You know when you do a Google search, and you see those ads at the top of the page? Ever wonder what those were and where they came from? Those are pay-per-click ads and are generated exclusively to match your search intent. As to where they come from, that is a little more in-depth. Let’s explore that in more detail.
What is Pay-Per-Click Advertising?
Pay-Per-Click Marketing (PPC) is a term applied to paid advertising that shows ads on search engine results pages (SERPs) of Google and Bing, as well as hundreds of smaller affiliated search engines. Simply put, PPC is about delivering ads to a SERP where they will be seen and clicked on. Each time an ad is clicked on, the advertiser is charged a fee, thus the term pay-per-click. The goal is to drive customers to a business website or initiate contact directly from an ad via a call or form completion.
Now that we understand what a PPC ad is designed to do, how do we get potential customers to click on them? We do this by wordsmithing compelling ads that are brand specific as well as relevant to user searches, plus creating extensions to expand the ad space on the SERP. Simple, right? Well, there is a little more to it than that.
First, we start with keyword research for local and appropriate search terms and phrases that potential customers are using to look for our product online. Secondly, we create ads with meaningful and engaging content to grab the attention of searchers, so they click our ad over the competition. Lastly, we optimize the ads with add-on extensions like images, callouts (highlighted features about your product), snippets (supplemental information about your product like brands, locations, etc.), and offers or specials.
Measuring Success
Now that we have built and launched the ads, how do we measure results?
While there are hundreds of metrics to look at, I will note a few of the most utilized:
- Impressions – How many times an ad has been delivered to a SERP and seen by someone.
- Clicks – The number of times an ad has been clicked on.
- Click-Through-Rate (CTR) – Impressions divided by clicks. The higher the CTR, the better the ads perform.
- Cost-Per-Click (CPC) – The average cost of each click.
- Impression Share (IS) – The percentage of impressions an ad receives compared to the total number they could get.
The bottom line with looking at metrics is that they only ever tell part of the story. While tracking calls, form submissions, and store walk-ins is vital to assessing KPIs, good communication between a marketing agency and their client is key to evaluating success. All great marketing campaigns have one thing in common: adaptability. Markets and buying patterns change constantly, and so must a good PPC campaign. The days of “set it and forget it” are long past. Today, one must leverage emerging technology, constantly changing ad platforms, and good old experience to create a truly successful PPC campaign.
If you are in the market for a full-service digital team to run your PPC campaign, contact us today at Bedford Advertising.
Cliff Huddleston
Senior Digital Media Specialist