PPC or pay-per-click, is a common advertising model in online campaigns that helps drive traffic to a website. You pay for each click on your ads. PPC ads appear on search engines, websites, social media, e-commerce platforms, and other locations across the web. They may show up as text-based, image-based, or even video-based ads, depending on where you advertise. It is very efficient. because the advertiser only pays the publisher when the ad gets clicked on. This prevents advertisers from investing their budgets into campaigns that cannot be measured quantitatively. The PPC model is an important concept to understand in digital marketing. In this article, we will dive into what exactly PPC is and why is important.
What is PPC?
PPC or pay-per-click, is a digital advertising model where an advertiser pays a specific amount each time a user clicks on one of their ads and visits their website. This amount can be fixed or determined by auction. The idea of a pay-per-click campaign is to buy visits from a specific site. The aim is to generate a specific type of user action, such as registering or buying a product.
You don’t just create ads and hope they reach the right people. That was the old way of marketing. Now, ad platforms let you refine your ad’s audience to people who would be most interested in what you offer, whether they have an interest in topics related to your business or are actively searching for something your business provides. You may even be able to upload a list of your customers and reach them directly with your ads. Of course, the capabilities of each ad platform differ, but you can get really specific and avoid spending lots of money on people who will probably never become your customers.
Other Payment Models
Although PPC is a very common option, it is not the only payment model for online campaigns. Therefore, it’s important to distinguish it from others.
PPM
PPM or pay per thousand. Here, the advertiser pays a fixed amount for every thousand impressions. But with this model, you do not know how much you will pay for each visit because it’s difficult to predict how many clicks each additional thousand impressions will generate.
PPA
PPA or payment for the acquisition. In this case, the advertiser pays each time my user performs a certain action. like downloading an app. Therefore, the link between cost and objectives is even more evident.
7 Advantages of using PPC
- You only pay for the visits you receive
In other advertising models, advertisers pay a fee for having the ads shown but do not have the guarantee that it is generating results. With pay-per-click, there is a direct link between cost and performance.
- You have a lot of information about the performance of the ad
The pay-per-click platforms offer the advertiser complete knowledge about what is happening with the advertisement. including the number of impressions, clicks, and conversions.
- Good optimization possibilities
With all this data, it is very easy to know if an ad is working or not and correct the course in real time. The most advisable strategy is to create several variations of each ad and compare them to see which ones work best. This way, you can get the best results every time.
- The ads reach the right audience
Thanks to the many segmentation options, you won’t waste a single click; only the users you want to target will see the ad. This yields better results since a user who is part of the target audience has a higher chance of clicking on the ad. The higher the percentage of clicks, the lower the cost of the ad.
- You can control your budget very precisely
PPC models allow you to set a maximum budget per day and in some cases, you can start with just one dollar. This means that they can be adapted to advertisers of all sizes and that you can control in advance how much you spend on each campaign.
- You can decide where and when your ad will be shown within the pay-per-click model
You can show your ads on many different platforms and locations and select the ones that interest you the most. Some sites also allow you to choose the days and times when your ads will be shown.
- You will achieve better positioning and visibility
Thanks to PPC, you can show your ads on some of the sites most visited by users, such as search engines and social networks.
How do PPC ads work?
There’s a lot that happens behind the scenes when you launch an ad campaign. Your ad isn’t guaranteed to appear whenever someone you’d like to reach is online. PPC ads appear because of an auction. Factors that may impact your ad’s appearance in front of users include the ad’s relevance to the user, the quality assigned by the ad platform, and your bid. Even if your ad is relevant and high-quality, you may not be bidding enough to beat out other companies for that coveted spot in front of your ideal customer. Depending on which platform you’re using, you may be able to implement automation to improve your campaign’s performance, whether you create dynamic ads that adjust to their location or maximize your budget with automated bidding. No matter what PPC ad platform, format, or copy you use, keep in mind that your ads should address something that resonates with your audience.
Why should you invest in PPC ads?
Do you like having control over your money? That’s what PPC ads give you—control. With PPC, you choose how much you want to spend on your ads by setting a budget and your target bid. You may need to adjust your investment if it’s not enough to compete with other businesses, but you can limit your spending to a number that works best for you.
PPC Vs. SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a great way to drive long-lasting results. However, it may take several months for you to start seeing consistent results from your efforts if you don’t have a lot of SEO experience. PPC campaigns can generate results much sooner, so if you need to advertise a sale or promote something more immediately, these ads offer a great opportunity to reach your audience. While your ads do appear quickly, it may take a few months to really start understanding your audience and creating the most effective campaigns, especially if you’ve never tried PPC before. This is still faster than a new SEO campaign. PPC gives you control of your budget and gets results quickly.
Where can we use PPC?
PPC is a payment model not specific to a certain site or location. That’s why you have many options when deciding where you want to show your ads.
The main ones are PPC ads and search engines. Search engine marketing, also known as SEM, allows you to show ads to users based on the keywords entered in the search bar. for example, car sharing in London. The main search engines, such as Google and Bing, use a model based on PPC through auction.
For advertisers, search advertising offers two great advantages: it is highly visible since ads appear on the first page of the search engine results page, page one on Google. Being able to position your website in an organic way can cost you years of work but thanks to ads, you can establish your presence at a reduced cost. It is very effective since it is aimed at users who are looking to satisfy a specific need that has to do with your products or services.
PPC ads on social networks
The main advertising tools on social networks, such as Facebook ads or Instagram ads, offer pay-per-click options. These types of ads are integrated into the user’s social network experience. Either in their new section or in a side column, one of their main advantages is that they allow you to take advantage of the information that the social networks have about their users. so that you can launch highly segmented PPC ads. for example, married men who have recently moved to Barcelona.
PPC display ads
PPC is also used when displaying banner ads on websites related to a brand’s products and services or in the interests of its target audience. These types of campaigns can be very effective if they are implemented well. but you have to be careful to avoid falling into intrusive advertising. It is also worth keeping in mind that CTRs are usually much lower than in other types of ads. so a larger audience is required.