Pay-per-click advertising, often shortened to PPC, is a popular term you'll hear used in business, particularly amongst B2B business directors and marketing departments. But what is pay-per-click advertising, and what benefits can it have for your business? Time to find out.
What is Pay-Per-click advertising?
Sometimes known as cost-per-click advertising or PPC, pay-per-click advertising is a type of internet marketing using search engine adverts to generate clicks through to your website. You know those sponsored ads you often see at the top of your Google search results? They're PPC adverts – and they stand out from the crowd. Every time an advert is clicked, a visitor is sent to your website and you pay the search engine (such as Google) a fee.
When set up correctly, this fee is negligible, as PPC ensures visits to your site are worth far more than the fee you pay. For example, if you pay £1 a click but this results in a £500 sale, you're making a great profit! It's important that any PPC campaign is designed and implemented well, so that the advert is relevant to searchers and to ensure that clicks result in leads, and ultimately, sales for your business.
The Benefits of PPC
So what are some of the benefits to using this type of digital marketing? Well, there are quite a few – let's look at some:
It's Highly Relevant
There's nothing worse than being forced to see adverts you don't want to see – just think about how annoying things like pop-ups can be when you're trying to browse the web or carry out research online. Those searching the web for information don't mind seeing PPC adverts, as they're usually highly relevant to what they are actually searching for. In fact, studies show that users click on PPC ads more than any other type of digital advertising. Google, in particular, have an excellent means of making sure PPC ads are relevant to the searchers' needs.
Good Ads Equal Great Rewards
Google and other search engines don't just reward those businesses with the biggest budgets, and you don't need to spend a fortune on PPC to reap the benefits – great news for smaller B2B business, start-ups or anyone with a limited marketing budget. Search engines reward those with the highest-quality and most popular adverts. That means the more relevant and popular your adverts, the higher your click-through rates, resulting in lower costs to you.
Is PPC Right for Your Business?
Well, if you're still not convinced, have a think about your answers to the following two questions:
- Do you want to generate leads while keeping costs to a minimum?
- Are you looking to expand your customer base?
Of course, the answer is yes – regardless of what industry you're in. PPC advertising lets you connect with those who are searching for products or services like yours, and provide them with relevant advertising at a time when they're looking to purchase or find out more information. It's the timing that is the key – PPC targets a lead just when they're ready to buy, so the visitors you are targeting are already interested in finding out more or closing a sale, and you can bring those visitors to your site. PPC works for almost any kind of business but is particularly beneficial for B2B businesses.
Specific Benefits of PPC for B2B Businesses
If you're wondering what specific benefits PPC advertising can have for your B2B business, here are just a few:
- PPC lets you target a wider audience – did you know that almost all business purchases are researched online before a sale is closed?
- You can reach your audience instantly – 93% of B2B buyers use a search engine at some stage of the buying process
- PPC ads don't just have to be on search engines; consider social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn; 97% of business executives have a presence on LinkedIn
- PPC adverts can be launched quickly and drive traffic to your site almost instantly, for faster results than some other forms of advertising
- With additional traffic flow to your site, you'll grow your online presence and brand
- PPC makes it easy to maximise your return on your marketing investment – that's because it's simple to manage costs and track conversions to calculate your ROI because you only pay when the advert is clicked.
It's definitely worth considering pay-per-click advertising if you're a B2B business looking to drive traffic to your site and get more qualified leads; particularly if your marketing budget is limited or you're looking for an advertising solution that will help you achieve faster results.
