How’s your search engine positioning? When customers search Google or Bing for your offerings, do you show up in the top four spots? Unless you have PPC advertising, the answer is no. These coveted positions are paid for by companies who know the investment is essential to their growth.
Sure, if your company has excellent SEO, you might show up on the first page organically. But, you still won’t be at the top, making it likely users will click on another company first. And, if you’re on the second page…you might as well not show up at all. Sorry – 75% of users never scroll past the first page of search results.
The fact is – your company needs to have PPC advertising in today’s world to thrive.
Quick Breakdown of PPC Advertising
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is when a company pays to have their website show up in the search results for relevant queries. So, if I type “flat flex cable” into Google, the top four results are paid ads from manufacturers who offer this product (see screen shot below). That’s the two-sentence breakdown of PPC advertising — for a more thorough description, feel free to check out our blog on it. Now, on to why your company can’t afford not to invest in this form of digital marketing.
- Your competition does it
Seriously, take a look at the search results page. When you search for your product, I guarantee some of your competitors show up. You could be giving away loads of business to your competition because they’re showing up before you on Google. If you don’t strike back against their marketing tactics, your sales could plummet.
- You’ll reach potential customers WHEN they’re looking for your product/service
Door to door selling doesn’t work anymore. People don’t answer…or worse, they shut the door in your face. Sales today is about excellent timing – reaching that customer at the exact moment they have a need for your offerings. PPC offers this solution. It brings your business in front of customers at the perfect time, making them much more likely to convert into a sale.
- You’ll get Immediate results
Other marketing methods take time. Whether doing SEO, print advertising, or social media branding, these efforts don’t deliver immediate results. Building a brand and improving SEO provide long term returns. It’s also difficult to measure their success. Conversely, PPC brings customers to your website as soon as your campaign goes live — which means you could be getting sales and RFQs from day 1. Not to mention, campaigns are trackable, so you know when your leads come from paid search ads. If your business is struggling with sales, PPC is arguably the fastest way to bring in more income.
- You’re visitors will be highly targeted & relevant
When you buy a print ad, you never really know who’s going to see it. With PPC, your visitors are highly targeted. You get to pick the keywords that cause your ads to show up on the search results, so you know all the traffic coming to your site is qualified. You can also control demographics and geography, and add extra information to your ads to ensure visitors understand your offerings before they click.
- The ROI is impressive
PPC is affordable for anyone. You get to set your budget – no matter how big or small. And, the results are impressive. Solid PPC campaigns easily pay for themselves with the revenue they bring in. According to Google, businesses make an average of $8 in income for every $1 they spend in AdWords. I know it can sound hard to believe – but it’s true! Our clients see similarly impressive returns.
To end, PPC is one of the best things you can do to grow your business, but it isn’t easy. It’s important to know what you’re doing when you start a campaign. Plenty of people have wasted money doing it because they didn’t understand the mechanics. Before you start, make sure you’re educated on the ins and outs of AdWords. Or, hire a professional or an agency like Web-Kare. Yes, it’s a little more expensive than doing it on your own, but the results will probably be better and you won’t have to worry about upkeep. Someone will always be actively managing your account.