It is recommended for marketers to possess the skill of PPC or at least have a basic understanding of it as it is still not fully understood by many even though 45% of small businesses engage in some form of online advertising. 

This guide is designed to provide assistance to those who wish to learn more about PPC marketing or pitch their business using PPC but do not know where to start. The guide will cover the full spectrum of pay-per-click marketing and will begin by providing key definitions that are essential to know.

What is PPC?

Pay-per-click or PPC is a type of digital advertising where advertisers pay a fee for each click on their ads. Google Ads is an example of PPC, where advertisers only pay when someone clicks their ad and visits their website or calls them. 

Advertisers can customize their ads to target specific groups of people based on interests or geographic location, making it a useful tool for small businesses to promote seasonal sales, promotions, or offers. PPC ads can be in various formats, such as text, images, or videos, and can be displayed on search engines, websites, social media platforms, etc. 

Search engine advertising, also known as paid search or search engine marketing, is a popular form of PPC where advertisers bid for ad placement in search engine-sponsored links related to their business.

What is Google Ads?

Google Ads is a PPC platform offered by Google, which enables businesses to showcase their ads on all Google services. The most popular form of advertising through Google Ads is search advertising, which is displayed on search engine result pages when a user searches for keywords relevant to the advertiser's products or services. 

However, businesses can also use Google Ads to run other types of ads such as display ads, shopping ads, and YouTube ads. Moreover, Google Ads offers an opportunity to promote businesses beyond Google Search by displaying ads on relevant websites across the Google Display Network (GDN). This network comprises thousands of websites, allowing businesses to reach out to more potential customers. Advertisers can specify websites where they want their display ads to appear or choose specific types of users they wish to target. Google Ads will create a list accordingly.

1/ Google Search Ads

Google Search Ads are a tool provided by Google to help advertisers achieve their business goals on the paid search system. Advertisers only pay for specific actions (such as interactions, calls, registrations, or purchases) based on their initial goal. 

Google Search Ads connects customers to products and services through the advertiser's campaign objectives. These ads appear in 7 positions on the search results page, with the first 4 and the last 3 identified as ads.

2/ Google Display Ads

Google Display Ads are placed on the Google Display Network (GDN), which is a network of websites partnered with Google where ads can be placed. This is an important form of advertising in paid media used by many businesses.

3/ Google Shopping Ads

Google Shopping Ads appear on both the regular search results page and the shopping tab, but they work differently from regular search ads. Rather than targeting keywords, advertisers maintain a catalog of their products, and Google matches them to searches. Advertisers can also specify which keywords they do not want their ads to appear for.

4/ Youtube Ads

YouTube Ads are created and managed through Google Ads since Google owns YouTube. Advertisers can create video, text, or display ads that appear during or before videos, or elsewhere on the platform. The targeting for YouTube ads works similarly to display targeting.

What kinds of Businesses should use PPC Ads?

Businesses that have the following traits tend to achieve good results and a high return on investment (ROI) from paid search marketing. If your business has any of these traits and you are not using PPC, then it is recommended to consider this marketing channel:

1/ High customer lifetime values

Industries that can potentially earn a significant amount from a new customer over a long period are able to spend more money on acquiring new leads and customers. Examples of these industries include dental and medical services, colleges and online degree programs, and cable and internet providers. These businesses tend to have high customer lifetime values, making them profitable targets for paid search marketing.

2/ High margins

In addition to industries with high customer lifetime values, there are also businesses with high margins on a single purchase that can benefit from paid search marketing. Some examples of these relatively big-ticket items include:

• Lawsuits - Lawyers can earn a substantial amount of money from a single case, which is why keywords like "personal injury lawyer" can be expensive. Even if the client only needs their services for one lawsuit, the margins can be high.
• Home repairs - Certain types of home repairs, such as roof repair or new pipes, can be costly. Therefore, targeting people who need these types of services can be advantageous.
• Computer equipment - Servers, copiers, and other computer equipment fall under this category.
• Home appliances - Before buying an appliance like a washer and dryer or furniture, people usually compare prices online, making them potential targets for PPC.
• Cars - Geo-targeted PPC campaigns have been successful for used car franchises.

