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Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
PPC (pay-per-click) advertising is the most popular type of online advertising. It involves paying for an advert to be displayed online until a certain number of people click on it. Google, Bing, Facebook and YouTube all use PPC advertising models. This post delves into some of the pros and cons of PPC advertising to help you understand when (and when not) to use it..
Pro: PPC ads are proven to build more leads
PPC ads are proven to boost traffic. They are also proven to generate more leads. Consumers who click on a PPC ad are 50% more likely to make a purchase. The snazzier and more alluring your advert is, the more leads you’ll generate.
Con: Not everyone clicks on or notices ads
Some people have learnt to tune out adverts. Meanwhile, cookie preference choices and ad blocker tools can mean that some internet users won’t see your ads at all. This is why you cannot rely on PPC advertising as your only form of digital marketing.
Pro: Ads that don’t get clicks still create brand awareness
It’s worth noting that while many people never click on ads, a lot of people still notice them, and this can influence them to make purchases in the future. Studies show that PPC ads can increase brand awareness by 80% – making more people familiar with your company name and therefore more likely to choose you if they ever need your product/service.
Con: Targeting ads effectively requires time and patience
Ads are only effective if you target them with the right audience. PPC advertising platforms allow you to set various parameters to fine-tune exactly who sees your ad. You need to do your research to guarantee the best results, and a degree of trial and error may be necessary. This takes a lot of time and patience that some business owners don’t have – although you can always use a service like LINK marketing to outsource this task.
Pro: PPC ads are easy to budget for
With other forms of advertising like billboards, you pay a minimum fee for your advert to display for a fixed time. With PPC adverts, you can pay as little or as much as you want – and every cent guarantees an interaction with your advert. This makes PPC ads much easier to budget for. If you’ve only got a couple dollars to spend on advertising in a month, you can still pour this into PPC advertising, whereas you’re looking at a minimum of $200 to hire a billboard for a week.
Con: You may have to pay a fair amount to see good results
As with any form of marketing, the more money you spend, the more leads you get. With PPC advertising, you may need to pay a fair amount upfront to account for some trial and error. A/B marketing is a popular strategy that involves running two advertising campaigns simultaneously with slightly different targeting parameters to see which ad performs best. Only by doing this several times can you identify the most effective targeting options for your adverts.
Conclusion
There are clear pros and cons to PPC advertising. While it is easy to budget for and will generate brand awareness and direct leads, you need to spend time and money targeting your ads effectively to get the best results, plus you need to consider other digital marketing tactics too as PPC ads don’t work on every consumer.
