Before bidding on anything, its essential that you understand a few essentials about PPC channels and how they function in everyday life.
We explain here what a channel is, its inner workings and how to leverage its use for maximum ROI. Are you up for PPC? Lets go.
What is PPC (Pay Per Click)?
PPC advertising (pay-per-click / Pay per impression ad placement and fee sharing) is an online form where advertisers place advertisements on particular platforms and pay an advertiser whenever someone clicks them - you might have come across Pay per Click ads while searching Google!
PPC advertising can be great because you pay only for results, such as clicks. So instead of paying just to show ads, this way of marketing allows people to click your ad and land on your site - then help lead them towards meeting your goals, such as buying something or signing up for events!
PPC marketing works because it puts your advertisement directly in front of those searching for what it provides, giving them more chances to interact with it and convert.
With PPC, theres more freedom for targeting an audience most likely to click your ad and become customers.
What is PPC Advertising?
Impressions Fast
You know that SEO can be a slow process if your strategy for digital marketing campaigns has focused more on organic traffic.
It may take a long time to see results from your SEO strategy, even if you have written dazzling copy with a lot of keywords.
You can start getting a lot of views almost immediately with PPC. Most platforms approve your campaign within a couple of hours.
Your ad then competes for the SERP positions. It can result in an immediate boost of traffic, conversions, and sales.
You Can Easily Trace It
No matter which platform is being utilized for PPC advertising, all data can be easily tracked and measured. Youll gain insight into clicks, impressions, click-through rates, cost per click rates and much more to assess whether your campaign is performing as intended and profitable.
Information will also be given regarding keyword auctions your ads won, and which keywords generated the most clicks - both pieces of knowledge can then be utilized when building highly targeted campaigns relevant to your audience and increasing clicks/impressions.
Tracking and measurement provide you with invaluable data for optimizing your PPC campaign, improving its ROI as you do so.
By keeping tabs on this information, ROI will grow even stronger!
Developers.Dev offers unparalleled insight into your PPC campaign metrics with its Paid Search Optimizer tool, giving you greater understanding into both the campaigns of competitors as well as your own.
By doing this, it allows for optimized cost-per-acquisition rates and increased conversion rates - ultimately improving ROIs and conversion rates.
You Control Your Spending
PPC provides you with flexibility when setting a budget. Select how much money you wish to allocate each day or how to adjust it during certain times or days; ads can be turned on or off; bids adjusted as necessary (for instance if customers tend to make larger purchases during Cyber Monday); bids can even be temporarily stopped altogether when stock runs low if your supply depletes unexpectedly!
Pay-per-click advertising allows even those without immediate funds to use pay-per-click to market themselves with just a small budget.
Spending just a few bucks each day could yield positive results! It is the only form of promotion which provides such flexibility with budget allocation and spending limits.
Customers With High Intent To Buy
PPC marketing is all about the timing of your campaigns and reaching the correct audience.
You can make sure that only your targeted customers see your campaign if you are aware of who they are. Choose which demographics you want to target, and even choose different devices.
Your ad will be seen by your customers when they have typed the keywords that you bid on.
PPC allows you to avoid wasting money by showing your ads to those who dont have any interest in your company.
What Ppc Platforms Are Best?
Selecting the best platform is the first step to launching a PPC campaign. You can advertise with either Google or Microsoft.
Google Ads
Google Ads has become the platform of choice for PPC advertising. Google Ads held 87% of the market for PPC advertising as of April 2022.
This platform allows you to run a variety of ads across Google, YouTube, Gmail and Google Display Network.
Microsoft Advertising
Microsoft Advertising serves ads through Windows, Cortana and Office to the Bing search engine, Yahoo search, MSN search and Cortana services of its search partners: Bing and Yahoo own nearly 10% of the pay-per-click market; although Bing and Yahoo together hold almost all of it; Microsoft still enjoys some advantages over its larger rival Google: lower click costs as well as strong appeal among certain demographics and industries.
Microsoft Advertising gives your ads maximum reach when advertising to professionals in the business world: LinkedIn profiles.
By targeting specific people based on title, company or industry you will guarantee your ad will reach highly relevant audiences. Do you offer Human Resource products available now that are unique and exclusive? Microsoft Advertising can help promote them effectively!
Advertiser Networks
Other networks allow you to run a PPC campaign. If you run an eCommerce shop on Amazon, you can also directly run a PPC campaign on Amazon.
PPC campaigns can also be run on platforms such as Facebook or LinkedIn.
PPC Ad Formats
Its now time to consider the formats of your ads. You may get more traction with different formats depending on the nature of your business.
Its therefore important that you understand what each format offers and its benefits.
Ads Search
Search ads are your core PPC ads; these text ads usually appear first in SERP results pages (SERP). With search ads you can target people searching for related products or services regardless of how general their query may be (ie: software program/book etc).
Text and targeting are the two key components of search ads, while Google is trusted by many people to deliver ads which meet their needs and answer their inquiries.
