Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is, at its basic level, paying for ad placement in search engines. The concept is simple. When a user searches for a keyword a paid ad will appear. These ads are usually listed at the top or right side of the search engine results page and are identified as Sponsored Links, Featured Listings or Sponsored Listings.
That is pay-per-click for the basic user. Unfortunately, most pay-per-click advertisers are basic users.
Pay-per-click is much more then paid advertising. Not only is PPC the best return on investment available, but it is, or should be, at the heart of all marketing campaigns.
Ad Testing
Google and now Yahoo, with the new Sponsored Search, allow advertisers to run multiple ads for the same keyword. With various messages reaching potential customers, advertisers are able to see which ads attract the most visitors and more importantly which ads attract higher revenue.
Ad rotation gives the advertiser great insight into the mind of the customer. For instance, do customers click more on ads that offer “Free Shipping” or “Free Item with Purchase?” Another example, do discount mentions convert better than guarantees?
To get accurate measurements on ads, it is important not to let the search engines optimize the rotation of the advertiser’s ads. By default, search engines will serve the better performing ads more often. However, the problem is search engines measure “better performing” as ads with higher clickthrough rates (CTRs) and quality scores. Although, that may work for some advertisers, the real test of an ad is what happens after the user clicks on the ads.
Solid geo-targeting statistics can help off-line campaigns
Pay-per-click geo-targeting lets advertisers target ads to specific countries, regions and languages. Geo-targeting especially benefits companies with smaller budgets, by allowing product promotion strictly within the majority of customers’ region.
Geo-targeting resolves any geographic uncertainty about customers. For example, more customers from Region A may click on ads. However, more customers from Region B may actually convert and purchase.
By combining geo-targeting testing with ad variations, advertisers can also discover if specific messages convert better in various regions.
With this strong geographic customer analytics, advertisers are able to target all marketing initiatives to specific regions.
Learn the customer’s language with exact keyword matching
Often advertisers get caught up in internal jargon. Within the industry it may be an acceptable form of communication. However, it is the customer that pays the bills.
To obtain accurate results from pay-per-click, having various match types is essential. By bidding on all variations of keywords advertisers are able to see which keywords customers are typing into a search query. Google, as an example has four different keyword matching options (broad, phrase, exact, negative), each with their own advantages and disadvantages. For example Broad Match, the default setting, includes all variations of the keyword in the query.
However, Exact Match is the most targeted option available. It only shows ads when the exact phrase is used. Exact Match will provide instant feedback into the language of the customer. It is not to say there is not a place for broad, advance, or any other match type. Ideally, all variations should be tested. In fact, Exact Matching will inevitably bring in fewer visitors than other forms of matching. However, Exact Matching is a great way to gather instant customer analytics.
Discover highly targeted keywords for organic search rankings
Search engine optimization is often compared to rocket science. Of course the advantage of rocket science is that there are always constants, SEO does not have that luxury.
Search Engine Optimization is trying to please the search engines, while attempting to read the mind of the potential customer.
The first part of the above statement is not going to be solved anytime soon, but the later is. With pay-per-click reporting advertisers are able to know what the customer is typing in search engines. By reviewing periodic reporting, they are able to tell which keywords bring in the most clicks and most importantly which keywords bring in the most revenue.
Instead of creating search engine optimization initiatives to tackle hundreds of keywords, the top converted pay-per-click keywords are targets. Site content, link building, and various other search engine optimization techniques can push these elite keywords. Advertisers do not have to waste time trying to get rankings on keywords that do not convert. The numbers are provided; it does not matter where the competition is ranked. By following the pay-per-click keyword statistics advertisers are able to get instant customer analytics to use for search engine optimization efforts
With pay-per-click, there is very little guess work in marketing. However, the trouble arises when traditional advertisers do not understand or believe in the power of pay-per-click marketing. Many companies still see it as separate advertising model and fail to tie the relationship back to traditional off-line campaigns. By analyzing pay-per-click reports advertisers are able to pull dramatic customer analytics. With that knowledge all marketing campaigns can benefit thus eliminating traditional guess work from traditional advertising.
