PPC advertising can take a while to get your head around if you’ve never had a go at it before, but once it clicks it can be one of the best steps in online advertising you’ll ever take.

It’s often better if you start out with a low cost PPC campaign as picking keywords, writing copy and correctly managing your analytics won’t always go right the first time, in fact it definitely wont. However, once you move on up to bigger and better campaigns you’ll start seeing just how valuable PPC can be.

There will always be risks in any form of paid online advertising, but as with most things, the risks can often be worth it. So here are some of the ways PPC can be beneficial to businesses.

Harness the Power of Google and Beyond…

Anyone will tell you that Google is one of but a handful of internet entities that holds sway in any internet wielding country. Google’s network of services and applications now attracts over 1 billion visitors a month (as of May 2011) meaning it has more potential for PPC customers than any other website in existence. So, if you’re a business looking for world wide exposure, Google’s AdWords is somewhat of a no brainer.

Of course, Google AdWords has an array of location and language targeting which can be extremely beneficial for physical retail stores. However, with business putting more and more emphasis on ecommerce it’s crucial to look at other PPC outlets as they can prove to be a sort of mini Google for their specific industries.

Online directories are a great example of this, sites like www.webhostdir.com or www.clouddir.com, which act specifically as vertical search platforms for the hosted services industry, can prove to be just as beneficial to this industry as Google does. Directories will nearly always offer a more targeted audience of buyers that usually would have made at least one or two clicks to get to your ad in the first place.

It’s sites like these, as well as Google, that make us believe that PPC advertising can be beneficial for any business, in an industry; and if you can master the art of combining the two, you’re on to a sure thing.

Show me the Money… or Not

Another great thing about PPC advertising is that it can be relatively simple to determine whether or not you’re your ad is working, and even better, if it’s not working it won’t necessarily cost you very much, if anything at all.

For Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) or Search Engine Marketing (SEM) experts, tracking your PPC campaigns is as easy as ABC, but not everyone running a business or website has access to that kind of knowledge or can afford to pay the people that do.

For those of you who do need a helping hand, there are a variety of programs and tools around now that make tracking the effectiveness of your PPC campaigns simple. With Google AdWords you should probably be using Google Analytics which is designed with AdWords integration and is also free, which is handy if you’re just testing the waters and not looking to invest serious money.

If you’re running PPC through another outlet, like the directories example used above, then these sites will have their own PPC management systems and should update you on a regular basis. You should also always be in control of your own Cost per Click’s (CPC’s) and your daily maximum budgets etc. (unless you have opted for a managed PPC account then these will be agreed on with your account manager.)

Maximising these kinds of programs will (over time) start to give you a good idea of what different keywords and positions are working for you and will allow you to optimise your PPC campaigns to show you the highest possible Click Through Rate (CTR).

Get Social

Probably the biggest benefit to PPC advertising is the diversity of platforms for it. Social media sites have been the latest to jump on board with this idea and networks like Facebook.com, EBay.com and Amazon.com have started offering PPC advertising across their sites, targeting a huge array of potential customers.

As with all other PPC options, social media sites allow you to determine your audience by location, interests and age which can act as a solid advertising foundation for everyone from local businesses up to world famous fashion sites.

Scalability

Depending on how big your business/website is and how much effort you want to put into your PPC campaign, you could make PPC work on an extremely large scale.

With AdWords in particular Google make it very easy for you to run multiple campaigns at once, and of course you can set your maximum daily budget, maximum CPC’s, location, language etc for each individual one.

You can run up to 500 campaigns at once and target 3 million keywords (across all 500 campaigns), so if you really wanted to you could turn a significant percentage of your online marketing efforts to maximising your PPC’s.

It’s not recommended you do this solo, of course, and Google say that the majority of their AdWords users don’t ever hit 500 campaigns, but the sheer scalability of the program means you can easily adjust your SEM depending on your situation.

Go Direct to Directories

Elaborating on the directories point mentioned earlier on in the post, the most beneficial aspect of using directories for your PPC campaigns is that you’re almost guaranteed more qualified traffic than you’d get if you were using Google, for example.

The reason that directories work fantastically for PPC is that you’re already in the presence of qualified (potential) buyers who have, more often that not, landed on the directory from a specific and usually long-tailed, keyword (search query). Or even better, they’ve gone straight to the directory. This means they are already actively searching for the product/service you’re advertising.

Whether it be to research for the future or make a purchase right then and there, this type of visitor has shown a direct interest in your product/service and is far more beneficial to you than a visitor who has accidentally landed on the site. It’s vital to remember with PPC that although a high number of clicks may look good in your analytics, if the intent of the user is not there, clicks don’t mean anything.

Get Paid for PPC

Though it strays from the traditional pay per click route, there are some PPC variations that work almost in reverse of what you would expect. There are sites, Amazon being the biggest example, that will offer to pay you per click if you advertise a product of their on your site that is similar to your own.

