So you want to get into pay-per-click marketing, but you have no idea where to start. Maybe you have been reading all the success stories from bloggers about how they doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled their conversions overnight. Maybe you have some experience and want to know enough to take it to the next level. Either way, pay-per-click is a powerful eCommerce marketing tactic that has the potential to be a game-changer for your business.

What is pay-per-click marketing?

Pay-per-click marketing, or PPC for short, is a type of online advertising that allows you to get your message in front of people who are actively looking for it. If someone types in keywords related to your business, the search engines will display ads featuring these terms on their results pages. You can get specifically targeted traffic this way using the keywords people type into search engines to find what they need.

How can PPC benefit you?

What you really want to know is how it will work for your business.  That’s the wonderful thing about PPC marketing—there are so many different ways it can benefit you.

  • Easy to measure results. One of the most important parts of running a successful PPC campaign is tracking your conversions and measuring their success. You can quickly see how much each keyword, ad, or landing page is making you, helping you make better decisions about where to spend your money (and save money)!
  • It’s flexible. If things aren’t working well with your current PPC campaign, all it takes is a few hours to make some changes and get new ads up and running.  If you can double your conversion rate by simply adding some new keywords to your campaign, then why not go for it? You can set up multiple ad groups, each with its own keywords and ads, so you can try different things with no problem! It’s easy to scale up if your ads are working, but just as easy to scale them back down if you’re spending too much.
  • Targeted traffic. When you sign up with a search engine, you can be sure that PPC will attract real people who are looking for what you’re offering. No wasted budget on generic display ads full of random images and titles; no need to wait around for someone to accidentally click on your ad and give you money (although we like it when that happens). When you’re running a pay-per-click campaign, your ads will be seen by people who are already interested in what you have to offer.
  • No more wasted budget. One of the biggest benefits of PPC is that you only pay when someone clicks on your ad, rather than just getting charged for showing the ad to thousands of people who aren’t interested in it at all. If you run a display ad campaign, the amount of money you spend will probably be much higher than the number of clicks, because you’re paying for a ton of impressions that don’t actually result in any business.

How do I get started?

The first and most important thing you need to do is identify your target audience.

What kind of people are going to become your customers? What will they be looking for? Where will they be looking? If you aren’t talking directly to your target audience, then chances are slim that someone looking for that information is going to see your ad and click on it.

The next step is to choose keywords.

Once you know your niche and what websites they visit, you can figure out which keywords to use in your pay-per-click campaign. The best way to do this is by using Google’s Keyword Tool, which can give you an idea of how many people are searching for specific keywords. If you aren’t seeing much activity for something like “organic pest control,” then chances are you don’t want to put all your eggs in that basket!

You can also use the keyword tool to figure out how competitive the terms are – the more popular a term is, the higher the competition rate is likely to be. If you notice a lot of people bidding on particular keywords, consider looking for a different keyword with fewer competitors to try and improve your campaign.

Choose what types of PPC you want to use.

Search engine advertising is the most popular type of PPC because it’s super easy to use—you don’t have to make a profile or post anything on anyone else’s site to advertise there.

There are other types of PPC that might work better for your business, though, including social media advertising, PPC display ads, remarketing campaigns, and more. There are many different types of PPC advertising available online, so choose which type will work best for your business needs!

Paton Marketing is an eCommerce agency based in Miami offering a full suite of digital solutions, pay-per-click advertising included. Learn more about PPC ads with some advanced strategies that you can use to grow your business. With our team of marketing specialists on your side, you’ll be well on your way to success!