Has your team thought about adding pay-per-click (PPC) to your digital marketing efforts, but you aren’t sure if it makes sense? It’s an important question to ask, not only because of your end goal — visibility in a particular market — but also the longevity you want to achieve. To help you decide whether this service is appropriate for your brand growth, consider the following factors.
PPC pushes you to the top…
When you use PPC, you’re essentially bidding for digital ad space that you will then turn around and pay for each time someone clicks on your linked ad. There are a few types of PPC available, but chances are that you’ll focus on the ones for search engines and social media. The former refers to the ads you see at the tops of search results; the latter are those on newsfeeds.
Proponents of PPC appreciate how quickly they can get their company’s name out in front of new leads, especially if they’re the top listing in a Google search. (After all, how many times have you technically clicked an ad after thinking it was the first search result?)
…but it gets costly to sustain.
PPC might sound relatively cost effective at first. Most platforms bill you $2 to $3 per click, compared to the hundreds or thousands of dollars you generate if that click becomes a deal. But, that’s assuming that you have an effective system in place internally to manage lead generation and close that new business. If leads aren’t converting, but you’re still getting a lot of clicks, those costs can add up very quickly in as little as a month’s time.
Stopping it will decrease your visibility…
It’s important to note that paid ads on search engines are not the same as search engine optimization (SEO), which is developed by ranking organically. If you decide to jump off the PPC bandwagon, says Search Engine Journal, your company’s name immediately vacates those ad spaces and is no longer at the top — unless, that is, you take the time to invest in a powerful SEO presence.
…so have a strong SEO backbone to cushion that shift.
SEO depends on several factors, not the least of which is valuable content. You want your keywords and your information to be relevant and positioned strategically in order to establish your digital credibility and increase your overall ranking.
Have questions about PPC, SEO, or other areas of digital marketing? Let us know by clicking the link below to schedule a free consultation.
