousands of other opportunities to grow your business by doing keyword research once for the first PPC campaign.
In addition, you are missing out on thousands of long-tail, low-cost, and highly relevant keywords that could generate site traffic. So, follow the factors below to generate an ever-growing, comprehensive, relevant keyword list.
Need For Relevance: No one wants to pay for traffic that wants nothing to do with their business. Always find, check, and recheck to refine your keyword list. That way, you will be able to ensure a higher PPC click-through rate, effective cost per click, and an increase in profits.
An Exhaustive Collection: To find success with PPC, you can't just have a list of the most popular and frequently searched terms from your sector. Long-tail keywords are crucial to success as they are more specific and less common.
However, long-tail keywords account for the majority of search traffic. What's even more attractive about long-tail keywords is that it is less expensive because there is less competition. It's why you need an exhaustive collection of keywords for PPC.
The Need For An Expansive List: PPC isn't a static tool. It is iterative. You will need to tweak and improve your campaigns continuously. So make sure you don't get complacent with your keyword list!
There are plenty of keyword tools; however, if you are on a budget and need to create a comprehensive keyword list, Google's free Keyword Planner is a good option.
Now that you know all the significant factors and how to create a complete keyword list, let's see how I structure my PPC campaign management services!
How To Manage A PPC Campaign?
As a digital marketing consultant, one of my primary services is PPC campaign management. To ensure sustainable growth, you must constantly improve, tweak, and build on your campaigns.
Often, the hallmark of PPC success is to see how active the account has been. That's why I always impress upon my clients the need to keep working on analyzing and improving PPC campaigns.
So, how do I manage my PPC campaign services? Well, here are some simple steps that I take to ensure proper campaign management. So read on, and you will be able to do it, too!
Growing PPC Keywords
Once you have the pillar keywords for your content, you cannot just stop. So, my first job every month is to check, research, find, and grow the existing PPC campaign keyword list within the niche.
Adding Negative Keywords
PPC can become a huge expense for businesses and can be detrimental to small businesses. It's one of the reasons I add and filter through negative keywords or non-converting terms within the campaigns to optimize the campaign further.
Keyword Review
Not all the keywords you choose will perform well or be cost-effective. That means you should always review the keywords used in the campaigns and find ones that are underperforming and expensive. Then, if necessary, you should shut them down and further optimize and manage your campaigns.
Optimizing Landing Pages
Landing pages are your first point of contact for PPC traffic. That's why you must have the perfect landing page for your campaigns.
Optimize the content and CTAs to match individual search queries to boost your conversion rates. Never send all your PPC traffic to one page!
Creating Ad Groups
Every one of my clients wants better CTR (Click Through Rate) and an excellent quality score. And I agree with them. To make that happen, I create separate ad groups by breaking them into smaller clusters so that the campaigns can hyper-focus on specific queries. It also allows me to create individual landing pages. As a result, they should directly cater to a particular need, increasing CTR.
The ads will get good quality scores from search engines. Now, this is a simple way to manage your PPC campaigns. And this is how I do it generally.
However, PPC management is a bit different for small businesses. So, in the following passages, I will give you some simple small business PPC management tips you can use to ensure PPC success!
Simple Small Business PPC Management Tips
PPC is a godsend for small businesses. Ads were only reserved for big companies, but with PPC, small businesses can reach millions of people and find the right demographic to help them grow sustainably.
However, if you've stumbled across this blog, you already know. In addition, you will find countless articles and blogs talking about various trends and strategies within this marketing medium, and all of that can be confusing.
Suppose you have a small business and want to make the most of your budget. Then check out these simple tips that you can use to hack the space further on top of the traditional PPC management strategies!
Bid On Your Competition's Names
Regardless of your niche, you will have competition—whether a national or local operation, making it in a niche can be challenging, especially with competitors being in business for years.
Now, how do you beat them? Well, by hooking in competitors who are searching for your competitors! People usually search for established brands directly.
Bidding on their names and getting an ad placement in the top three positions is a surefire way to reach your target audience. However, you will have to let your campaign quality do the job.
Not only is it a fantastic way for small businesses to generate clicks, it usually provides higher conversion rates as well. However, it would be best if you made certain brands don't do it to you, so always put up ads targeting your brand name.
Piggy Back On Your Competitor's Keywords
Creating a refined keyword list can be overwhelming, as billions of keywords are out there. In addition, creating a comprehensive high-yield list will take up plenty of resources and time, which can be detrimental to a small business's growth.
So, how do you find which keywords to target? Well, you can piggyback on your competitors' research! Use tools like SEMRush, Mangools, and Answer the Public to determine your competitors' targets.
Once you do that, you will access all the research without investing much of your resources. In all honesty, you can even do this on your own.
