Some digital marketing techniques rely on an organic approach to bring in web users and introduce them to a company’s products or services. Other techniques involve paid advertisements, such as pay per click (PPC) ads. PPC ads offer an excellent way to enhance brand awareness, particularly for small business owners, and to encourage more traffic and conversions.

The Fundamentals of PPC Ads

Search engines like Google process countless search queries every hour. Each time a user types in a search query, the search engine results pages (SERPs) feature PPC ads that are relevant to that search query. This allows marketers to place highly targeted paid advertisements on relevant pages. And, as the name suggests, pay per click ads are cost-effective. You’ll only pay for an ad when someone actually clicks on it—making it the ideal solution for budget-minded small business owners.

The Steps to Get Started with PPC Ads

The first step is to determine your PPC budget. One major benefit of PPC ads is that you can work within virtually any budget. First, figure out your monthly budget for these ads, and then divide by 30 to get your daily budget. Then, follow these next steps:

• CPC: Once you know your total budget, figure out how much you’re willing to pay for each click. Your maximum CPC is the highest amount you’re willing to pay per click.
• Keywords: Identify keywords for a single product or service—don’t try to advertise your entire business in just one ad. Long-tail keywords are ideal.
• Negative keywords: These are keywords you don’t want to target. For example, if you own a high-end retail store, you won’t want to target users searching for “affordable secondhand clothes.”

The last steps are to write your ad copy and identify the URL you want your visitors to land on. If you find this process confusing, don’t worry! You can easily outsource the work to a digital marketing team.

Smargasy, Inc. is a digital marketing firm based in Fort Myers, FL. We specialize in working with local businesses to build brand awareness and increase conversions. We also provide complete IT solutions, enabling small businesses to scale more efficiently. Get in touch today at (239) 214-8592 to request your free consultation with one of our PPC marketing experts.