Pay Per Click Marketing: What is it and how does it work

You have probably heard "Pay Per Click" or PPC thrown around when it comes to online advertising—but what does it actually mean? We often get questions from clients about how it works and if it's worth trying. So we put together this guide to explain the basics.

If you are launching a new website or refreshing your old one, or just looking to understand how digital marketing works this page will help you get familiar with PPC advertising.

PPC advertising is where you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. the most common place you would search and see these adverts would be search engines like Google and Bing.

For example, Lets say you are a plumber in Melbourne and someone searches 'emergency plumber Melbourne'.  Your ad could appear at the top of the results and if they click on it you pay a small fee and  that is the "pay per click" part.

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PPC is popular for a few key reasons:

• It is Fast - You can start showing up in search results within hours.
• It is targeted - You choose the keywords, location, and audience.
• You set the budget - Start small and as it works you can increase it.
• Many new website owners—especially those launching a new web design in Sydney where the marketing is competitive use PPC to get traffic while their SEO builds up over time.

The three biggest platforms are:

Google Ads

Google is without doubt the most well known platform. Creating a PPC advert on google will let it show through many platforms such as on YouTube, Gmail, and many partner sites.

Microsoft Bing Ads

This covers Bing and Yahoo. It has fewer users than Google but often lower costs per click, and can be useful if your audience skews a little older.

Social Media - Facebook

Social media site such as facebook, twitter and snap chat offer some affordable ways to approach different targeted markets.

If you’ve just launched a new site like one of our Melbourne Website Design clients you might not be ranking in Google yet. PPC gives you a way to get traffic immediately.

It's also a great way to test out which services or products get the most interest before committing to a big SEO campaign.

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If you do decide to run PPC ads, be alert for common mistake people make:

• Send traffic to the relevant page, not just your home
• Don't be generic with your keywords - target the right words to save you wasted clicks
• Forgetting to track calls or form submissions. Make sure you know its working
• Keep checking your campaign so you know its working.  
• PPC is flexible and powerful—but only if it is done properly.

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1. Do I need to use PPC for my website?

   No, not at all. But if you want traffic quickly, PPC can be helpful while your organic rankings (SEO) are still growing.

2. How much does PPC cost?

   You control your budget. Some industries are more expensive than others, but you can start small and see how it performs.

3. Can I run PPC ads myself?

   Absolutely. Google Ads and other platforms are designed for do it your self. just note there is a learning curve and there are plenty of how to guides on youtube. It is often wise to engage an expert if your budget is a little bigger to get the most from your budget.

4. Is PPC better than SEO?

   Good question. they work in tandem supporting each other. PPC will give you instant results and SEO will give you long term results. