Common PPC questions answered
PPC, known as Pay Per Click ads, can be a tricky thing to get your head around. However, don’t fear. This guide has been put together to answer your most common questions when it comes to using PPC for your business.
Here At Embryo, we pride ourselves on being an award winning PPC agency. We use PPC for eCommerce as it is an incredible revenue generator. So, whether you’re after ideas, strategies, or just simply want to know the definition of PPC, we are here to help.
Common questions you might have:
- What does PPC mean in marketing?
- What is an example of a paid ad?
- What is the PPC strategy?
- What is PPC advertising?
If you are after quick and informative answers, then let’s get cracking and put your mind at ease!
What does PPC mean?
Let’s start with the most common and basic question. What does PPC actually mean?
PPC is a type of internet marketing where advertisers will pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked. Essentially, PPC stands for Pay Per Click. So, the advertiser will only be paid if the ad is actually clicked on.
PPC has many benefits and is most commonly used in digital marketing. It can be extremely cost-effective, and it means that more exposure and brand visibility targeted traffic is directed to your site.
If you’re after a great marketing opportunity for your business, PPC advertising is exactly that. It allows you to promote your products and drive traffic to your website, which essentially increases sales. To many businesses, it is an all round digital marketing essential.
What Is PPC?What is PPC for eCommerce and how does it work?
In a nutshell, PPC for eCommerce promotes your online products via paid advertising in the search engine results page. Essentially, advertisers pay a fee each time their ad is clicked.
If an ad is displayed or not, this is determined by the keyword that the advertiser originally bidded on. We know that some keywords are searched more than others, therefore, some keywords are in much higher demand than others. This means that the higher the volume of traffic a keyword receives, the more expensive it is to bid on. However, there are automated bidding strategies that help take out the guesswork, leading to a strong PPC campaign.
If you want a more thorough understanding, check out our PPC for eCommerce guide which goes into more detail. This will give you a more specific guide of how to use PPC for eCommerce. You can also learn how to set up an effective eCommerce campaign.
What is an example of a paid ad?
Now that you have a basic understanding of PPC, you might want to find some useful examples. Paid ads are most commonly found on search websites, Amazon, Ebay, and social media networks.
The most common form of PPC is Search Engine Marketing (also known as SEM). These are your search engines such as Google and Bing. Advertisers will choose keywords that they want their ads to show up for. They will then tell Google Ads what copy they want to show when a user searches for their keyword. They can then express how much money they are willing to pay if their ad is clicked on.
Display ads are another form of PPC that are advertised to ordinary people browsing the internet. Instead of showing up on search engines, Display ads appear on websites where relevant keywords are matched to the website’s content. Like SEM, Display ads can be a great way to increase brand awareness.
PPC campaigns can also be used on social media pages, most commonly Facebook. Facebook Ads has specific targeting options, which makes it a popular and effective platform for PPC. More specifically, it allows you to target your audience by drilling down on geography, gender, and interests. Facebook ads will usually include engaging visuals and copy that users can easily scan.
What is a PPC strategy?
In order to really utilise PPC, it might be a good idea to build an effective PPC strategy. To reach a higher return of investment, there are some crucial steps you can take to make sure PPC works well as a successful marketing channel.
Consider these things when creating your own PPC strategy plan:
These brief tips can help you to get a clearer understanding of PPC strategy. It is important to have knowledge of your plan, and take control of your goals and aims.
- Define your PPC goals
- Increase web traffic
- Drive sales
- Perform keyword research
- Analyse your competition
Chelsea Powell, PPC Account Manager, has this to say about analysing competition:
“It’s all too easy to lock yourself into a PPC account and not look outside it for any insights or actionable findings.
However, a competitor changing something in their accounts or campaigns can impact yours too.
Its important to always consider how your PPC ads work in the context of a marketplace, and analysing competitors can improve both your account insights, and provide effective insights to clients that might drive change.”
Trust Embryo to help…
If you don’t fancy taking on this heavy workload, you may want to employ a PPC strategist. A PPC consultant can continuously manage changes in ad trends to optimise ad spend. They would be responsible for delivering PPC campaigns, and monitoring and reviewing active decision making.
Hopefully we have answered all of your burning questions about PPC and how it works as an advertising tool. These are some of the most common PPC questions, and we hope that you feel ready to tackle the PPC advertising world.
