1. The WHAT of PPC
Google, the most popular search engine in today’s time, has created a digital marketing tool called Google Ads. Google Ads provide the service of prioritizing your website into multiple areas of search results. Typically, if a user searches for anything on Google all of the results generated are called organic results. The organic results are formatted based on many factors, but Google’s goal is always relevancy. The user has no say in their natural organic ranking; they could be first or on page 67 and never be seen. What makes Google Ads so effective is that it gives the user an opportunity to be presented as a normal Google search result, which exposes many those websites. By paying to be integrated into the top search results, it is bringing more traffic to your website which leads to more business.
(Demonstrated in this image is that if the result is an ad, next to the URL it says “Ad” but other than that it looks like a completely normal search result.)
PPC stands for Pay Per Click, PPC’s most common example is Google Ads. Each ad shown is an impression. When someone clicks on the ad, a specific amount of money goes to Google Ads for bringing people to your site. Traffic is good but why do you want a visitor on your site anyway? Likely, there is a specific action you’d like them to take. Therein lies all the magic of PPC.
2. The HOW of PPC
In order to make your website accessible to a relevant consumer base interested in your product or service, you customize what searches, also known as search queries, will trigger your ads. A search query is what someone on Google would type into the search engine bar. Keywords are terms that a website owner feels, or research shows, will bring the best traffic to their website. Keywords are typically popular terms, which can reflect in the cost from Google Ads going up. However a “longtail” keyword is an ultra specific phrase that attracts fewer impressions. Hopefully, the impressions it does attract, are much more likely interested in a purchase while being more cost affordable than the general keywords. An example of a keyword would be someone who Google’s ‘chandelier’. This potential customer is going to find a wide variety of results and just scroll through to the specific one they had envisioned. An example of a longtail keyword would be a business that specializes in antique crystal chandeliers. Any business specializing in a specific product would most likely want to narrow that general search down and wait for someone who knows they want an antique crystal chandelier. They may even want to make the longtail keyword, ‘antique 1920’s crystal chandelier’.
3. The WHO of PPC
Google Ads wants you to help them and if you do then they will in turn help you. When your keywords are spot on and you are providing relevant results for Google’s users, this provides the users with what they were looking for leaving them satisfied. Having a clean organized landing page allows for users to continuously stay on your page without aggravation and find what they are looking for. When users are happy to land on your page because of the previously stated characteristics, Google will decide you are an ad that is beneficial to their users. This opens up opportunity for your website. Google will prioritize you above other ads using the same keywords, as well as lowering the price you will pay for each PPC.
Using PPC is a time consuming process that requires continuous attention and modification. For businesses that are not capable of the time dedication or are not equipped to properly study the analytics, there is the option of hiring an outside business that focuses on Digital Marketing and Website Development, such as Asenka Interactive. But for those who are capable and ready to begin just remember:
- Update your keywords- study the analytics of which specific search queries are creating the most impressions as well as conversions and eliminate those that don’t.
- Always look for growth regarding your landing page- figure out how to make it better for users.
- Analyze and adapt- see what is beneficial and what just isn’t working based on your analytics, then adapt your course of action accordingly. Try new things regularly but never stop measuring.
