An Introductory Guide to PPC Advertising Services

A well-rounded digital marketing strategy should always include a variety of tactics. Different people access information in different ways, and placing all your resources into one specific digital marketing channel may limit your reach, causing you to lose valuable traffic that will drive high-quality leads. While investing in SEO to target organic traffic is always an important tactic to use, this represents a long game and depending on your industry, it can be extremely competitive. In many instances, supplementing your organic search with paid advertising (PPC) is an effective way to drive traffic to your website and generate leads while your SEO campaign is taking hold.

Pay per click marketing can be complex, and it requires a sophisticated understanding of PPC best practices to maximize the ROI of your efforts. Working with an experienced pay per click agency will help you leverage this powerful digital marketing tactic to its fullest so that you’re able to generate high-quality leads while staying within your budget. While your pay per click agency will guide your campaign, it’s still helpful to understand the basic principles of PPC advertising so that you can provide input into the process. The following overview will help you learn how to navigate the complexities of the PPC landscape.

What Is Pay Per Click Marketing?

Pay per click (PPC) advertising is a digital marketing tactic that involves paying a fee to have your ad displayed on search engine results pages (SERPs) for specific keywords being targeted by your ad. You pay a fee every time someone clicks on your ad, which is why this tactic is called pay per click marketing. You can also leverage PPC advertising on social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, as well as on YouTube, to boost visibility for your brand on these platforms.

This approach to digital marketing is different from organic search, which relies on SEO best practices to rank high on search engines without paying for the traffic you receive. To rank well on organic search, you must tailor your SEO efforts to address the criteria established by search engine algorithms. This practice can be effective at driving traffic to your website, but it can take a long time to establish a strong organic search presence, and your results are somewhat dependent on the whims of the algorithms. When these algorithms get updated, your rankings may spike or plummet depending on how well they address the new criteria.

Another difference between organic search and PPC ads is the location where they’re displayed. PPC ads are typically shown at the top and right sides of the SERP, and they will be marked with a label such as “Ad” or “Sponsored” in the top corner of the link to let viewers know they’ll be taken to a paid ad.

paid ads display on Google

According to HubSpot, roughly 70% of searchers click on organic results while roughly 30% click on paid ads, making SEO an important component of any digital marketing strategy. However, the lower percentage of clicks on paid links doesn’t mean you should ignore this tactic. PPC advertising is an effective option if you’re struggling to generate strong organic listings. It’s also an important tool you can leverage to improve your brand’s online presence since these links are prominently displayed on SERPs and will get your business on the radar of a large number of viewers, even if they don’t all click on the link to your ad.

How Does PPC Advertising Work?

Pay per click marketing involves bidding on specific keywords or long-tail search phrases that you’d like to have your ad appear for. When someone searches for the keywords or phrases you’ve targeted, the search engine will display several ads related to that search. If your ad is displayed and the person clicks on it, you’ll pay a fee for this click.

There are three components to a PPC ad campaign:

Keywords – You must provide the search engine you’re advertising on with a list of keywords that you’d like your ad displayed for.
Ads – You design an ad that will be shown when these keywords are entered by someone using the search engine. The ad must be relevant enough to the target keywords to appear for the search and attractive enough to get viewers to click on it.
Landing Page – Once someone clicks on your ad, they’re taken to a landing page where you try to get this person to complete your desired action, such as downloading an offer, scheduling a consultation, making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter.

Search engines have a complex algorithm that determines which ads to show for each search, and how they will be ordered in the search results. The factors used by these algorithms include:

Bid amount
Quality of the ad
Ad’s relevance to the target keyword

In addition, you have the ability to customize your campaigns to ensure they show up for the specific audience segments most likely to click on the ad and become a lead. You can set parameters based on specific locations, demographics, interests, time, and a variety of other criteria that will allow you to optimize your ROI on each PPC campaign.

Bidding

As the name pay per click implies, you only pay when someone actually clicks on your ad. But how will you know how much you’re going to pay for each click? This is determined by your bid, which sets the maximum price you’re willing to pay for each keyword in your campaign. Your ad then enters an auction with other ad campaigns targeting the same keyword.

