How Pay-Per-Click Works
One of the reasons this type of marketing is so popular is because advertisers only pay when someone clicks on the ad. This payment model ensures that online marketing professionals are only charged when an interested prospect takes action and clicks over to their website or landing page.
This puts the heavy burden of driving traffic on the shoulders of the site selling pay-per-click services instead of the advertiser, which takes a lot of the hard work out of the equation. Driving traffic is one of the most challenging aspects of online marketing and social media marketing.
Inc. reports that Google AdWords dominates the pay-per-click market. As a versatile marketing vehicle, advertisers can run ads on both private websites and search results.
Facebook is another popular option. One of the explanations for Facebook’s large customer base is that their rates are inexpensive. Another notable benefit Facebook offers is their supreme ability to target market with all the information gathered on the platform about each user.
Not to be left out, Bing also offers this type of paid advertising. Their business model runs ads on multiple Microsoft search platforms.
Once you decide where you want your pay-per-click ads, then there are other decisions to make. If the boring text ads are not flashy enough, advertisers have the option of running display ads. A re-targeting campaign is especially useful to attract customers who have already shown an interest by visiting the advertiser’s website after clicking-through.
Benefits
The benefits offered by PPC advertising are many. A major benefit is the speed of return on investment (ROI). Many new business owners turn to paid advertising because they can’t afford to wait the six months required for organic marketing results to start showing up. While excellent results aren’t guaranteed, it is quite possible to reap remarkable returns within hours if the offer is attractive and competitively priced.
Another reason this type of paid advertising makes sense is because advertisers don’t pay when the ad is not working. Paying only when a prospect clicks on the ad takes a lot of the pressure off advertisers who may feel uncertain about the best ad to attract clicks. New entrepreneurs can perfect their ads and keyword selection without paying until they create an ad that gets results.
Targeting your prospects has never been easier than it is today with digital marketing. You can place ads to show up at a certain time of day and to cover a specific geographic area. If you have a donut shop, you might want to have your ad pop up in the morning hours when people buy donuts on the way to work.
How to Evaluate the Cost
Your keyword research will determine the words you use and the price you pay. The most popular keywords cost more. It’s truly a supply/demand pricing model.
Based on the idea of paying by clicks, it is understandable that this could make small business professionals a bit nervous. What if your ad got more clicks than expected, running your costs higher than your budget. The good news is that most pay-per-click networks allow advertisers to set a budget limit which protects them against overspending.
Conclusion
Forbes reports that PPC visitors have a 50 percent higher probability of purchasing than organic traffic responders. Considering how fast advertisers can get customers and the fact that more prospects convert to customers, it is hard to ignore this marketing tool. While experts recommend using both organic traffic and paid advertising, new business owners who need sales fast often turn to paid advertising first.
Hiring an online marketing expert like Mint Marketing makes sense for most companies who don’t have staff members with the specialized expertise required to run digital marketing campaigns. There are so many factors to consider when establishing a workable online marketing strategy. In addition to paid advertising and organic traffic strategies, there are marketing compliance issues to consider. Marketing professionals need to be sure they can deliver what they promise and that their ads are not only catchy, but also truthful and legal.