Do you believe people wont click on an advertisement because it is annoying? Not true! Most of them possess high levels of confidence when it comes to their ability to recognize advertisements; according to a survey, 63% said that they would click an ad from Google if it answered their query; with 49% preferring text-based advertisements as they saw fit.
Takeaway: Ads that offer something relevant and valuable will likely be positively received.
Advertising for Shopping
Shopping ads can be an excellent way of reaching searchers with high levels of commercial intent. Google displays ads for shopping when it determines that someone searches with high commercial intent; additionally they appear both within search results pages as well as Google Display Network ads.
Shopping ads typically include images and information regarding products they feature; including product photos and titles along with titles for stores and prices as well as any relevant details that would help customers purchase what interests them quickly and conveniently.
Shopping ads provide businesses with an effective method for reaching potential customers who may already possess credit cards in hand by showing an image of what may interest them before showing it directly to customers in need.
Shopping ads have quickly become one of the most effective forms of advertisement, accounting for 58% of clicks according to a report.
Text ads experienced an 18% average CPC increase while shopping ad costs only increased 6% year over year in 2020.
Display Ads
Display ads appear as banner ads or in other forms across various websites and apps, such as those operated by Google which currently shows them on 35 million websites worldwide - providing your business an effective means of reaching potential customers who might have searched but found nothing relevant yet interested enough in you or what they offer to look up later.
Display ads can help businesses to retarget potential clients who might otherwise go unnoticed across different channels and locations.
Fascinating Fact: Over 90% of Internet users in the world view display ads - providing you with an opportunity to increase brand recognition among new clients while simultaneously decreasing click-through bounce rate for display ads (they tend not to attract as much attention than search or shopping ads as people wont necessarily be searching for what it contains), leading them to stick in peoples minds longer term and lead them closer to your product/service/brand.
Videos
Videos are shown on YouTube and other sites in the advertising networks. You will need to put in more work if you want video ads since they require a commercial.
Video can work well to engage your customers. It would be best if you thought about the types of video ads before you create your video ads.
Read More: E-commerce Google Ads Automation: 8 successful strategies
Ads That Can Be Skipped In The Stream
They can be played before, after, or during videos. The ads play for 5 seconds, and the viewer can choose to skip them.
It would be best if you made your first five-second ad extremely captivating to keep viewers from skipping. You dont have to pay if someone doesnt watch the entire ad. Only if the person watches the 30-second ad (or all of it if the ad is shorter) or interacts with the video will you be charged.
Ads That Are Not Skippable
The ads are 15 seconds long or shorter, and viewers cant skip them. You pay for each impression in this situation, which means you are paying every time the ad appears.
Bumper Ads
The bumper ads are shorter versions of the in-stream advertisements. These ads can raise awareness by delivering a short and humorous message.
These ads are only six seconds long and cant be skipped. You are charged per impression.
Video Ads In The Feed
The ads are shown in areas where users discover content-for example, the YouTube search results. The thumbnail of your video will appear in search volume results, and viewers can then click on it to watch the video.
Your ad thumbnail is clicked by someone, and you pay for it.
Outstream Ads
They are mobile-specific ads. These ads dont appear on YouTube but only on the websites of Googles partners. Googles video partners are publishers of high quality, vetted and approved by Google.
Videos start off muted, but viewers can unmute them. If someone views the advertisement for at least 2 seconds, you pay.
Discovery Ads
Discovery ads appear within Google Apps or Gmail feeds as well as YouTube. Theyre meant to be engaging and customized; only appearing when viewers want to discover something new.
Discovery Ads work similarly to display ads, yet are better at driving sales teams rather than increasing brand recognition.
One might see one displayed in Gmail Accounts Promotions or Social Tab for instance.
Discovery ads feature automatic campaign settings; therefore you cannot tailor delivery methods, target devices, place ads or any of the other options available with other types.
Instead, Google selects targeting based on viewer activities online - saving both time and letting Google utilize its machine learning algorithm to optimize your campaign on its own!
Start your PPC Campaign
Are you ready to start? Before you create your PPC campaign, there are some things that you need to know.
Advertisement
You show your audience ads. Ads should be optimized with engaging copy and relevant images and videos, depending on the type of advertisement you use.
You must target your ads to communicate quickly and encourage clicks.
Start by analyzing your PPC competitors if you are looking for ideas for new ads. Its important to see what your competitors have been running so you can make sure your ads align with the industry but also are unique.
Ad Groups
Ad groups include several ads with targeted keywords. Imagine you have created several ads with the same audience in mind.
Then you would group the ads in an ad group, select the keywords which will trigger the ad to be displayed and bid. You can organize your ads into groups based on common themes. Ad groups can be created for the different types of services or products you are advertising.
Within a single campaign, you can have as many ad groups as desired.
If you are selling shoes, for example, you could create a group of ads that promote running shoes. The keywords for this ad would be running shoes.
Create a group of ads for soccer cleats that include keywords related to the soccer shoe.
Campaigns to Promote Your Business
Pay per Click campaigns consist of several ad groups that are all set up with the same budget, target location, language and bidding strategy.
Create different campaigns to achieve different objectives, target different areas, or allocate a budget to specific ad groups.