It’s important to understand that your maximum bid price isn’t necessarily the price you’ll pay for each click. Instead, these bids are used to set the floor for the ads shown. The lowest bid will become the price for the ad displayed in the bottom spot on the search results. Then, each placement higher up will be priced incrementally higher.

Let’s look at an example where the top bidder is willing to pay $4 for someone to click on their ad, the lowest bidder is willing to pay $1.50, and there are five campaigns that bid on a specific keyword. In this example, you have the middle of five bids, at $3. In this case, the bottom ad displayed will spend $1.50 per click. If the incremental increase is $0.10 per bid, you’ll end up paying $1.70 and the top bidder will pay $1.90, even though they set their maximum price at $4.

Quality Score

Your bid plays a large role in how often (and how high up) your ad is shown, but it’s not the only ranking criteria used by the Google algorithms. They also use a “quality score” that evaluates the relevance of your campaign. In other words, how relevant is your ad to the target keyword, and how relevant is your landing page content to the ad you’ve created. This is Google’s way of ensuring that the ads they show will direct users to a landing page that provides them with what they’re looking for.

Quality scores range from 1 (low quality) to 10 (high quality). A high quality score can sometimes help you outrank another ad with a higher bid. In the bidding example above, if the ad for your $3 bid has a quality score of 8 and the ad for the $4 bid has a quality score of 3, your ad may receive a higher position than the top bidder since it’s considered to be more relevant to users and therefore it’s more likely to be clicked.

You can also use the quality score to evaluate the most cost-efficient keywords to target. For example, if you have a physical therapy website and your bid on a keyword associated with “fitness” receives a low quality score, it may be a sign that your website’s content isn’t relevant enough to rank well for ads associated with that keyword. This can help you optimize your target keywords to ensure they deliver the best ROI for cost-efficient results.

When you’re able to demonstrate to Google that you there is an extremely strong relevance between the keywords you’re bidding on, the ad you’ve created and the landing page you’re sending visitors to, you’re more likely to see your ad rank in a top position for a lower price.

Refine Your Campaign with Keyword Match Types and Other Qualifiers

You have the ability to shape the types of searches your ad will be shown for by selecting a keyword match type. The keyword match type you choose helps you broaden or narrow the focus of the searches being targeted. There are three different keyword match types:

Exact Match – Your ad will only be shown if the search term includes the exact keyword phrase, with the words in the exact order, as the keyword phrase you’re targeting.
Phrase Match – Your ad will be displayed if the search term contains the exact keyword phrase, with the words in the same order. However, the search term can also include additional words not used in the keyword phrase you’re targeting.
Broad Match – Your ad will display if the search term contains any of the words in your target keyword phrase, or a combination of these words, in any order. In addition, your ad will display for variations of the words in your target keyword phrase, such as synonyms, singular/plural forms, etc.

You can also use the following qualifiers to refine your campaign even further, ensuring you target the specific audience that will deliver the best results:

Negative Keywords – You can specify certain words which will prevent your ad from being displayed. For example, if you’re running an ad for vacation rentals and want to focus on people searching for budget accommodations, you may select “luxury” as a negative keyword to prevent your ad from showing up for searches associated with high-end rental properties.
Time – You can select the specific days of the week and times of day your ad will be displayed. This can help you maximize visibility during the time when your audience is most likely to view your ad.
Geography – You can specify the geographic regions (cities, countries, etc.) where your ad will be displayed. This is helpful when your business services a specific geographic location.
Age – You can select specific age ranges for the users who will be shown your ads.
Gender – You can target a specific gender in situations where your offering is only applicable to either just men or just women.

Top PPC Advertising Platforms to Target

You can run pay per click marketing campaigns on a variety of platforms. Many businesses will leverage paid ad strategies on multiple platforms to optimize results. The right platforms for you to advertise on will depend on where your target audience consumes information as well as the specifics of your PPC marketing goals.

