One of the biggest tasks on a small business owner’s plate is how to expose their products and services to their ideal buyers. In doing so, many marketing methods are considered including social media marketing, search engine optimization and—the focus of this article—pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. 

If your brand is online, PPC advertising often plays a crucial role in helping you achieve your company’s web objectives. Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and other similar ad platforms can all be used to place bids on relevant keywords and put your products in front of buyers. 

You may have heard of how important PPC advertising is, but how much do you really understand about it? We want to help you approach this marketing method with confidence, which is why in this article, we will address a few common questions small business owners may be asking. Let’s take a look!

What Does Pay PPC Advertising Cost?

The costs of PPC advertising vary and is a challenging question to answer specifically since the prices you’ll be charged are determined by a variety of variables, including the budget amount you’ll set for your campaigns; the keywords you’re bidding on and the traffic quantities; and the degree of competition and how aggressive they are. 

It’s usually a good idea to start with a test budget and a good understanding of your target audience. In some industries, you can cut the testing stage slightly shorter by paying close attention to what your competitors are doing. When you begin to generate traffic, it will be easier to evaluate performance and make tweaks to the parameters. 

One of the best things about PPC advertising is that you can control your budget and limit how much you want to spend. Therefore, begin by doing keyword research and then utilize the forecasting tool to determine how much you need to spend and how much money to allocate to your campaign.

How Long Does It Take to Set up PPC Campaigns?

Setting up Google Ads campaigns is simple and can be completed in a matter of hours. That said, the testing stage can take weeks to even months, especially if you have no experience. 

The type of campaign will also impact timing. Search campaigns, for example, are simple to start up and can be completed in a matter of hours. A shopping campaign, on the other hand, may take days or weeks to complete. That is due to the many features you must configure as well as the lengthy approval procedure.

Working with a skilled PPC advertising agency will cut down the time it takes to set up and help you obtain better results more quickly.

Does PPC Advertising Work?

Yes! Just take a look at the hundreds of thousands of companies that utilize it and statistics such as “businesses earn an average of $2 revenue for every $1 they spend in Google Ads” to demonstrate that it is effective for millions of firms. 

Of course, you are more concerned about whether it will work for the company or not. That is where you’ll need to do some study and generate some figures. Google Ads provides free research tools such as the Keyword Planner. It may be used to explore prospective keywords for your campaigns and provide statistics such as traffic levels and what you’re likely to spend. 

You can also use the forecasting tool to see how your advertisements will perform and where you will rank. All of this provides information about which markets are searching for your goods or services.

Why PPC Instead of SEO?

Truthfully, the term shouldn’t be “instead,” but rather “alongside.” PPC and Search Engine Optimization both deserve to have a place in your marketing strategy. However, many smaller companies only have a limited budget and must choose. The decision is typically based on cost. PPC is seen as expensive since there is always a fee, while SEO is perceived as inexpensive because there are no traffic expenses. 

You may be interested in SEO because of its arguably lower cost. However, both routes have advantages and disadvantages, and it is critical to understand them. One significant benefit of PPC over SEO is that traffic returns are immediate, while SEO traffic may take months and is not assured.

Final Thoughts

Whether you began your company yesterday or have been operating for decades, PPC may be the boost you need to gain an edge on your competitors or at least ahead of them in the search engine results pages (SERPs).

Are you looking for a reliable pay per click advertising agency to help meet your objectives? DiscoverMyBusiness is a good option that runs as an all-in-one online marketing solution! Contact us today to get a free consultation!