Digital marketing has various strategies that all aim at improving your product and business presence online as well as boosting your sales. The role of digital marketing is to promote products and brands on the internet. A majority of businesses today have opted to utilize the new digital marketing strategies such as PPC, which are proving to be effective and cost-efficient. However, all these digital marketing options can only work for you if you understand how they work. The same applies to Pay-per-click, you must have an overview knowledge on how it works, for you to benefit from it. Pay-per-click benefits your business, the digital marketer, or a website owner or blogger. Let’s first dig deeper into this topic for you to understand what PPC is all about;

What is Pay-Per-Click?

Pay-per-click (PPC) marketing is a mode of advertising where marketers are not charged for ad placement or impression but per click as the name goes. If you are a blogger or website owner and you only benefit from this PPC when your website visitors click on an ad when it pops up. You can also place the ad anywhere on your website, but you only get paid by the marketer when your web visitors click it to view the product being advertised.
The most common PPC Ad format is optimized with search engines such as Google. This allows advertisers to place their products, services, or brand in the form of an advert that targets specific internet user behavior or keywords. For instance, if a company is selling mobile phones, then the PPC Ad can be optimized to only appear to internet users that search for any keyword associated with mobile phones. The same also applies to other products and services. Digital marketing technology tools study internet user behavior and what h
e/she likes to search for on search engines then display the related advert on any webpage they open.

How do Pay Per Click ads look like?

The majority of the PPC Ads are displayed in search engine results though not all of them. The most dominant types of Pay-per-click marketing ads are three and are as follows;
1. Text Ads

This ad is composed of written copy that is displayed on the webpage, and the advertiser does the writings. The character and format of the printed ad depend on the per-per-click platform you’re using. Text ads are mostly triggered via search engines such as Google or Bing, and they appear when an internet user searches for a keyword that is tailored to the PPC campaign. Therefore, not every internet user will see your advert, only the ones searching for keywords related to your products or services.
2. Display Ads

These types of ads are delivered in an image or motion graphic format. In many cases, PPC platforms offering display advertising have content and size requirements which advertisers must comply with when coming up with the creative visual ad. Typically, display ads usually pop up on or get placed automatically on websites that the advertiser’s target audience visits. If you’re active on the internet, you must come across display adverts on different websites that have been visiting. They are very common.

3. Shopping Ads

Those who have been shopping online must be familiar with the shopping ads. The shopping ads are displayed in the form of an image showing the product being sold, price, and essential specifications such as color, dimensions, and size, among others. The ads are very common in shopping websites. Once you click the ad, it takes you to the site where you can read more about the product and make your orders. The ads can either be pop-ups or displays alongside the website content that you are reading.

What are the most popular Pay-per-click platforms?

Many platforms provide shopping, display, and text PPC ad placement but only 3 dominate the industry;
1. Google Ads

Google is the most dominant PPC platform in the world, which is primarily owned by Google. The PPC here is offered by Google on its search engine network and search engine partner sites together with video and image advertising on its web. On the other hand, advertising on YouTube is also facilitated by Google Ads. The adverts you see on YouTube before you watch your favorite video or even as you continue watching it’s all Google PPC.
2. Microsoft Ads

Formally known as Bing Ads, now it has changed its name to Microsoft advertising, it’s also another popular PPC platform that you should consider. The platform enables pay-per-click advertising through its search engine network (Bing.com) together with other search engine partners such as Yahoo.com and native advertising that is also owned by Microsoft Company, the MSN.
3. Amazon Advertising

Statistics show that around 46% of internet users start searching for products from Amazon. And that justifies why Amazon advertising is the fastest-emerging PPC platform, especially for e-commerce vendors. Amazon has been a vital tool in enabling the creation of adverts and leading shopping-focused campaigns to promote their products on the Amazon shopping network. If you have ever visited the Amazon page, you must have come across the shopping ads, although through the PPC platform, you might have encountered the advertisements on different websites.
Should your business consider PPC Marketing?

This could probably be what’s going on in your mind. Although PPC might be an excellent digital marketing strategy, you need to be very keen before you tried it for your business. Just like any other marketing strategy that demands patience, the same applies to pay-per-click advertising. It might take some time before you start enjoying the returns or before you start feeling its impact. As a business, any form of advertising should be taken as a way of creating awareness about your product and your brand. Once people get to know what you offer, they might then consider your products or services when the need arises. That means, never go into any form of digital marketing while expecting instant results, you will end up with disappointments.
Although PPC marketing only channels your ads to internet users interested in purchasing your products, it might take a while before potential customers try your products. There sometimes when you might be lucky and enjoy the benefits within a very short time of running the PPC campaign. However, that doesn’t always happen and to every advertiser. Before you decide to choose PPC marketing, still consider your goals and what you want to achieve by the end of the campaign, competition, risk tolerance, and of course, your budget. Ask yourself the following questions first before you decide to go for PPC marketing;
What is your conversion goal?

PPC marketing can be very effective for your business if you match the dollar used in conversion as a transaction or lead form completion. Conversion goals should be clear to help you achieve your objective.

What do you want to achieve?

Pay-per-click advertising is among the excellent ways of pushing your brand and products online; however, when you stop spending, it also stops producing. Therefore, you need to find balance as business personnel. Including search engine optimization in the mix, could help you gain more from PPC advertising.
What’s your budget for Pay per click, and are you ready spend on this advertising before you start enjoying the returns?

As mentioned above, you need to set up an advertising budget that can run the campaign for a while before you start getting the returns. On the other hand, be ready to spend money without expecting any returns. Have some money that you are prepared to spend on PPC comfortably, and that will not affect your business in case it doesn’t come back that quickly. That’s normal in marketing, not every dollar spent on promoting the products will bring returns soon. However, your business will benefit in the long run.

How will Pay-per-Click (PPC) benefit your business?

As a business owner, you always consider going for the most effective digital marketing strategy that will bring you more customers and enhance your sales as soon as possible. It’s good to know the advantages of PPC before you think of considering it to market your product or services online. Here are key benefits you will enjoy for choosing Pay-per-click;

• Speed: one of the significant advantage of using PPC it can drive a substantial amount of traffic on your website within a very short time. When managed properly, PPC advertising is among the fastest digital marking strategies that can quickly grow your traffic and sales.
• PPC creates an accurately targeted audience marketing and only shows your adverts to internet users that are interested in your products. That means the audience has a high chance of purchasing your products.
• The advert performance data is readily available, and you can always check and make adjustments to make the ad more effective.
• PPC has a high return on investment compared to other modes of advertising.

In summary, when PPC is appropriately utilized, it can be a game-changer and can help you grow your business quickly. Now that you understand how PPC works to look for digital marketing experts to come with the best Pay per click ad strategy that will work for your business.

Author Bio-

Shanta Narang is a Passionate, amiable, dynamic, and result-oriented digital marketing professional with over 12 years of experience in SEO, content management, brand marketing, business management, and educational counseling. She facilitates digital transformation initiatives for organizations to help them grow in the online platform. Being a DM Specialist, She helps companies to succeed in their business with the help of the latest trends and technology.

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