Pay Per Click on Google and Bing
As many of us know pay per click or (PPC) as it is commonly known in the industry has its benefits to website owners to help drive traffic to their website but is it really as good as it is made out to be using the big two in Google and Bing?
Firstly let’s understand how both of these search engines work with regards to PPC as some other companies use a different model.
Both Bing and Google use a bidding method for their PPC which ensures there is only one real winner when you use either of them for our PPC and that is the search engines themselves. We are not saying they do not work, far from it, but from the revenue it generates, especially for Google, you can see why they are the overall big winners of PPC.
In 2012 Google generated $42.5 billion in total from all forms of advertising with PPC contributing largely to this amount and Bing has recently stated they have a share of the search engine market that is now bigger than 18% in their recent accounting reports and that their search advertising grew by a staggering 34%. This goes to show that PPC is not dead but being used more and more by small and large companies that are alike.
What you need for PPC
Before you even consider PPC as an alternative source of targeted traffic to your website you must ensure that you have a conversion in mind for the product or service you are going to promote otherwise it will be a waste of time and money on your behalf this is according to Infintechdesigns.com.
Bidding method
This method of PPC, which both of the big search engines use,is based on the keyword the user wants to target and the amount they are willing to pay to appear in the search results on the top of the page or the right hand side of the page as a sponsored ad. The objective is to get the potential client to click on your ad which will direct them to your website or landing page where they will either sign up for an offer or make a purchase depending on what your intentions are. Each advertiser will compete against each other to appear and the person willing to spend the most will generally appear first.
The bidding cost is generally down to the niche and keyword you are targeting. With more competitive niches and keywords costing you more when the ad is clicked and some uncompetitive niches you could be showing your ad for as little as 10 cents every time someone clicks.
The overall objective is to ensure you have a positive ROI irrespective on how much you spend and bidding on PPC is one way of doing this if you set it up and manage it correctly.
Advantages of Google AdWords
There are many advantages to PPC using Google ad-words platform for advertising which include:
1) Free advertising if you are a first time user as there will always be some incentives within ad-words or online to encourage you to use them. This typically ranges from $50 – $100 but it does vary on a regular basis.
2) You have no minimum spend limit which is also very good as you do not need to commit large parts of your advertisement budget to try them out.
3) You can stop your advertisement any time you like
4) Google will give you support if you require it
5) If you want to you can use one of Googles certified professionals to help set up and manage your ad but this is not a free option.
Where do Google advertise your advert?
Google uses either their own advertising method which is the search pages you see when you search for something on it, and you will see ads on the top of the page typically 3 of them, or on the right hand side of the page. They also use partner websites for advertising which basically allows anyone with a website to join their ad-words programme and then Google will use these sites to display advertisements and split the income generated from these ads with the website owners. When this method is used the user can clearly see that they are going to click on a paid advertisement before they take the action to click on it.
Where will my PPC campaign be shown?
With Google you have options available to you where your advertisement will be show and also more importantly can select which sites and location your advertisement will be shown if you want to drill down this far with your ad which is advisable with your first one so you can see the advantages PPC can have to your business however large or small it is.
Your ad can be shown at the top of the page before the organic results or on the right hand side of the page depending on how high you want to bid for your chosen keyword. Remember at this point people will only ever see your ad if they type in the keyword you have selected or is related to your keyword in their web browser. If they type in a completely different keyword your ad will not show which makes PPC very targeted advertising.
If you select to use Google partner websites also for your advertisement then your ad will be displayed on the type of website you select when setting up your campaign. This could also include the location right down to the neighbourhood if you want to be as narrow with your audience as this and exclude x- rated sites if you wish to with your ad.
If you have never set up a campaign before using Googles platform then we suggest taking some time to read their guidelines and information to help you get started. Do not be afraid to ask them for help setting up your first campaign because if you get it right from the outset then hopefully you can see the ROI you can potentially get by using PPC to help generate target traffic to your website.
