The world isn’t just going digital, it’s already there. Full of potential and full of unknowns, a brand needs a plan when entering this new world. A digital marketing plan doesn’t need to be complex, but it does need to be cohesive. A united brand with a united voice across these mediums is not a luxury―in today’s marketplace, it is a necessity. We are about to view concrete descriptions of how video, social, mobile, and pay-per-click (PPC) marketing have become the pillars of a cohesive digital plan. Unlike the marketing channels of the past (where a wide net was cast in hopes of catching customers) these digital opportunities provide reach and precision. Let’s review the options.
PPC
PAY-PER-CLICK
Before we move on to what PPC is, it may be useful to dispel what it isn’t: Intrusive banner ads, Unwelcome, unasked-for emails, Pop-up ads (yikes!), Just “being number one on Google”. In the span of 19 years, Google has grown from a small internet start up to one of the most powerful companies in the world. Google earns their money by serving ads to the internet world. In 2016, Google’s ad revenues totaled 79.38 billion dollars. That year, advertising accounted for the majority percent of the online company’s total revenues. They have created the most comprehensive, targeted, tactics-based ad serving platform among their search engine competitors–Google Adwords. This powerful Pay-Per-Click tool is the engine that fuels their rapid growth and the growth of a multitude businesses, which have made the leap online.
ADS
PAY-PER-CLICK
Traditional ads are old news. The new influx of PPC is so seamless, so integrated into life, that it doesn’t always get noticed for what it is… Marketing that users and consumers want to see.
Because, when managed right, they want to see it.
This is PPC in its simplest form: Integrated text ads shown based on a search query, or keyword, on a search engine.
It can be targeted by location, from whole countries to square kilometers. It can change based on subtle differences in how a user searches. The messaging can be changed; then the performance of the different ads can be tracked and tested against each other.
Google now processes over 40,000 search queries every second on average, which translates to over 3.5 billion searches per day and 1.2 trillion searches per year worldwide.
Many of these searches are the initial foray a consumer makes to find out about a product or service.
What PPC search ads do is reach this potential customer at the very beginning of the sale process, and, coupled with advanced website analytics, guide the consumer all the way to a sale, sometimes over the span of multiple searches and days.
DISPLAY
Most websites use a platform like Google’s to expand their reach and limit in-house costs. Big enough sites sometimes have their own service.
People are entering the buying process online, doing research and reviewing, whether or not it eventually goes offline.
This is a PPC Display ad. “Display” refers to the fact that it is a graphic ad, and that it is shown on display networks. Websites make their money by selling ad space just like print media does.
GOOGLE SCORES
A crucial element for a successful campaign in 2018 is a great Quality Score! It is used to determine your cost per click (CPC) and multiplied by your maximum bid to determine your ad rank in the ad auction process. Your Quality Score depends on multiple factors including your click-through rate (CTR) - the relevance of each keyword to its ad group.
PPC is a search engine marketing form of Internet marketing that involves the promotion of websites by increasing their visibility in search engine results pages primarily through paid advertising.
TO SUMMARIZE…
Pay Per Click Advertising is an all-encompassing online alternative to traditional print, TV, and radio. Digital ad revenue surpassed print in 2012 and has well surpassed television spend to date.
There is no substitution for the advanced targeting methods of PPC advertising. While there is still much to be discovered, it can’t be understood by sitting on the sidelines.
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