What is Pay-Per-Click?

In our webinar “Grow & Engage: Using Pay-Per-Click and Social Media Ads to Reach Your Audience”, we discussed pay-per-click and social media ads as options to use to grow and engage your audience. Read on to learn what pay-per-click is, how it works, when you would use it, and more!

Pay-per-click, or PPC, is an advertising method used to drive traffic to websites that includes running ads on sites like Google, Yahoo, and Bing.

How PPC Works

A business selects keywords they want to bid for, such as “Atlanta kids haircuts” or “Gwinnett County insurance agency”
Someone searches for those services or businesses using the keyword or keyword phrase in their search
That business (the hair salon or insurance agency) shows up in the search results. The business’ position of ranking will vary based on the bids.
The business is only charged if someone clicks on their ad.

When to Use PPC

PPC is a good option if you want to:

Convert a highly targeted audience who is lower in the funnel
Explore when you’re running a special offer or have timely information to share
Test different messaging options to compare Call to Action (CTA) success rates for longer running campaigns

PPC is also worth considering if you managing multiple locations by helping grow your search presence without adding a daily time commitment for creating custom content, saving you valuable time. It can also help you outperform your competitors if you’re in a competitor heavy market because additional funds make it easier to compete with other businesses in the area. This can increase your market share and expand your reach.

How PPC Funds are Spent

To get a little more advanced, let’s touch on how funds are spent in a PPC campaign.

Each click is like a small card swipe.
Before any ad is shown to a prospect, there is an acution.
That auction factors in the maximum spend that you’ve proposed and competition for those phrases.

You’re only charged for clicks, not views of your ad.

What You Need to Get Started with PPC

If PPC is the route you need to take, here’s what you need to get started.

Background info (how long you’ve been in business & the issues, problems and/or specifics that are relevant to your business and/or business locations)
Your local competitors
Target market information, including demographics, household income, and education level
Radius: The distance from your location you would advertise to
Goals: What you want to achieve with the campaign
Specific keywords or phrases you want to ad