Ensuring The Right Account & Campaign Structure
The best PPC campaign is one in which you pay the least amount for more clicks. This ensures you get a higher return on your ad spending, and that's where your ad's quality score comes into play.
A good quality score is based on the campaign's structure and account. Organizing your campaigns and ad groups to point to the right landing page ensures you don't overspend on clicks.
You should do it even if it means creating more landing pages. The value of providing the proper campaign structure cannot be understated, especially for a small business.
Creating Creative Ads
Creativity sells. There is no point in investing in PPC if you just bore the visitors with drivel. Without captivating ads, you won't get any clicks, and you will just be losing leads and sales to your competitors. While click-through rates usually vary from industry to industry, they usually range from 2.09% to 6.05%.
It is a big part of getting a good quality score, which you already know is key to PPC success. So make sure you create attention-grabbing ads that stand out from your competition.
Limiting Your Budget
If you are just starting PPC for your business, you shouldn't start by spending thousands of dollars because there's a good chance you will have nothing to show for it.
Plenty of clicks can cost you tens to hundreds of dollars, so if you aren't careful, you will run out of money before your campaigns can take off. So make sure you set your daily budget so that you don't bleed money after a certain point.
You should most definitely limit your budget to optimize your campaign. That way, you will be profitable and generate leads for future conversion.
Taking Precautions Against Click Fraud
By now, you get that PPC is a highly competitive space with thousands of brands bidding on highly lucrative phrases and keywords.
This competitive landscape gave birth to shady tactics like clicking on the competition's ads. With click fraud, you incur a charge for the click but don't get any sales or leads.
Instead, your competitors can slowly click away your entire month's budget. You should be looking to protect yourself from this fraud using click fraud detection software like Lunio.
Software solutions like Lunio monitors all your clicks and stop them, identifying fraudulent users and preventing them from seeing your ads.
Not only does it prevent your campaigns from hemorrhaging money, but it also will show you legitimate users, meaning you profit in the long run.
You Can Optimize Your Process Using Tools
Spending thousands of dollars on PPC and investing resources to manage campaigns and individual ads can become tedious. So if you have some money left on your budget, you can invest in some PPC automation tools. This will be even more crucial if you aren't working with PPC professionals.
Now that you know how to manage PPC for small businesses, let me tell you a little bit more about the other services I specialize in.
What Is White Label PPC Management?
Suppose you've been looking up digital marketing agencies and PPC management services. The odds are you've come across the term "white label PPC management services." So what does that mean? Well, white label PPC is when two digital marketing service providers collaborate.
One agency outsources its client to another PPC management service provider that manages the client's PPC campaigns with its tools and expertise.
The reports and dashboards created by the PPC management company use the agency's logo and credentials as if they are their client.
The term white label comes from the fact that the agency that manages the client's PPC campaigns doesn't disclose that they are working on their campaigns. This is a great way for digital service providers to collaborate and reach new and more clients, growing their businesses together.
As a white-label PPC management service provider myself, I know the ins and outs of what you should expect from an agency. Here is how I craft my white-label PPC strategy:
Keyword Research
Competitor Analysis
Landing Page Optimization
Budget Management
PPC Conversion & Tracking
Campaign Analysis
Campaign Recalibration
White Label PPC Management Services I Offer
If you are already here, then you must be interested in knowing about white-label PPC management services. While it does vary from agency to agency, here is what you can expect to find from me:
Client meetings with consultants
Dedicated PPC manager
Full-on campaign management
Client communication
Sales support
Important PPC Management Metrics & KPIs
I base my work on transparency and showcase every metric and KPI I use to run and manage my PPC campaign services. Here is a list of all the metrics and KPIs you will see me using:
ROI(Return On Investment)
ROAS(Return on ad spend)
Clicks
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Quality Score
Cost Per Click (CPC)
Cost Per Conversion/Acquisition (CPA)
Conversion Rate (CVR)
Conversion Volume
Close Rates
Average Order Value
Impression Share (CPM)
Lifetime value (LTV)
Budget Attainment / Management
Utilize PPC For Sustainable Growth
So that's about it for the overview of PPC and the management services you can look into. Now that you know what it stands for and what you can achieve, you should look to integrate PPC into your business.
Whether you are a nationally operating business, a small business, or a PPC management service provider, integrating PPC will surely help you grow sustainably. So make sure you incorporate it.
Suppose you are looking to partner with a PPC manager with almost eight years of experience. In that case, we can talk about how to find the right PPC balance for sustainable growth.
Also, if you have any more questions about PPC or think I missed something, feel free to comment below or reach out to me on my social media. I will answer everything for you.
And with that being said, that's about all there is for today. I will come back with something new about the chaotic digital marketing world soon.
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