We’re all accustomed to searching on Google for the answers to our most trivial and significant questions and wonderings alike…
Recent examples in the Thrive team include:
- “Which comes first, thunder or lightning?”
- “How does the Q&A feature work on Instagram?”
- “Directions to Ikea Gateshead”
Indeed, for each of these questions, when you type it in to Google you get exactly the answer you’d like in a variety of styles – answer snippets, videos and maps.
Similarly if you’re looking for particular products or organisations, you will often see Ads appear below the search bar as part of your results, like this for vintage clothing (Source: Google Search):
These ads are the result of a digital marketing effort known as PPC (Pay-Per-Click), which is a form of online advertising that allows you to pay a set amount for every click your ad receives.
PPC itself has a lot of different names, such as paid search, social advertising, search advertising, search engine marketing –but it isn’t search engine optimisation (SEO).
“Search engine optimisation (SEO) is focused on optimising your website to develop your organic search results, allowing you to rank higher – for free – for select objectives and goals. PPC requires a budget so that you rank higher than your competitors – but at a cost.”
PPC allows you to set up variations of your ads based on your objectives or goals, so that they show up when your preferred audience is searching for terms similar to your chosen keywords.
The most common form of PPC is optimising the Google AdWords tool, to build and optimise your PPC ads, to improve your paid ranking in search results for particular terms and search phrases.
Bear in mind that although PPC is fantastic for a number of reasons, it can be expensive depending on your industry, meaning you will need a high budget – sometimes £100s, if not £1000s a month.
However, for a lot of businesses focusing on improving their local rankings, there are many benefits:
- See immediate results – PPC improves your Ad ranking, moving you higher up but can also work to boost your organic performance.
- Forget the algorithm – The algorithm doesn’t impact your Ad ranking or PPC efforts, thankfully!
- Targeted efforts – You choose your demographics, ensuring 60-75-year-olds don’t see your independent retailer’s ad selling a limited stock of Yeezys, because you’re typically targeting under-25s.
Local SMEs can really benefit from a carefully rolled-out PPC campaign, we'll gladly walk you through the solutions and advise you on whether your business could see a return on its investment into PPC. If you’d like to find out more about our digital marketing packages, focused on PPC campaigns, get in touch with Johnny Woods on 01325 778 786 or email hello@thriveability.co.uk.
