What is PPC? A Simple Guide to Pay-Per-Click Advertising

If you’ve been dipping your toe into the world of online marketing, you’ve likely heard about PPC. It’s a term that’s been thrown around a lot recently, but what does it actually mean? And more importantly, should you be using PPC for your business?

In this blog, we break PPC down in simple terms. From what it is to how it works and the benefits it can have for your business. So if you’re ready to give PPC a closer look, let’s get into it!

What is it and how does it work?

PPC stands for Pay-Per-Click, and that pretty much sums up the whole process. It’s a type of online advertising in which you only pay when someone clicks on your ad.

That means, essentially, that you’re buying visits to your website. As opposed to gaining them naturally from search results, or by generating great content that people come to your website voluntarily.

It’s everywhere

In fact, if you’re reading this you’ve likely seen PPC ads a thousand times without realising it. It’s everywhere, the “Sponsored” results at the top of Google, the carousel of products that appears when you search for things like “best running shoes”. Even ads on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube are usually PPC.

The ins and outs

It’s not actually that complicated. The whole process is based around choosing some keywords or target audiences, creating some ads, and bidding for how much you’d like to pay when someone clicks.

To do this, you’ll:

1. Select your platform – The most popular platform is Google Ads, but you can also run PPC on Bing, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Amazon, TikTok and others
2. Select your keywords or audiences – For search ads, you’ll bid on keywords that you think your ideal customers will be typing into Google. For social or display ads, you’ll pick traits of the audiences you want to reach (based on things like age, interests, or behaviour)
3. Set your budget and bid – Decide how much you want to spend per day, and how much you’d like to bid per click. You’re always in control here
4. Write your ads – Get creative here. Write compelling headlines, descriptions and calls to action
5. Launch your campaign – Your ad will now compete in an online auction. The platform will then consider your bid, along with ad relevance and landing page experience to decide when and where your ad appears
6. Pay when someone clicks – If no-one clicks, you don’t pay a penny. Easy

Why do people use PPC?

Businesses big and small use PPC and for good reason. Whether you’re a startup who’s just opening your online doors, or a more established company wanting to scale up, there are plenty of benefits.

Here’s why PPC is so popular:

• It’s quick – Search engine optimisation (SEO) is slow. But with PPC, your campaigns can start sending traffic to your website almost immediately.
• It’s targeted – You can pinpoint specific people based on what they’re searching, where they are, or who they are.
• You can control the budget – Set a daily spend limit that works for you, then pause, increase or adapt campaigns whenever you like
• It’s measurable – Track clicks, impressions, and conversions easily. This makes it simple to see your return on investment
• It boosts other efforts – SEO, content, and email are all more effective when used in conjunction with PPC.

Plus, when done properly, PPC can be highly cost-effective. In fact, many businesses achieve an average return of about £2 for every £1 spent.

Different types of PPC advertising

There are various types of PPC ads, each with its own strengths and focus. Depending on your goals, you can choose from:

• Search ads – Text ads displayed in Google when someone searches for something
• Display ads – Banner-style visual ads shown on websites all across the internet
• Shopping ads – Ideal for ecommerce businesses, these showcase product images, prices and links in search results
• Video ads – Short, video-based ads that play before or during YouTube videos
• Remarketing ads – Target users who’ve visited your website before but didn’t take the desired action
• Social PPC – Social media ads which often blend in with regular content and appear in users’ feeds.

Most businesses will use a combination of these PPC types. It all depends on your goals, budget and industry.

PPC vs SEO (and everything else!)

PPC gets mentioned in the same breath as a lot of other terms: SEO, SEM, and other bits of digital marketing jargon. So let’s clear it up:

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) – is all about earning visitors through content and keywords. It’s a slow process but essentially free.

PPC – on the other hand, is all about paying for instant visibility. It’s fast, but at a cost.

SEM (Search Engine Marketing) – is an umbrella term that covers both SEO and PPC

CPM or PPM – is “cost per thousand impressions”. In other words, you pay for views, not clicks. This is more common for brand awareness campaigns

Potential pitfalls of PPC

PPC isn’t a silver bullet. It’s an ongoing process that takes time, testing, and planning to get right. Here are a few things to consider:

• It can get costly – If you’re in a competitive industry, high-value keywords can cost several pounds per click
• You have to optimise – Failing to track and optimise your ads’ performance is a fast way to burn through a budget
• It stops when you stop paying – Once your budget is used up, your ads stop showing. For this reason, PPC should always be used in tandem with more long-term strategies such as SEO and content marketing

Working with an agency?

It’s possible to run PPC in-house, but if you’re new to it then it’s easy to leave money on the table. For this reason, many businesses choose to work with PPC agencies, such as us here at Hagerty Digital.

A good PPC agency will offer support with:

• Keyword research
• Writing ads that convert
• Managing your budget and bids
• Testing your landing pages with A/B testing
• Tracking conversions and calculating ROI

If you’re keen to see fast results but don’t have the time to do it all yourself, then partnering with an expert will be worth it.

The future of PPC

PPC is going through a major transformation. Automation and AI are the name of the game right now, with platforms such as Google offering automated “smart” bidding strategies that adjust themselves to maximise performance.

At the same time, changes to data privacy (such as moving away from cookies) are forcing advertisers to get more creative with their targeting and tracking. This is an exciting (but challenging) time in PPC, so flexibility is key.

Wrapping it up

PPC is a quick, targeted and measurable form of digital marketing. Done well, it can also drive serious ROI.

If you’re looking to launch a new product, reach new customers, or just want more eyes on your website, PPC is well worth a look. In fact, with its immediate impact, it’s an excellent place to start.

Need some help getting started? We help businesses just like yours make the most of their digital marketing efforts including PPC. So get in touch and let’s chat about how we can deliver results for you.