What is PPC?

PPC is a model for advertising online. It involves advertisers paying hosts for each time a user clicks on their online ads. Advertisers will value the perceived value of a click in terms of the keywords, platform and kind of audience from where it originates. PPC can provide a very useful revenue stream for many businesses, help drive sales and the most important factor is relevance. 

PPC Platforms

The biggest PPC platform is, unsurprisingly, run by Google. Google Ads is Google’s own PPC advertising solution. It enables businesses of all shapes and sizes to take advantage of SEO by bidding on the opportunity to show ads next to searches on Google, alongside your own services. All of the major social media platforms from Facebook to Pinterest have functional PPC platforms as well as Microsoft Ads and YouTube. Deciding on the right PPC platform for you will largely depend on the following:

1. Convenience

2. Which is most used among customers

3. Budget

How does PPC work?

To display your ads to search engine users, you will bid on keywords and phrases that you think are best suited to your business. For instance if you are a laptop repair shop you might bid on “laptop repairs” or “fix my laptop”. The amount you bid on any given keyword will determine the charge each time a user clicks on your ad. This is why it is incredibly important that you choose the right keywords and phrases – a choice that should be made only after detailed research, using the likes of Google Keyword Planner – more on this later.

How can PPC drive sales growth?

PPC is a very powerful marketing tool in the generation of new leads and sales for all businesses. It is vital that the concept is well understood to see a return on ad spending (RoAS). To be successful in these terms your cost per click (CPC) must be lower than your cost per acquisition (CPA) – which is what you bid for a search term. This is easier in less competitive markets, but where there is great competition the CPA will be higher. 

By far the most important choice you will make is in pinpointing the keywords that are worth targeting and bidding for. You need to target so-called long tail keywords, which will have a lower CPA but can be even more effective as long as you have done the research to ensure that they are most relevant to your business. You should choose related longtail keywords and cluster them together for improved relevance in your area and a higher PPC click through rate. The better your longtail keyword research, the better your RoAS will be and you will give yourself the best chance of driving significant sales growth.