Understand the Key Advantages of Pay-Per-Click (PPC) in Digital Marketing, Which Could Drive Better Results for Your Business

In the digital marketing model of PPC, advertisers incur a fee for each click on their ads. It’s a powerful tool for businesses to drive targeted traffic to their website and generate leads or sales.

In this blog post, we’ll explain PPC deeply, exploring its different types and formats, how it works, and the numerous benefits it offers. So, let’s dive in!

Anyone who has used Google or any other search engine, such as Bing and seen the ads that display search results is already familiar with the term “pay-per-click.”

Pay-per-click (PPC) is a paid online advertising method in which businesses pay only when someone clicks on their ad. This is an advertising model wherein users of search engines like Google and social media platforms like YouTube see advertisements from various advertisers. It’s a common way to drive traffic to a website.

PPC is a specialized component of Search Engine Marketing (SEM), which itself is a subset of Digital Marketing. Digital marketing encompasses all online marketing strategies including SEM, while SEM focuses specifically on increasing website visibility through search engines both as Paid and Organic (SEO). PPC is a paid form of SEM where advertisers bid on keywords to display ads at the top of search engine results and pay only when their ads are clicked.

PPC types refer to the broader categories or approaches within PPC advertising. They establish a comprehensive strategy and platform that will display your ads. There are several different types of PPC campaigns that you can run.

Here’s a breakdown of the most common types of PPC advertising:

This is the most common type of PPC campaign. Search Ads appear alongside search engine results pages (SERPs) when users enter specific keywords.

For example, if you are a Website Host company, you might create a search ad that appears when users search for “best website host”.

Search Ads are primarily text-based. This means the core ad format consists of headlines, description lines, and your display URL.

Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords) is the most popular platform for Search Ads.

Display ads, a type of PPC advertising, involve placing visual ads on multiple websites within a network of publishers who have consented to display them. Often, display ad format is text, banner, gif, sidebar, or pop-up. Users receive display advertisements depending on their browsing history, interests, and demographics.

For example, if you are a website hosting company, you might create a display ad that targets users who have visited websites that sell domain names or website builders.

The Google Display Network (GDN) stands out as the leading platform for Display Ads. Google Ads might show up among a massive collection of websites, applications, and videos.

These are ads that appear on social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and X (Twitter).

E.g. If you are a company that offers AI tools, you might create a social media ad that targets users who have liked pages about productivity or automation.

Social media ads come in a wider variety of formats. Examples include image ads, video ads, and interactive ads (such as polls, quizzes, playable content, etc.).

These are promotional messages sent directly to your email inbox, such as Gmail or Outlook. They are a form of email marketing where businesses aim to reach and engage potential customers by delivering targeted advertisements.

For example, if you are a website hosting company, you might send email ads to customers who have previously purchased domain names or shown interest in website builder tools.

Email Ads are primarily text-based, with images and possibly video embedded within the email content.

Email marketing platforms typically send email ads. The most popular platform is Mailchimp.

Shopping ads, also known as Product Listing Ads (PLAs), are product ads that appear on search engine results pages (SERPs) and on platforms like YouTube. These ads include a product image, price, and merchant information.

Example, if you are a camera drone retailer, you might create shopping ads for your various camera drone models.

Google Shopping Ads, a subset of Google Ads specifically designed for product advertising.

Remarketing ads, also sometimes called retargeting ads, are a powerful type of PPC. Users who have previously visited your website see these ads.

When someone visits your website, a small piece of code—Cookies or Pixels—is placed on the visitor’s browser. This code tracks their activity on your site without revealing any personal information. Data privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA require transparency about how user data is collected and used for remarketing.

Based on visitor behavior, such as visiting a specific page, abandoned cart, or engaging with your social media content, you can create remarketing lists on platforms like Google Ads or social media advertising. Those on these lists will then see your ads displayed on other websites they visit or on social media platforms.

The goal of these ads is to remind people about your brand and make them return to your website to complete a desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter. Remarketing ads can be a fantastic way to stay top-of-mind with potential customers who have already shown interest in your products or services.

These ads can come in a variety of formats, depending on the platform you’re using.

Remarketing Ads can be done on various platforms, such as Google Ads, Social Media, and other platforms.

These are advertisements that appear on video-sharing platforms like YouTube.

These ads can be a powerful way to capture attention and tell a story about your brand or product.

For Example, if you are an email marketing tool company, you might create a video ad that demonstrates how your tool can increase email open rates and conversions.

Note: There are Audio Ads, but they are not as common as video ads. Big platforms like Facebook and Instagram haven’t fully integrated them yet, but the fact that audio ads work well on podcasts and music streaming services suggests that social media sites could follow suit.

In-app advertising involves showcasing advertisements within a mobile application, offering a range of formats, including playable contents, banners, or videos. The ads especially work well for reaching consumers who use their mobile devices often.

For example, if you are a company that offers a memory cleanup tool, you may display in-app ads targeting users of photo editing or video creation apps, as these users are likely to have large media files and need more storage space.

Among the many forms in-app advertisements take are banner ads, video ads, interstitial ads, and native ads.

Mobupps is a well-established, leading platform in the mobile advertising landscape.

The Amazon Platform displays these advertisements. It’s a strong advertising tool that lets companies directly market their goods and services to Amazon’s huge audience. Similar to other advertising platforms, it’s a pay-per-click model, where you only pay when someone clicks on your ad.

For example, if you sell a camera drone on Amazon, you might use Sponsored Display ads to target customers who have shown interest in photography equipment or outdoor gear. This could involve displaying your drone ads on product detail pages for cameras, tripods, or camping gear.

