In an ever-changing digital world with no shortage of acronyms to master, SEO/SEM Specialist Matt Hoffpauir highlights the top PPC opportunities to support lead generation.
What is PPC Online Advertising?
PPC (pay-per-click) is an online advertising model in which advertisers pay each time a user clicks on one of their online ads. Although there are many other types of online advertising, the term PPC has stuck and is now commonly used when referring to any advertising done on the Internet.
While most services still charge per click, some platforms now charge per impression, or per video play. Some of the most common platforms for PPC are major search engines such as Google and Bing, but social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are also popular PPC online advertisers.
Top Online Advertising Opportunities
- Search: Search ads are one of the most common and effective online ad formats. When a customer searches your chosen keywords, you can display your text ad at the top of search engine results. Advertisers generally “bid” for the highest spots. There are dozens of techniques to help fine-tune the delivery so that it is only shown to potential customers.
Another great thing about search ads is that you can tailor your ads to people at all points of the sales funnel. People with urgent intent and immediate need of a service could get one bid strategy, and people that have lower intent and are just looking for an answer to a question can have a completely separate campaign. Quality keyword research is critical to find the right search terms for each campaign.
The targeting options are fantastic on search ads, and when done properly, they can spend your advertising budget very efficiently and get great results.
- Display: Display ads are graphic ads featuring either an image or an animation. They can be found in the form of banner ads on websites, display ads on mobile apps, ads that overlay YouTube videos and more. Some of the newest display ad types are Facebook Canvas ads, which fill the entire mobile phone and create an interactive experience that can include video and parallax scrolling tricks, such as content that slides into view as the user scrolls down through the advertisement.
- Remarketing: In some cases, it can take several ad impressions before a customer takes action. This is where remarketing comes into play. Every time a user visits your website or takes a specific action, we can track them and deliver your ads to them for several weeks afterward. This technique keeps your brand in front of them, reminds them they need your services and generally increases conversion rates at a very low cost.
- Video Ads: Video is an extremely influential and effective advertising format. One of the largest video ad delivery networks is YouTube and it pairs well with Google remarketing. A potential customer that visits your website or clicks your search ads can be delivered video ads afterward, or they can be used to target people by interests, geographic location, gender, age and countless other demographic options. You can also sponsor specific YouTube channels if they are monetized. At times, this allows you to place a sponsored ad directly onto other industry and competitor video channels.
- Geofencing: This powerful form of advertising allows us to place a virtual “fence” around a specific location and deliver ads to anyone that enters the area and meets all targeting requirements. They can also be triggered by a specific action taken within the area, such as clicking an ad or visiting a web page.
This is excellent for community-based businesses that want customers in their surrounding areas to know about them. It can also be used for fencing convention centers and competitors’ locations where potential customers will be. Ads can be delivered to those visitors through their mobile phones when they use apps and search online.
