Have you ever asked these questions?

• How can I get rankings immediately on Google?
• I wish I had a fast way to see which ads worked better?
• How can I easily find keywords that people use to find what I sell?

PPC – What is it?

Paid advertising is usually associated with Pay Per Click (PPC). This is a form of  internet marketing that is primarily used on search engines, like Google AdWords. Basically, advertisers pay for each click that is made on the search engine. If you go to Google and type in something, you might see the ‘Sponsored Links’ to the right of the primary search results.

Those sponsored links are generated when a specific keyword is typed into the search engine. Different searches mean different keywords, therefore different sponsored links are triggered.

PPC sites usually charge a standard fee, which could be very low (10 cents/click). Note that there is no charge for an ‘impression’ (the ad being displayed), only when an ad is clicked on.

PPC campaigns can reveal information about the people browsing, as well as direct traffic to the website. You can also create multiple ads to trigger for each set of keywords that are chosen, so you can compare success rates. This gives information on how to modify your PPC campaign further for even greater success.

There are also two types of PPC advertising to note: sponsored match and content match. Sponsored match has already been talked about above, usable on search engines. Content match is the display of your ad on websites other than search engines. Many PPC systems (like Google AdWords) can do both

How do you use it? (The Application)

• To get instant rankings on search engines, instead of the long process of organic SEO
• To test variant ads against one another to see which pulls ahead
• To improve ‘landing page’ accuracy
• Display ads on websites other than search engines that are relevant to your product

Why it’s so important (The Result)

• Gets you traffic to your website right away
• Allows you to track your traffic
• Allows you to see how people search for what you sell quickly
• Allows you to ’spread yourself around’ the web on content relevant websites
• Geographically target your ads to particular areas (Los Angeles, California, United States, etc.)

Conclusion: Paid advertising is a fast method to get traffic – from both search engines, and websites related to your product or service. Also it allows you to test short phrases that inspire potential customers.

Example

Let’s do two examples, Both will illuminate you on how powerful Paid Advertising can be.

Example 1: Variant Ad Testing
Variant ads allow you to test ads head to head. Google AdWords, for instance, allows you to create as many variant ads as you like, that will trigger with the same specific set of keywords.

Note the variant ads have metric information; they show CTR (click-through-rate) and how many ‘impressions’, or the number of times the ad was served. Note that ad 1 outshines ad 3; they have almost the same number of impressions, but ad 1 has triple the number of clicks. Also note that ad 2 has not been served many times, so this data should probably be ignored.

Note that this is from a single week of testing. Imagine what you can learn from a whole month of data. From there, you can create additional variants based upon the winner, and start again.

Example 2: Content Placement
Most PPC programs also allow content placement, which means your ad will be triggered on a website (but not a search engine). For instance, on one of our recipe sites we like, we found three sponsored ads by Google.

Note that the ad is related, though not necessarily about food; in this case, they are about dieting (boy, you just can’t get away, can you?)

Paid advertising pitfalls

Paid advertising can get expensive. Also, PPC has become very rich in functionality (read: complex). Be sure you know what you’re doing before running a campaign. For instance, if you’re going to use Google AdWords, be sure to read their help and support information. Here is a list of common pitfalls with PPC.

• Not checking your budget regularly – and it gets away with you
• Not using sufficient keyword research – doesn’t bring the right demographic
• Not modifying your ads based upon metric data – won’t get any better
• Not learning your paid advertising program backwards and forwards
• Thinking it will solve all your problems
• Thinking it’s the only thing you can do, and ignoring organic SEO techniques

How we help

PPC campaigns can be expensive and fruitless if you don’t know what you’re doing. Inefficient campaigns lead to confusion and frustration. We can setup campaigns for you, or improve the ones you already started.

Applicable products from Think Around Corners

• Paid Advertising 101 (Training): Organic rankings in search engines like Google are critical for driving traffic, but coupled with paid advertising like Google AdWords uncovers a vast world untapped ‘hidden customers’ that are rarely found quickly and easily. We’ll give you an overview of paid advertising, including the tactical placement of your ad on industry critical websites. We’ll then teach you how to run a successful Google AdWords campaign, including ad variants, keyword research, geographic specificity, and the improving of ads over time, as well as halve your costs and double your profit with 3 simple steps. We’ll also teach you appropriate ‘landing pages’ and show you how to channel that traffic to leads and sales.
• Google AdWords (GAW) Campaign Setup: Paid advertising is a powerful tool in the overall Digital Marketing plan. We’ll setup your AdWords campaign from start to finish, including budget analysis, customer analysis, keyword analysis, and the building of multiple ads with variants. We’ll then track that campaign for a period of one month, with weekly progress reports and a final report with 2-hour consultation that will help you continue your in-house GAW campaign running strong.
• Google AdWords Tune-Up: Google AdWords can be tough! Already started a campaign and don’t know what to do next? Burning through hundreds and not getting results? Getting traffic but not closing the sale? We can review your existing campaign for common and not-so-common mistakes when creating campaigns. We’ll then tell you what you need to do to improve it.

Your call to action

If you have questions about specifics of PPC or paid advertising, don’t hesitate to call

• Article: How to Run a Google Adwords Campaign: Basics For Newbies
• Article: Tune Your Google AdWord Campaign by Kevin Lee
• Test Yourself through AdWords Learning Center
• Common PPC Pitfalls by Michael Finnegan
• Contact us