Pay-per-Click or PPC marketing is seen by many as one of the best ways in promoting a business online. It is considered as the 1st logical step to be taken by marketers and business owners in testing keywords profitability and ROI before they tried their hands on Search Engine Optimization or SEO. But just like SEO, PPC has its share of advantages and disadvantages. Before you take the plunge into PPC, it is a good idea to know its pros and cons first so you can make the most of it.
The Pros of PPC Marketing
PPC Offers Retargeting or Remarketing of your Visitors
Remarketing refers to the effort of reaching people who have previously visited your website. The process can be easily done if you are using PPC marketing. Remarketing is an effective strategy primarily because most of the time visitors won’t convert easily from the first encounter and by using remarketing you are continually reaching them out and thus giving your ad a big chance in getting them to convert either as a lead or sale. Your PPC ads can appear either on search or display network.
PPC Gives You Measurable Results
The results in PPC are more measurable than that of SEO. This is because PPC networks such as Google AdWords provide different forms of metrics that enable website owners to see if their ads are really converting and giving them a reasonable ROI. These metrics allow you to see how many have seen your ad, how many clicked it, and how many performed the action you want them to perform.
PPC Allows You to Track ROI with Conversion Pixels
If you are running a PPC campaign, then it is important for you to determine which keywords, ad messages, and landing pages are converting. This used to be difficult to do since it involves tracking down to the keyword level but thanks to pixel tracking, it is now a painless process. Pixel tracking is easily done with the use of the tracking code that is standard feature of most PPC services including Adwords and Facebook Advertising.
PPC Gives You Quick Results
If you want to see quick results, then PPC is the method for you. Unlike SEO, this method does not require tons of patience. It is very easy to set up a PPC campaign through Google AdWords or through equivalent channels from other search engines. All it takes is three simple steps. First, you need to create an account. Next, you need to create ads and bid on keywords that you believe your target market will use to search for information on search engines. And lastly you have to point them to a very specific landing page for optimum performance. After doing these just sit back and wait for someone to click on your ad. And speaking of waiting, you don’t have to wait for long to see results with PPC. Assuming that you have a good ad and you have followed the steps of setting up a PPC campaign to the letter, your site will surely rank right away and you can also expect sales to pour in soon after.
PPC is Actually Affordable
Some people shy away from PPC advertising because they think it is expensive. But if you will really think about it, PPC is actually very affordable. Plus, the ROI can be quite huge. With PPC, you don’t have to pay for anything to have your ad inserted in a search engine via choosing to use the pay per click option. Unlike other forms of online advertising where you need to pay whether or not someone clicks your ad. PPC also allows you to set up your own budget. You can be as aggressive or as conservative as you want. As long as you know how much you are willing to spend, there is no danger of going over budget.
PPC Allows You to Track Your Ads in Real Time
To make sure that your ads are targeting the right people and that it is effectively bringing traffic to your site, you need to be able to track it. PPPC actually allows advertisers to track the effectiveness of their ads in real time. This means you get immediate information regarding the performance of your keywords and ad messages, the amount of traffic your ads are bringing in, how much of the traffic is being converted into sales, etc. With other forms of online advertising, you will only be able to see results months after the ads have been set up. Because PPC offers real-time tracking of ads, you can make adjustments immediately when an ad is not bringing the results you are after.
PPC Exposes Your Business Both Locally and Globally
No matter how good your ad is, it will be useless if it will not be seen by the right audience. If your ad is for a local business, for example, then it will be of no use to advertise it to the global market. On the other hand, if your ad is meant for an international audience, then advertising it locally would be limiting its potential reach. One of the best things about PPC marketing is that it provides advertisers the ability to control where their ads are exposed. This makes PPC ideal for both local and International brands and for both local business owners and Internet marketers.
