A beginner’s guide to PPC

With so many acronyms to remember in the world of marketing, it can sometimes get a bit overwhelming making sense of what everything means, and knowing which models your business should be utilising for success. If you’re thinking about enlisting a digital agency that offers PPC services to help you with your campaigns, or you simply want to find out more about PPC and how it can benefit you or your business, then take a look at this guide to PPC for beginners.

Why do we need PPC?

The main goal of pay per click marketing is to increase search traffic for your brand, and ultimately improve rates of sales. It’s essentially a way to buy visits to your site, with advertisers paying a fee every time an ad is clicked. Ads that are paid for using PPC usually appear above non-paid organic searches in Google or Bing as a way for customers to see your website first, and make sure they’re directed to your product before any others.

How do you plan a PPC campaign?

One of the first steps in planning a PPC campaign is working out your goals. Whether you’re looking to make more people click on your site, build more brand awareness, or generate more leads, it’s important to establish what you want to achieve by incorporating PPC into your marketing strategy.

Another important element in a PPC campaign’s plan is completing keyword research. Pay per click campaigns are built around keywords, so it’s vital to find out the most valuable and relevant keywords that could be used to drive traffic to your site. With keyword research you can find out about the keywords that will lead to a higher PPC click-through rate and increased profit for your business

How do you create the best PPC content?

Since PPC marketing is all about attracting customers to your site and letting more people know about your products and services, the first step you need to take is to work out exactly who your audience is. Think about what type of person you’d like to see your ad, and what elements would make them more likely to click to find out more. How are visuals and tone of voice likely to influence their decision? Ensuring the content you’re creating appeals to your audience is key and improves the chances of them clicking your ads.

How is the effectiveness of PPC measured?

There are a variety of ways you can assess whether your PPC campaign was successful. One way to do this is by measuring your click-through-rate, which is the number of people that are visiting your page by following a link. To work out a CTR, you divide the number of clicks that your ad has received, by the amount of times it’s shown. A high click-through-rate is a good way to see if users are finding your ads helpful, and a useful method to understand which keywords and ads are doing well, and identify which ones need improvement.

Conversion rate is another popular method of measuring PPC, allowing you to see how many people that clicked your ad actually went on to complete another action on your page, such as making a purchase or filling out a form. Good conversion rates show whether the money you’re spending on PPC is being turned into profits for your business, and ensures that the time and money spent is all worthwhile.