Have you ever wondered how certain ads over Google get to the absolute top of the first page of search results? Well let me tell you how.
So what if I indeed told you that 94% of searchers don’t make it past the first page of search results, as our friend Morpheus says? What if I told you that an 85% share of all total paid ad clicks come from the ads at the top of the first page? What if I told you there was a way to get to the top of Google searches for keywords related to your business?
Google AdWords enables advertisers to advertise on particular keywords through a bidding process. It places your ad in front of the customers you want - and on the first page. This is Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising offers your business exactly the kind of visitors you want to reach.
Qualified traffic like this is in no short supply. Here is why you need a PPC component in your Internet marketing strategy:
1. PPC Provides You With Targeted Traffic
If a person is looking for leather sofas, you can trigger ads to show when a related search query is type in. As a sofa provider, you want your business to be number one in the search engine ranks for “leather sofa”. With PPC, you can get there rather quickly.
In targeting specific keywords, Google AdWords provides your business the ability to attract qualified visitors to your website. You can even advertise for search terms relative to a specific location.
The customer has found your business through these ads and so there is no need to give a sales pitch when they contact you. PPC takes care of this. It saves you TIME and can give you the qualified customers you want.
2. PPC Can Net You A High Return-On-Investment (ROI)
In AdWords, you can choose between cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM). With CPC, you are charged per click and with CPM, you are charged per thousand impressions.
In many cases, the cost of a PPC ad click is far less than the revenue it can generate. Adding in potential repeat business and the impact of positive reviews, the ROI of PPC on your business can be enormous. That $4.50 that you bid on a click will seem like small potatoes in comparison to the orders that it can generate for your business.
Another benefit of having PPC in your Internet marketing strategy is its scalability. You can allocate a small amount of money toward your ad budget to begin with. You have the power to increase or decrease your ad spend however and whenever you see fit. If you see that your cost-per-lead and customer acquisition costs are significantly lower in
3. PPC Assesses the Quality Of Your Content
Simply getting traffic to your website is not enough. If visitors are not taking some kind of valuable action on your site - making a purchase, filling out a contact form, or requesting information, your hair should be itching trying to figure out what’s wrong. Your ad copy may have been misinterpreted for something else. Your landing pages may not be completely optimized for conversions. Your offers may not be enticing enough. PPC gives you the ability to find any and all problems that your website may have.
Google AdWords’ “Quality Score” also ensures that all ads are relevant to what searchers are looking for which bodes well for your business. It assesses your landing page experience as well as expected Click-Through-Rates (CTR). A combination of a high bid and strong Quality Score can earn you a higher Ad Rank for a specific search term.
4. Track, Measure and Quantify Your Results With PPC
Unlike many other forms of advertising, with PPC you can track how your marketing dollars are being spent. With funnel analysis and conversion tracking, you will be able to see exactly where your ad spend is going.
AdWords metrics can be quite in-depth and can break down which keywords and which ad groups are doing well in terms of cost-per-click (CPC) or CTR, for example. Effective marketing requires proper measurement and reporting. And most importantly, you want crystal clear reporting so that your numbers are clear and that you'll be prepared to increase or decrease budget when necessary.
Lastly..
With PPC, you are paying Google, the world’s largest search engine to be a messenger for your brand. Due to its high rate of conversion, companies are allocating more and more of their marketing budgets into PPC. Given its proven effectiveness, PPC should be a part of your business. At the end of the day, it’s comes down to what you are willing to invest in your digital strategy. Paid Search is a big component of digital strategy and as I’ve argued here, should be a big component of YOUR digital strategy. The facts are clear. Now, are you willing to take action?
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About the Author:
Ramesh Ranjan is the Inbound Marketing Specialist at LocalTrifecta Internet Marketing, where he helps businesses across Metro Vancouver increase sales and revenue through Inbound Marketing. His marketing heroes are Marcus Sheridan, John Caples and John Carlton. In his off time, he can be found playing roller hockey in Richmond, blogging on his personal website, and at the top of the office hockey pool. You can follow and connect with Ramesh over Twitter and Google+