3/ Hard-to-find products:

If your online retail business offers products that are not commonly found in physical stores like Wal-Mart, then you are likely to benefit from PPC advertising. Customers often rely on search engines to locate unique items that are not widely available, such as rare records or niche hobby supplies.

4/ Diverse Array of Products

Frequently, such retailers promote their products using a large number of keywords, bidding on long-tail keywords or utilizing dynamic keyword insertion, paying a small amount for each click. Long-tail keywords have lower competition and, therefore, lower costs per click, enabling advertisers to make a profit even on less expensive items.

5/ Seasonal or Event-Based Value

This passage is discussing the benefits of PPC for florists and other businesses that rely on seasonal or event-based traffic. Florists in particular find PPC valuable because most people do not frequently send flowers; they typically search for a florist at the last minute when they need to send a floral arrangement for a funeral or an anniversary.

Other businesses that can benefit from PPC in a similar way include those selling gift baskets, costumes (with a focus on Halloween), and wedding registries. These businesses can use PPC to attract traffic during their peak seasons and events.

4 Benefits of doing PPC Ads

1/ Simplicity

As it can be turned on and off quickly with the click of a button. Unlike other content marketing strategies, which require time to see results, PPC can yield almost instant results when set up by a professional. Conversion tracking provides complete transparency, and clients have control over their advertising spend, enabling them to pause their PPC advertising whenever they want.

The downside of this is that turning off PPC can result in a significant drop in traffic. However, this can be compensated for as part of a comprehensive digital marketing plan.

2/ You only pay when people actually see your content

This advantage of PPC advertising is that you only have to pay when someone clicks on your ad, instead of paying for a certain number of impressions. This is different from the old cost per impression (CPM) model where you paid for every 1,000 views your ad received. With PPC, you don't have to worry about paying for people who aren't interested in your content or ads. You can focus on improving your keyword targeting, budget, website, and landing pages to improve conversion rates. This means that you have more money to optimize your content and landing pages, which can lead to higher returns on investment.

3/ Target the right people at the right time, and in the right place.

This advantage of PPC advertising allows businesses to target their audiences with precision. Regardless of the business type, it's possible to adjust the PPC strategy to reach the right people at the right time and place. 

For instance, if someone owns a coffee shop, they can set their ads to appear in the morning when the audience is likely to be looking for their morning caffeine fix. It's even possible to target a local audience by setting a radius limit from a specific location.

4/ Stick with SEO

That's a great addition! And to add further to that, PPC can also be used to test the effectiveness of keywords and landing pages before investing in a full-blown SEO campaign. By running PPC campaigns with different variations of ad copy and landing pages, you can quickly see which combinations are driving the most conversions and use that data to inform your SEO strategy.

How to do PPC with Google Ads

Using Google Ads for PPC marketing can be highly beneficial as it is the most widely used search engine and generates a large number of impressions and clicks for your ads. The frequency with which your ad appears depends on the keywords and match types you select. Although various factors determine the success of your PPC campaign, there are some key strategies to follow, including bidding on relevant keywords, creating focused keyword groups, and developing appropriate ad text. 

Additionally, prioritizing the quality of your landing page, with optimized content and a clear call to action that meets specific search queries is crucial. You should also aim to improve your Quality Score, a rating system Google uses to measure the relevance and quality of your keywords, landing pages, and campaigns. Advertisers with a higher Quality Score receive more clicks at lower costs. Lastly, compelling ad copy and attractive ad creative are essential for grabbing the audience's attention, particularly for display or social media ads.

Last but not least: vBase Digital Marketing

Ready to get started with PPC, vBase Digital has got your back. vBase Digital provides the best digital marketing strategies and tactics tailored to your own needs, contact us for a personalized quote and a 1:1 consultation on Digital Marketing Strategy for small businesses today.