Dearly beloved we are gathered here today to look at how Pay Per Click advertising (PPC) could work for your business. But first we have to look back to the start of this romance.
The early years, when PPC was young and easily manipulated SME’s were burnt quite badly. And in their own admission Google hadn’t looked at the bigger picture, allowing the national and global companies to use their might of budget available to dominate the market. Whoever was willing to pay the largest amount per click was king.
From 2012 – 2014 PPC revenue started to decline and it was soon apparent that the market for customers was getting smaller. Time for a longer commitment.
Google had that lightbulb moment across both it’s search and PPC divisions that in order to get that business and trust back it HAD to help the smaller local business and make its search marketing tools more accessible. Google has since 2014 changed it’s stance on what it requires from you the company. Realising that by focusing on the users experience rather than the supplier. It can help champion the local and earn extra revenue.
The Good bits..
If your PPC campaigns are set up correctly it really is a effective marketing service. Really narrowing the acquisition funnel for new business. But there are many factors you need to have in place that will help Google quality score your adverts. The higher the quality score the lower the cost of the Click Through Rate (CTR). This is where most SME’s fall down and in most cases it is better to work with a Google certified partner to set up and run your campaigns. It really can make the difference to your effectiveness and maximise your budget spend.
The reporting on how effective campaigns are working is very impressive. Right down to the users journey through your website and telephone call tracking. Watching your potential customers journey to acquisition will allow you to set your Key Performance Indicators (KPI). This in turn will give you accurate reporting on your return on investment.
The commitment..
I wouldn’t recommend PPC to a business that that doesn’t have the commitment to at least 3-6 months on a campaign. Less than £300 budget to spend per month at a local level won’t be effective. This is without the costs of the campaign set up and monthly monitoring. It has to be a perfect marriage between budget and length of campaign for it to work. Reducing either will end up with a non effective exercise.
Final bits..
Although Google won’t admit it, the search algorithms for your organic google listings improve when you use PPC. Almost like an unofficial boost up the rankings. Which in turn improves your search engine optimisation, SEO.
I have clients who have greatly increased their sales through the use of PPC, you have to take that uncomfortable leap of faith and give it a try.