These ads can be sponsored ads, video ads, audio ads, display ads, custom ads, or device ads (Ads targeted at specific Amazon devices like Fire TV or Echo). They target shoppers based on their search queries and purchase behaviors.

This type of online advertising connects businesses with potential customers searching for products or services in their area. When someone searches for something like “best drone repair or shop near me” or “best drone for a photography in London,” local search ads appear prominently at the top of the search results. These ads typically include a business name, location, phone number, business hours, reviews, and ratings.

App Store and Play Store ads are also a form of paid advertising that allows app developers to promote their apps directly within the respective app stores. These ads are designed to increase app visibility, drive downloads, and ultimately boost user acquisition.

App install ads are ads that allow users to install an app directly from the ad. They can appear on various platforms, including social media, search engines or within other mobile apps. The primary purpose of these types of ads is to drive downloads of mobile applications.

App install advertisements are available in a variety of formats to meet a variety of user experiences and platforms, such as Image-based Formats, Video-based Formats, Interactive Formats, Native Formats, Search and Display Formats.

Having covered the various types of PPC ads, we’ll now delve into the specific formats these ads can take.

Formats of PPC refer to your ad’s specific visual presentation within a chosen PPC type.

There are different formats of PPC ads, including text ads, banner ads, image ads, video ads, and responsive display ads (RDAs are visual ads that can automatically adjust their size, format, and appearance to fit any ad space). They’ll appear on search engines, social media platforms, and websites you visit.

A single PPC type (like Search Ads) can encompass multiple ad formats (like text ads or responsive display ads).

The number of PPC ad formats is vast and continually evolving. It depends on the advertising platform (Google Ads, Facebook Ads, etc.), the campaign type (search, display, video, etc.), and the specific goals of the advertiser.

PPC advertising functions like a behind-the-scenes auction.

Here’s a closer look at the process:

1. Setting Up the Campaign: You, as the advertiser, sign up for an advertising platform like Google Ads or one of the social media platforms.

2. Targeting Your Audience: Decide who you want to see your ads. This can involve choosing specific keywords, demographics (age, gender, location, interests), or even website behavior.

3. Bidding on keywords: Advertisers choose keywords that people might use to search for products or services similar to theirs. They then bid on those keywords in an auction system. In other words, you set a maximum amount you’re willing to pay each time someone clicks on your ad for a particular keyword. This bidding system is what makes PPC like an auction.

4. Ad Rank and Quality Score: Platforms don’t just pick the highest bidder. They evaluate your ad’s quality score based on keyword relevance and click-through rate. They then multiply your bid by your quality score to determine your ad rank.

5. The Auction and Displaying Ads: When someone makes a search relevant to your chosen keywords, an ad auction happens in milliseconds. The ad with the highest ad rank (considering both bid and quality score) gets the most prominent ad spot.

6. You Pay When Clicked: Only if someone clicks on your ad do you incur a cost, hence the name “pay-per-click.” The exact cost (CPC) depends on a variety of factors, including your bid, competition, and quality score.

Note:

Whether you pay when clicked or you pay when someone only sees your ad depends on how your campaign is set up for bidding on whichever platform you’re using. There are two main bidding options:

• CPC (Cost-Per-Click), and
• CPM (Cost-per-mile/thousand impressions)

CPC and PPC are related. They work together in online advertising. CPC is a metric used within PPC campaigns. It tells you how much you’re paying for each individual click on your ad. It helps you measure the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of your PPC campaigns.

When it comes to CPM, you pay each time your ad is shown one thousand times, regardless of whether someone clicks on it. This option can be useful for brand awareness campaigns, where you simply want to get your brand name in front of people.

PPC campaigns offer several advantages that deliver an immediate impact for businesses:

• Targeted Reach: Unlike traditional advertising, which has a scattered reach, PPC allows you to target your ideal audience.

• Faster Visibility and Traffic Generation: Compared to SEO, which takes time to show results or build organic ranking, PPC can get your website in front of potential customers almost instantly and provide instant traffic. This is especially helpful for new businesses or those launching new products or services.

• High click-through rate (CTR): PPC leads to a large percentage of users clicking your ad, then visiting your website, and finally results in increased sales revenue.

• Measurable Results: PPC provides clear data and analytics on your campaigns. You can track clicks, conversions (sales, signups, etc.), and calculate your return on investment (ROI). This allows you to optimize your campaigns for better performance and maximize your budget.

• Budget Control: With PPC, you set a daily or total budget for your campaign, giving you control over your spending.

• Flexibility and Testing: PPC campaigns are highly customizable. You can test different ad variations, keywords, and landing pages to see what resonates best with your audience. This allows for continuous improvement and optimization of your campaigns.

• Increased Brand Awareness: Even if people don’t click on your ad initially, seeing it repeatedly can increase brand awareness and familiarity. This can lead to future website visits or direct purchases when they’re ready.

• Complement Other Marketing Efforts: PPC can work effectively alongside other marketing strategies like SEO and Social Media Marketing (SMM).

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising is a dynamic and effective strategy that enables businesses of all sizes to reach their target audience. By comprehending the types, formats, and benefits of PPC, it is possible to create campaigns that generate high-quality leads, increase conversions, and drive important traffic.

It is important to keep in mind that PPC is a highly measurable channel, which enables you to closely monitor your performance and optimize your campaigns for maximum ROI. With careful planning, execution, and continuous optimization, It can be a powerful tool to achieve your business goals.

Thanks for reading.

Want to dive deeper into this topic? Check out our in-depth information on the 10 Market Research Tools Every Business Needs And Their Importance.