Did you know 50 percent of people that visit a retailer website from paid advertisements are more likely to purchase from the site compared to people who arrived from organic links? It’s no surprise that pay per click is one of the most effective methods to advertise a website. Let’s take a look at what you need to know about PPC and how it can help increase your site’s visibility on major search engines like Google.

What Is PPC?

Pay-per-click (PPC) refers to the online marketing technique used by advertisers, who pay a fee every time someone clicks on their ads. This is an effective way to buy visits to your site, which is different from organic SEO. There are different types of PPC advertising, but search engine advertising is one of the most common types used. Advertisers bid for ad placement on search engine’s sponsored links that appear at the top of search results pages. When a user searches a keyword related to their business, the site will ideally show up as the paid sponsor link. 

For example, if you bid on the keyword “WordPress experts,” our ad could show up at the top of Google search results page. Each time the sponsored link is clicked, this sends a user to our site, which means we have to pay Google a small fee. For most businesses, the PPC fee is not an issue, especially when the visit drives traffic to your site and leads to people purchasing your products and services or scheduling appointments as new clients.

This type of digital advertising may seem simple, but it requires a great deal of researching, planning, and continually monitoring the ads. A successful PPC campaign should have the most relevant keywords that meet users’ needs the best compared to other advertisers bidding for the ad space on search engines. Indeed, Google will charge you less for ad clicks when your ads lead to useful and informative content that people are looking for.

How Does PPC Work?

When advertisers set up PPC ads, they are subject to the Ad Auction. This is an automated bidding system used by major search engines to evaluate the relevance and validity of ads that appear on their search engine result pages (SERPs). Advertisers bid on keywords that they want to display their ads, in this case a link to their site. 

Let’s say one of our clients has a construction website based in NC. When a user wants to hire a construction company to build them a home in NC, they may search for keywords like “custom built homes” or “NC construction companies” on search engines. As the user types in these search queries, Google’s search engine algorithms will determine which ads are displayed and in what order based on the Ad Auction bidding system. 

While it may seem like a good idea to pay for a lot of keywords, it’s best to only bid on keywords relevant to your specific business. This will help you get the most bang for your buck and avoid wasting money on keywords that have nothing to do with your products or services. Indeed, it’s not realistic to try to reach everyone, but rather the specific target audience that is already interested in what you are offering. 

Conduct PPC Keyword Research

Since your PPC campaign is based on keywords you choose, it makes sense that this will be an essential part of your own advertising. Even after you set up your initial PPC keyword list, it’s imperative that you regularly research and grow that list. This will ensure that you take advantage of valuable long-tail keywords that are relevant,  affordable, and have low competition. Indeed, this will help drive even more traffic to your site. 

Tips for PPC Keyword Research:

  • Stay relevant: Only choose keywords that are relevant to your business site. This will help you have better PPC click-through rates, more effective PPC ads, and drive profits on your site. Avoid using keywords about something you don’t offer, which will confuse users and will not help your ad campaign.
  • Use long-tail keywords: It’s recommended to use a combination of popular terms and long-tail terms. These keywords allow you to be more specific and reach a more local target audience. If you’re a health and wellness provider in Shallotte, NC, it makes sense that you would benefit from using long-tail keywords that include your location. This will allow local people to find your site using search queries like “family health care in Shallotte NC.”
  • Research on a regular basis: It’s important to regularly research and expand your campaign’s keyword list. This makes it easier to grow and improve your ads. You may find that some keywords become more popular than others with time. This is natural and reflects the constantly evolving nature of technology and users’ interests.

We hope you enjoyed this week’s article about PPC. If you don’t have experience with online ads or SEO, it may be helpful to hire an expert team to improve your site’s visibility on search engines. At Awesome Website Guys, our WordPress experts specialize in online advertising and PPC management. Contact us today to learn how we can help you and find out about our $100 of ad spend for free when you work with us.