Key Words
PPC (pay per click advertising) can be an integral component of your campaign as keywords influence when and where ads will appear.
Spend some time performing PPC research before beginning any ad campaign to ensure accurate targeting and selection of appropriate keywords that result in clicks and impressions.
As with anything, when selecting keywords it is imperative that a strategy be employed when choosing them. You need to be aware of which have high levels of competition or demand or popularity before looking for opportunities where you could capitalize.
Researching long-tail keyword phrases might prove effective at yielding great results.
Search keywords by phrase match, exact match or broad matching; related searches are also provided.
What Is The Importance Of PPC Marketing For Ecommerce?
PPC marketing and advertising are essential to the E-commerce business.
Your brand is largely virtual, so it is important that you capture your audience through advertising online and drive them into your shop.
Take a look below at some of the key benefits that PPC marketing can bring to eCommerce brands.
Fast Traffic Boost
PPC can bring new visitors to your website or shop almost instantly.
The increase in traffic will help improve your conversion rate and attract new customers to your product.
Contributes to Business Goals
PPC can be used to help achieve business goals and revenue targets.
It is a strategy that can provide fast results. You can achieve your goals quickly, whereas other strategies, such as content marketing, can take many months or even years to produce significant returns.
Ads that are Targeted and Controlled
PPC advertising models such as Google Ads give you not only control of your budget but also the audience you want to target.
PPC allows you to target specific groups of people instead of displaying your ads for anyone who clicks on the keywords in your ad.
You can use this information to tailor your campaign to specific groups of people.
Helps Manage Marketing Budgets
Advertisement budgets are sometimes out of control, especially when trying to compete with large brands that have seemingly endless spending power.
PPC advertising helps you to manage your budget because you only pay when the ads are clicked.
Keyword research tools can be used to identify keywords with lower costs per click because they are less competitive.
Eight Best Practices in Ecommerce PPC Management
To run a successful PPC campaign, you need to include a few aspects of eCommerce PPC Management in your strategy.
You can increase the success of your campaigns by implementing good practices and making sure that everyone in your team follows through.
These eight tips will help you manage your brand effectively:
Increase Your Ad Click-Through Rate
CTR is the ratio of those people who view your ad to those that click it. Clicks are the first step in bringing leads through the funnel and into an eCommerce transaction.
To improve your click-through rate, you need to optimize your advertising copy to encourage more people to click.
You can use PPC platforms to monitor different responses and determine which messages are most effective.
Select the Right Keywords
It is important to conduct keyword research to identify keywords related to the industry you are in and your product offering.
Search engines will look for keywords with long tails that are closely related to the queries you enter. You will not only get traffic looking for the exact solution you are offering but users that are also ready to purchase.
Add Negative Keywords
You can add keywords or searches you do not want to appear in. You can use this to filter users you know will not click or convert because what they search for isnt your product.
Negative keywords not only help you to avoid users that arent interested, but they also allow you to manage your campaign at a very fine level.
Optimize your Product Pages
PPC marketing for eCommerce brands has one goal: to drive traffic to your store. If your product pages dont have the right optimization, you will lose new customers who wont return to your website and disregard your ads in future.
Making the purchase process as easy as possible is key to optimizing your page. This includes using clear and relevant information and images or videos that help to sell your products.
Download Product Feed
The product feeds you submit to Google Shopping, or other channels will help your products to be displayed correctly in the listings.
If your product feeds are outdated or incorrect, they can cause you to lose customers and damage your brands reputation.
Update your product feeds immediately after a product is launched.
Make A Good Shopping Cart Experience
You need to enhance the user experience to encourage them to check out. First, you need to choose the best shopping cart software.
Do not try to save money by choosing a low-quality shopping cart program.
You need to make sure you understand the entire buying process. Make sure the instructions for customers are easy to follow, that the shopping cart is designed to encourage check-outs and that the forms dont overwhelm the customer.
Google Shopping Ads
PPC is not just Facebook Ad Words and Google Ad Words. It has expanded to other ad formats, such as Google Shopping Ads.
The ads that appear on the first page of search results when users enter a product-related keyword are called these.
Google Shopping Ads can be managed and optimized just as other Google ads.
Use Dynamic Targeting in Your Campaigns
You can run multiple campaigns using dynamic targeting on the same site. This dynamic advertising will organize all your eCommerce services and products into categories.
These can then be filtered by each user and can also be used to target leads that have bounced off your website.
The Conclusion
Your team and yourself must invest both effort and time in managing eCommerce PPC successfully, or else the campaign wont be nearly as successful - not all brands can spare the resources for proper administration of PPC advertising campaigns.
Companies providing Ecommerce PPC Management provide an ideal solution for brands who recognize the benefits of PPC advertising but lack internal resources to manage it themselves.
Experienced PPC managers familiar both with general PPC campaigns as well as eCommerce-specific PPC strategies can ensure maximum impact from each of your campaigns.
By hiring third-party managers to oversee your pay per click (PPC) campaign on your behalf, it allows you to focus more time and resources on other important tasks - like devising digital marketing strategies.
