As the web continues to grow, an increasing number of websites compete for the same digital real estate on search engines and they compete using search engine marketing tactics (SEM) that can be either paid or organic. A well optimized website can help your business to rank high in organic searches and appear on the first page of search engine results, but organic search tactics are rigid and you can’t control how far or how fast your website will move up in the rankings. This is why a website can benefit immensely from paid search advertising. It is only through an effective paid search strategy using a variety of tactics, that a website can gain adequate exposure to the right people at the right time with the correct messaging. This is because with paid search you have the flexibility to pivot and make continual changes to impact search results. Read on to learn more about paid search ads and gaining exposure from active potential customers/clients searching for your business or products/services.
What Exactly is Paid Search Advertising?
Paid search is part of an inbound marketing strategy for a number of businesses across different industries and locations. Inbound marketing is rather distinctive from traditional forms of advertising and marketing,such as print and TV, where messages are directed at passive audiences.Today smarter consumers use search and social network sites to actively research, read reviews and get feedback about products and services before making purchase decisions.
The most common types of paid advertising are done through search engines, such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, Yext, and a variety of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. When you advertise online with paid search, you can use different targeting methods to reach potential customers right when they’re searching for your products or services. You decide what your budget is and you pay only when someone interacts with your ad, like clicking your ad or watching your video. You choose your own budget, bids, keywords, ad copy, & landing pages depending on what is the best for your business and your goals. It is also possible to segment audiences by demographic and various other settings. Constant monitoring of your campaigns progress is critical to optimizing your ads for the greatest results and a greater ROI on your paid advertising program.
How Can Businesses Benefit from Paid Search Advertising?
Paid search advertising can help virtually any business establish a web presence and brand recognition, as well as providing a steady stream of new leads and website traffic. With proper understanding of your target audience and relevant keywords, paid search advertising can offer a number of benefits over other forms of advertising. Want to know more?
- Build Brand Awareness: Paid search advertising increases the visibility of your website and raises brand awareness, much quicker than other forms of advertising. With controlled messaging that can be updated easily, it is possible to shine the light on brand values and identity. Moreover, consumers also tend to be more trusting of brands featured regularly on the first page of search engines. So paid search marketing will not only get you more attention from your target audience but you are more likely to build trust and also improve the chances of your brand being referred to others.
- Advertisers Only Pay for Clicks: With a pay-per-click (PPC) bidding model, you do not pay for an ad to be displayed on non-relevant search terms/keywords, thereby limiting wastage. With PPC, advertisers only pay for clicks leading to your website or landing page. You still get all the free exposure and additional views (called impressions) of your ad and company name if someone does not interact with the ad as well. This is one big reason that makes paid search particularly valuable for branding campaigns.
- Transparency: With improved features in analytical tools, such as Google Analytics, it is possible to monitor the performance of every advertising dollar. Everything with paid search is measurable based on conversions, such as lead generation, sales, etc, down to the ad group and keyword levels so that you are aware of what’s working and what may be underperforming. It gives you the ultimate power to boost your marketing strategy or make changes to any unsuccessful component in your ad campaign. You can make decisions holistically based on the future goals of your business.
- Highly Targeted: Paid search advertising doesn’t just increase the traffic to your site, it is also highly targeted because the person performing the search has to be actively looking for something related to your business and then click on your ad after looking at the advertising information. As mentioned above, you can control your paid search campaign on platforms such as Google AdWords and Bing Ads with specific keywords, target specific devices being used, ad positioning, day of the week, time of day, and so much more. It is even possible to reach potential clients locally or halfway across the world by geo-targeting searchers down to their city or even cover a radius around a zip code, state, country, or regions of interest. Relevant ads that provide benefits for target customers inevitably leads to a high click through to your website and ultimately more conversions/leads/sales.
Paid Search Advertising Works
Implementing a marketing strategy that includes paid search engine advertising is sure to lead to business growth and success on the web. No business can overlook paid search advertising because it can lead to fast results and if done correctly, a good ROI. According to the Internet Advertising Revenue Report, the search ad revenue represented 50 percent of the total digital ad revenues in the US at $32.7 billion for just the first half of 2016. If you don’t want to leave money on the table for your competitors, then get on the paid search advertising bandwagon. Local Directive can provide the expertise to help run your paid search advertising campaigns more effectively in order to turn them into a money-making machine. Please feel free to reach out to our team for guidance.