Although reverse PPC like this wont bring you in shed loads of money, if you don’t mind advertising someone else’s product it can be a constant source of pocket change (as long as you can provide the traffic to generate the clicks).

Affordable and Scalable Marketing

There are literally hundreds of reasons why PPC is a great marketing investment; whether it be the ability to pause or change your ads at any time, almost instantaneous appearance and results for ads, or the fact that it allows for custom budgeting, PPC advertising can offer an affordable and scalable marketing solution for businesses of all sizes.

See also: Making the Most out of PPC Advertising

When it comes to online advertising you’re spoilt for choice with the variety of positions and types of ads available, the only hard part is picking one. Firstly, you need to be aware of which types of on-site ads are out there, then you’ll be able to weigh up which ones can help you with a successful advertising campaign.

Note: This guide focuses on more ‘traditional’ on-site SEM, such as banners and text ads, rather than more contemporary advertising that integrates the use of social media, blogs etc.

Text Ads/PPC:

Text ads are the oldest and most basic form of online advertising as they’re literally just text hyperlinks. Text ads can be placed anywhere on sites and are usually only a couple of sentences long, though the maximum limit is around 4 sentences.

Text ads rely on their wording to attract clicks and still have a respectable click through rate (CTR) when compared to banner ads or skyscrapers. They’ll usually be sold on a PPC (pay per click) basis, meaning advertisers are charged an agreed rate every time the link is clicked.

Cost: Low
Visibility: Usually Low
Business Size: All, however smaller businesses benefit from the low cost

Banner Ads:

Banner ads are probably the most popular online advertising option as the majority of sites will have banner advertising of some sort due to their size. Many sites are now opted into Google’s Display Network in which Google will place banners and other rich media ads onto participating sites.

Banners are typically 468×60 pixels so they nicely fit into most horizontal gaps and are often placed at the top of pages for maximum exposure. They can be static or an animated (dynamic) image and they’ll click through to the site of the company advertising. Banners are sold in pretty much every way going, including CPM (cost per 1,000 views), PPC (pay per click) or weekly/monthly/yearly charges.

Cost: Medium
Visibility: Medium/High depending on banner size
Business Size: All

Pop-Up/Pop-Under Ads:

Undoubtedly the most annoying type of online advertising is the pop-up ad. Pop-up’s happen when you open a certain web pages and your browser automatically opens up another page with the ad on.

They’re not always full pages though they always fill up a larger chunk of your screen with an ad that is more often than not, completely unrelated to your interests or the website you’re on. Pop-up’s are mainly just seen as spam now and are avoided by most marketers and advertising specialists.

Equally annoying are pop-under ads, which act in the same way as pop-ups except they remain behind the browser as opposed to appearing in front of the screen you’re currently working on. As they’re less imposing pop-under’s are seen as an acceptable replacement to the pop-up, but still vastly avoided by marketers.

Cost: Low/Medium
Visibility: High
Business Size: All

Unicast Ads:

Unicast ads are pop-ups that run TV commercials with full audio and video content. Generally, they’re regarded higher than other pop ads as videos, particularly commercials, can often be entertaining or humorous. They have a much higher CTR than generic pop-ups as they require a click through to access the actual website.

Cost: Medium/High (due to video production)
Visibility: High
Business Size: Medium/High

Skyscraper/Sidebar Ads:

Skyscraper ads, also called sidebar ads, are the vertical images or creatives that are usually found running vertically along the right hand side of a web page.  They work in the same way banner ads do, except they’re often visible for longer period of time as the length of them means you can’t scroll past them as easily. They tend to have a higher CTR, usually 2 or 3 times higher than banners.

As their visibility is high, skyscrapers are often used as a method of brand awareness and not necessarily just to attract potential sales/customers. Because of this, they don’t necessarily show a high ROI even though clicks may be high. Success with this type of advertising can only be measured on what the intended outcome is.

Cost: High
Visibility: High
Business Size: Medium/High

Floating Ads:

Floating ads speak for themselves. Floating ads hover, usually in the middle of your screen, when you access certain web pages. They can last anything up to 30 seconds and are often big enough so that you can’t see much else unless you click off or it times out. They’re usually quite targeted and have a good CTR although they’re often banded in the same class as pop-ups for being an unwelcome annoyance.

Cost: Medium/High
Visibility: High
Business Size: All

Peel Back Ads:

Peel back ads will usually appear in the top right hand corner of a webpage and will look like the corner of a page being peeled down (funnily enough). Once you click on it, it will completely peel back to reveal a full ad, obscuring a significant chunk of the page. Most of the time they’ll only feature on homepages, though they can be found throughout sites.

Cost: Medium
Visibility: Medium (depend on being clicked)
Business Size: All

Expanding Ads:

Expanding ads are similar to peel back ads and are often designed as banner ads that sit the top of a webpage. Once you roll over the ad with your curser (you don’t need to click) it will then expand to a larger ad or sometimes a video, again, obscuring a lot of the page and drawing your attention to it.

