PPC (Pay-Per-Click) Advertising has been around for nearly 25 years. Initially started as a research project by Stanford University in 1996, by 1997 more than 400 major brands had implemented it into their marketing strategies. In 2012, Google surpassed $1B in revenue, with 95% of it coming from advertising. The rise is PPC Advertising hasn’t slowed over the years and has remained a powerful marketing tool.
Let’s take a look at PPC Advertising and why businesses should invest in it.
What is PPC Advertising?
PPC (Pay-Per-Click) Advertising, is a model used online in which advertisers pay a certain amount each time a user clicks on one of their ads. PPC has grown in popularity for businesses of all sizes because it has proven to be a very cost-effective marketing tool. Google Ads is the most common type of PPC Advertising because they appear whenever someone searches for something on Google, however, other forms of PPC include social media, display, and video.
Importance of Quality Score
There are three important components for businesses to keep in mind when it comes to Google Advertising.
- Keyword: A word or phrase that people are searching for online. Every PPC ad contains a “keyword.”
- CTR: This stands for “click-through-rate” and it measures the number of clicks advertisers receive on their ads.
- CTC: “Cost per click” is the final amount you are charged for a click on your PPC ad.
The quality score is Google’s rating of the quality and relevance of both your keywords and PPC ads. The higher the quality ad score a business has, the less they have to pay.
Why Your Business Should Choose PPC Advertising
As the below chart indicates, 45% of small businesses are selecting PPC Advertising to help grow their operations. Why?
- Boost Brand Awareness
- Expanding their Reach
- Grow Revenue
Search ads can boost your brand awareness by up to 80%, while Google Ads alone reach a network of over 2 million websites and applications (including mobile). Another added benefit? Businesses nearly double their revenue. For every $1.60 spent on Google Ads, they see $3.00 in revenue.
In addition, consumers who are exposed to display ads are 155% more likely to search for brand-specific terms. You read that right…155%!
PPC Advertising vs. SEO
Another important online marketing component companies use around the world is “SEO,” which stands for “Search Engine Optimization.” This helps with organic search results. Did you know that people scroll below the first five search results only 4% of the time, however? PPC Advertising is beneficial because it attracts the right kind of people, meaning consumers who are looking to purchase something right away vs. organically. In fact, 65% of people click on paid ads because they want to buy something immediately, which helps businesses increase their bottom lines quickly and effectively.
Conclusion
In conclusion, PPC advertising is worth the investment no matter the company size. For businesses, it helps maintain full control over how they want to run campaigns. For consumers, it makes shopping for specific products and services a lot easier, saving them precious time.
Check out the infographic below from Serpwatch for more useful information about PPC.
