We love paid ads. They’re fast, they’re effective and if you know what you’re doing, they can give you phenomenal ROI. But a lot of businesses don’t believe this. They ask us, ‘Is PPC worth it’? Well, to be honest, it depends.
There are businesses that lose a lot of money on PPC. But there are businesses that run solely on PPC. They do not target any other marketing channel. We’re talking about brands with thousands if not millions of pounds in ad spend on all leading PPC platforms.
Today, we are going to decode PPC for you. If your PPC conversions have been poor, this article will be an eye-opener. So stay with us.
What is PPC?
PPC is an acronym for Pay Per Click. It’s a form of advertising, where you pay for every click on the ad. It’s by far, the fastest and most direct way to drive traffic to your website or landing page. You can set up a PPC ad account in minutes. Depending on the expertise of your PPC marketing team, you can have a campaign up and running in hours.
Almost instantly, the traffic lands on your website. There are several PPC platforms that allow you to run ads. The most popular ones are Google Adwords, Bing Ads, Linkedin and Facebook. These PPC platforms are more popular because of their reach and their features.
Google has a 92% market share in global search. That explains why it’s the most sought-after PPC platform. However, Hubspot reveals that Facebook ads offer better ROI than Google ads. That explains why 72% of marketers are using Facebook Ads.
Is PPC worth it – Absolutely!
PPC is completely worth it. In fact, there are statistics galore that show you how PPC may be more effective than SEO. This is not written in stone. But what if you’re a small business in a very competitive industry?
How do you even match the million-pound SEO budgets the big brands have? That’s where PPC helps you. Within seconds, you can list your paid ad above the fold. That’s even above the page 1 organic ranking.
Wordstream analysed some data. They found that page #1 organic listing receives just 9% of the clicks on average. PPC defeats it by a whopping 2:1 ratio. That’s twice the number of clicks with no competition whatsoever.
Here are some more reasons why PPC is totally worth it.
Its razor targeted traffic
Unlike organic search, PPC is laser-focused. You can target people based on their location, demographics, interests, search behaviour and so much more. You know exactly who to serve your ad to.
Google ads pioneered targeting. But Facebook has taken it a notch higher. They currently boast of the most robust targeting toolkit. In other words, you are only showing your ads to your target audience. This means that the chances of conversion are much higher.
You can use retargeting
Let’s say someone visited your website or dropped in to check out the products. They left without making a purchase. It would be foolish not to capitalise on this potential lead. Facebook ads allow you selectively target these users with PPC retargeting ads.
There are thousands of people who have abandoned their shopping carts halfway through the checkout process. Mailchimp says that 97% of visitors drop out of a website the first time to never return. Retargeting can increase your conversion rates up to 150%. Also, retargeting works phenomenally well for brand awareness.
Works much better for buyer intent keywords
Organic search is not the best choice for buyer intent keywords. It’s cold traffic. It works much better for informative intent keywords. This means that you will have to work and nurture them through the entire sales cycle. Even if you do, there’s a possibility that they may not convert.
This is where PPC shines. Your target audience will type specific terms like “best PPC agencies in Birmingham”. The user intent here is to find a Birmingham based agency that specialises in Google Ads management. They’re looking for solutions to their pain point. In all probability, they will convert into a sale.
Even if you spend thousands of pounds, you may never rank on the top spot in organic search for this keyword. Because it’s dominated by the big boys. With PPC, some smart planning and boom! Your ad is towering above the organic listings.
How to make PPC worth it in 2024
However, PPC is not as simple as it once was. Well, it was never simple. But the competition was much lower. Fraudulent clicks were not at an all-time high. The takeaway is this. PPC works. But there are some ground rules that you must follow.
Work with a skilled PPC marketing team
Is PPC worth it? Sure is. But you need the right team. This is non-discountable. PPC has undergone a sea of changes recently. Google has adopted AI. Competition has skyrocketed. The average CPC costs are much higher now than they were a few years ago.
What does all of this tell you? You cannot run DIY PPC campaigns and hope to be successful anymore.
Here is what you need to do. Work with a skilled PPC team. One that has an in-depth understanding of the latest features on all PPC platforms. Just a team specialised in Google ads won’t cut it either.
Sometimes, you need to mix it up. Use Facebook ads for e-commerce. Try Linkedin for lead generation. Use Google ads for other verticals. It’s practically impossible for businesses to handle all of this themselves.
Is PPC worth it? – Provided you know how it works
A skilled PPC marketing team is indispensable. But it’s vital that every business understands the factors that affect their budget and their ad performance. For instance, keyword match types on Google ads. Is the PPC team using the right keyword match types? How much does the keyword cost? Maybe you can reduce your ad spend by focusing on different keywords.
Similarly, what are the best Ad formats on Linkedin for leads? How to use video ads on Facebook? Being aware of these does not mean that you need to be a certified PPC expert. But having an understanding of these factors will help you in many ways.
An agency cannot take you for a ride. You won’t be baffled when they throw numbers or metrics at you. Instead, you will be able to make better sense of the data.
Have a realistic budget in line with your goals
Low budgets meet unrealistic expectations is the story of most failed PPC campaigns these days. Remember we mentioned that the average CPC has skyrocketed across industries? That’s why it is vital that you have a realistic PPC budget.
Average CPC costs depend on a variety of factors. But one of the primary ones is industry. For instance, lawyers can pay up to £10-£15 per click. Oh yes, that’s true. Ditto with online casinos that often pay up to £30 per click.
Other industries fare much better. But the point we are trying to make is this. If your business is in a competitive industry, you need a high budget. Having a £200 – £300/mo budget is going to net a few clicks for sure. But it’s not nearly enough to split test, which is vital to gauge performance.
Keep reevaluating and improvising
PPC is not something that you can set and forget. Instead, it takes patience, experience and a deep understanding of the process. You need to stay one step ahead of your competition.
Campaigns need to be monitored constantly. Everything from ad copy to keywords to the landing pages needs an evaluation from time to time. Be it a new Google ad feature or a competitor who is eating into your market share, you need to keep an eye on everything.
Most important of all, you need to check for fraudulent clicks. Competitors can hire massive farms of bots to click on your ads all day. You have to ensure that they don’t drain your daily budget with zero conversions to show.
Is PPC worth it – Work on an integrated strategy
A smart PPC marketing team can help you work on an inclusive strategy that integrates SEO. Both of these marketing channels can work together.
For instance, you can use PPC to target keywords that are difficult to rank organically. On the other hand, if you have managed to get organic rankings for some keywords, you can avoid targeting these on PPC.
Final Thoughts
PPC is not for everyone. But when used properly, it can be an effective tool to increase sales and profits. However, you may need a professional marketing team with years of experience in PPC to maximise ROI and achieve your marketing goals.
If your PPC campaigns are not yielding results, speak to us. We can help.
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