B. Pay Per Click (PPC)
Google, Yahoo and Bing sell advertising space on the sides and at the top of their search results. These paid results are ads displayed in an order that is established through a bidding process. The ads displayed in higher positions have higher bids than those displayed lower on the list. Advertisers only play if they receive a “click” from a browsing customer (thus the name, “pay-per-click”). Any business that is willing to invest (or bid) enough will have their message readily displayed in front of an extremely targeted audience.
- Advantages: The primary advantage of a CPC campaign is that it is relatively easy and quick to set up. New businesses, or businesses introducing new product lines, are able to bring targeted traffic to their website almost immediately. Another advantage of CPC is the ability to focus on small local regions as well as added control over the marketing budget.
- Disadvantages: The primary disadvantage of a PPC campaign is the ongoing expense. If two hundred visits cost approximately $150 today, the same two hundred visits will cost the same $150 or more a year from now. For businesses that have a simple business model and a high converting website, this is not necessarily a problem. However, many businesses prefer to invest in a marketing strategy that accounts for sustained, long-term growth.
“It is essential that a ppc campaign be set up correctly. The cost of a campaign can easily be 2-3 times what it should be if it is not set up by an expert. If your montly ppc budget is more than $500.00 we can usually save you more than the cost of our fees by eliminating poor targeting and fixing imporper optimisation”
-Jarrod Wright Owner