Some of the most common PPC advertising platforms to target include:

Google Ads – Google remains the most commonly used search engine worldwide, making it one of the most effective platforms to use with your pay per click marketing campaigns. Google’s PPC services are extremely robust, giving you a variety of ways to customize your campaigns.
Microsoft Advertising (Bing Ads) – This platform works similarly to Google’s, but your ads will be placed on Bing and/or Yahoo. While these search engines aren’t as popular as Google, there are still situations where advertising on them may generate effective results.
YouTube – YouTube allows you to create paid ads to promote your products or services on the videos shown on their platform. You can customize your ads based on a variety of selection criteria, and you have the option to choose a cost-per-view or cost-per-click model depending on what works best for your goals.
Facebook – Facebook allows you to create paid ads to promote your offering on their platform. These ads will be displayed in users’ newsfeeds. Facebook provides robust customization abilities, allowing you to target the specific users that will maximize your ROI.
Instagram – Instagram allows you to create ads, displayed in the form of sponsored posts, that promote your products or services. These sponsored posts are integrated into users’ newsfeeds and look just like regular posts.
TikTok – Paid ads on TikTok are designed to be creative and engaging, and they’re often set to music. There are a variety of different formats to choose from with TikTok ads, allowing you to leverage the unique nature of this social media platform.
LinkedIn – If you’re targeting a professional audience, running paid ads on LinkedIn can be an effective way to generate quality leads, promote open job positions and build awareness for your brand among individuals in your industry.

Types of PPC Ads

You can utilize several different types of ads in your PPC advertising campaigns, including:

Search Ads – Search ads appear at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs) and are the most popular type of PPC ads.
Display Ads – Display ads are shown on websites, apps and other digital platforms, and are usually displayed as banners or other image-based media.
Video Ads – Video ads are displayed before or during video content. While they’re most commonly used on YouTube, you can also leverage video ads on social media platforms.
Social Ads – Social ads are displayed in the newsfeeds and stories of social media profiles.
Shopping Ads – Shopping ads show product images and prices directly in search results, and they’re an effective option for ecommerce businesses.
Retargeting Ads – Retargeting ads display to individuals who previously interacted with your website or mobile app while they’re browsing other websites or apps to encourage them to return to your app and purchase your products or services.

Benefits of Pay Per Click Marketing

Your business can experience a variety of important benefits when you include PPC advertising on your digital marketing strategy. Some of the most important benefits include:

Fast Results – As discussed earlier, it takes a long time for your SEO efforts to generate good results on organic search. Pay per click marketing can deliver results much faster since your ads will begin appearing in users’ search results shortly after your campaign is launched. This allows you to drive traffic and generate leads while you’re waiting for your SEO efforts to take hold.
Cost-Effective Marketing Strategy – You only pay for your ads when users click on them, and you can set a budget for your campaign. This makes PPC advertising much more cost-effective than many other marketing channels.
Highly Targeted Marketing Capabilities – You have the ability to target very specific audiences based on a variety of criteria such as demographics, location, age, and interests. This makes it easier to ensure your ads reach the people most likely to become a customer.
Increases Brand Awareness – Your ad will be displayed to a large number of people who are likely to engage with your brand. Even if they don’t click on your ad, they may still see it, helping you get on their radar for a potential future interaction.
Measurable and Trackable Results – PPC advertising allows you to track a variety of KPIs that will help you determine the effectiveness of your campaigns and the ROI you achieve. This data can help you make adjustments to your campaigns in real time that will help you maximize your results.

Webolutions Can Help You Maximize the ROI of Your Pay Per Click Marketing

If you’re planning on implementing pay per click marketing as part of your digital marketing strategy, working with an experienced PPC agency can help you maximize your ROI from your PPC efforts. At Webolutions, we can help. We’ve been Denver’s leading digital marketing agency since 1994, and we’ve helped hundreds of clients achieve successful PPC results over that time. Our team includes highly experienced PPC specialists who can develop the customized campaign you need to generate high quality leads while making the most efficient use of your budget.

We also provide your team with real-time performance intelligence dashboards that show your pay per click data in a highly visual, easy to understand format. These dashboards illuminate relevant and actionable results, providing you with the critical information necessary to make adjustments to your campaign that will improve performance over time.

Contact us today to schedule a free consultation. Webolutions serves clients nationwide from our offices in Denver, Colorado.

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Andrew Martin

Andrew Martin is the content strategist at Webolutions. He develops tactical content strategy recommendations and creates all content for clients to achieve their goals and elevate their success. With over 13 years of experience in content marketing, Andrew has the experience to write engaging content that conveys a client's brand story, builds trust and establishes thought leadership.Learn more about Andrew Martin.