PPC Provides Greater Control
If you are someone who wants to have more control of your online marketing campaign, then PPC marketing is the more ideal method for you. It is simply hard to predict visitor experience with SEO. This is because it does not allow webmasters to choose what page on their websites will show up on search engines. This makes it difficult, almost impossible even, to craft a strategic user-experience for your visitors, especially new ones. With PPC channels such as AdWords, you have a definite say on what page you want visitors to go to. So if you are the type of marketer or website owner who wants visitors on your site to follow a specific path, then you should do PPC marketing.
The Cons of PPC Marketing
PPC Can Be Quite Complicated
PPC and other digital marketing methods are all not easy including SEO. In PPC since there are a lot of variables involve and you will lose a lot of money if you are not careful, businesses find it rather difficult compare to other digital marketing strategies. This is why it may be a good idea to call someone to manage the PPC complexity to maximize your ad budget gave you optimum results for your business. This does not mean though that learning PPC is not for everyone. It just means that more time and effort is needed to learn on how to maximize PPC compared to other digital marketing strategies.
PPC Shares Advertising’s Woes
In the last couple of decades or so, people have grown skeptical of advertising and the advertising industry. This has led marketing experts Al Ries and Jack Trout to conclude a very controversial statement that advertising is dead and that public relations or PR has become a more effective marketing method than advertising. This statement leads some people to say that
Advertising is not be dead but it may not be as effective as it is used to be. This is the reason why some experts still believe that SEO – with its capability to increase organic results – is still more effective than PPC. But here in Digital Marketing Philippines we believe that complementing SEO with PPC is a reasonable and a great thing to do based on many studies we cited.
PPC is Not Free
The main reason why many people are still not using PPC is because of the fact that it is not free. If you are a small business owner, you will do whatever you can to save money. When it comes to Internet marketing therefore, SEO is the more logical choice. And if you don’t know what you’re doing with PPC, you can start piling on the cost very quickly. Some businesses even deliberately click on their competitors’ ads just to drive up their advertising cost. If you are a struggling entrepreneur, you can’t afford such a thing to happen to you. If you do choose to hire an expert to help you with your PPC campaign then that is another item to put under your expense list however it may be a great decision especially if you choose an experienced PPC marketer.
PPC Ads Disappear When Your Campaign Ends
If you publish a content on high-trafficked and popular sites in your niche, the content will be on the site for as long as it is in existence. It can work for you years after it has been published. On the contrary, PPC ads stop appearing when you stop paying. And when your ads get discontinued then the traffic and the sales that come with it will stop as well. If you have a big advertising budget, then this would not be a problem. But if you are cash-strapped, then you will find it hard to sustain a PPC campaign.
PPC Is Not A Sure-Fire Way To Get Sales
Some business people think that PPC is a sure thing. They think that just because they spent a significant amount of money for a campaign they are sure to get plenty of conversions. This is what many online marketing companies would like you to believe. But sadly, this does not represent reality. The truth is, conversions depends on many different things: the quality of your ad, your keywords, your product or service, etc. PPC is a gamble and if you are afraid to take the risk and of the possibility of losing money, then you should stay away from it.
PPC Firms Can be a Pain
It was mentioned earlier that many websites owners and online entrepreneurs turn to PPC marketing companies to run their PPC campaigns for them. This is a good idea as long as you know which PPC firm to work with. But there are also shady firms that gave a big and unnatural promise but cannot really bring actual results. To protect yourself from such firms it is a good idea to be a little bit skeptical. If the offer sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. Have realistic expectations from a PPC firm. A PPC firm, even the best ones, can help you set up and run your campaign but they cannot turn you into millionaires overnight. Before you sign up with a PPC firm, it is also a good idea to do a research first. The best firms are those who has years of experience doing PPC and can give client endorsement if needed be.
Truly, doing PPC marketing for your business has its Pros and Cons. As a business owner, you should be familiar with these things first before thinking about it or consider using it. Our goal on this post is to give the most honest and reliable information about PPC marketing. I hope that this article is a great help with you and your business.
Jomer B. Gregorio is a well-rounded expert when it comes digital marketing. Jomer is also known as a semantic SEO evangelist and practitioner. Check out our Digital Marketing Services today and let us help you in achieving positive and profitable results for your business.