They’re always on homepages and are seen as a type of homepage sponsorship as the initial banner is usually larger than a typical 468×60 horizontal banner.

Cost: High
Visibility: High
Business Size: Large

Interstitial Ads:

Interstitial ads are full pages that can be inserted in between the current page you’re on, and the destination page you’ve just clicked through too. They’ll nearly always be relevant to the pages you’re on and can either be on a timer, giving the audience enough time to read them, or you’ll find a ‘Skip this ad’ button somewhere on the page (or often both).

They can contain static images but are often videos given the fact that they have a guaranteed and mostly targeted audience.

Cost: High
Visibility: High
Business Size: Large

For those of you trying to advertise on a budget, the thought of entering a contract and paying a set monthly bill may not be the most appealing offer. An alternative, which has quickly risen up the ranks of popularity in the last few years, is Pay Per Click (PPC) or Cost Per Click (CPC) advertising.

An easy choice for individuals or smaller businesses, PPC advertising combines a manageable deposit account with the simplicity of text and smaller banner ads. The main benefits of PPC is usually highlighted as the quality of traffic clicking on links.

Text ads and banner ads aren’t always the easiest to spot on sites that can often be rife with big towers or Google Display Ads. However, they are usually product specific which means that the traffic that does eventually click on them is often extremely qualified, expressing a distinct interest in the product.

It’s important to understand that PPC advertising isn’t as simple as writing a quick sentence about your product and hoping someone clicks on it. As with any other forms of online advertising PPC takes a great deal of time and consideration, and from content to context, everything needs to be thought out.

Here are some of the most important things to bear in mind if you’re either thinking about starting up a PPC account, or if you’re wondering why your PPC campaign isn’t working.

Content and Keywords

As PPC campaigns can rely on search engines like Google or Bing for their traffic, the content of the ads is vital if you want your links to be found, let alone clicked. Using one of the numerous keyword tools that are around you’ll be able to see which terms are most searched for around your product and how much competition you could be facing.

It’s always a good idea to consult with a keyword checker as it’ll give you a great foundation for your ad copy while helping you target the right audience – but it doesn’t stop there.

Now you’ve got your keywords you’ll need to pad around them, and here’s where it can get tricky. There’s a fine line between a persuasive ad and one that looks like spam. Remember that while a ‘Free’ offer might be a great thing, the word free has its own spammy connotations and you might find it to be a hindrance depending on the service you’re trying to offer.

For example, if you’re advertising tech products in a tech environment then your audience is probably well practised at spotting spam and may not be willing to put as much trust in your offer.

It’s also important to reinforce your product. Of course this is dependant on the kind of ad you’re running. You won’t have as much flexibility if you’ve got a small text ad but if you can maximise your word count then do it. It can help to emphasis the quality of your product and describe it in as much detail as you can but, don’t swamp your audience with information.

Call to Action!

The other thing you should always include in your PPC ad is a call to action – without one you’re audience isn’t being given direction, they’re not being told go to and buy your product or go and look at your website.

Using well placed and written ‘direct language’ can guide your audience to buying your product. A call to action also gives impact to your ad text, for example ‘Sign up now!’ is much more persuasive (and eye catching) than ‘You can sign up on our site’.

Considering Context

If you think you’ve got the perfect ad that maximises your keywords and gives your audience a call to action, then the next step is to find the right outlet.

Context is everything when it comes to advertising so it helps to think it through carefully and find a site that will give you an audience with your desired intent. There’s no point advertising your web hosting services on a website promoting lawnmowers, its just common sense and it certainly won’t get you clicks and sales – and you’ll end up paying for irrelevant clicks.

The easiest way to find the right advertising space is to use resources like forums or if you already have a site in mind then try and find reviews or talk to a member of the team to get an idea of things like site traffic and click through rates (CTR’s).

If you find the right advertising outlet, you’re more likely to find users with the right intent.

Managing your PPC

Even after you think you’ve mastered all of the above, you’ll never really get a representation of how good your ads are unless you manage your PPC campaign with an analytics tool.

Free tools like Google Analytics are easy to get your hands on and pretty simple to use. The best way to maximise them would be to run a couple of different ads at one time, try a mixture of the same ad on different sites, or use one site but maybe 2 different creatives/texts and see which combination of things is working for you.

Finally…

If you put all of these points together then you should be well on your way to managing a well placed and well written PPC campaign. Naturally, getting the balance of keywords, text, creatives etc. can take time so don’t be disheartened if your first, second, or even third and fourth campaigns don’t quite pan out.

Remember that PPC is a way of getting targeted traffic in an environment that suits your budget, so you can always be a little hesitant and opt for some low cost PPC’s/CPC’s to start with and build your way up from there.

See also: How PPC Advertising Can Help Your Business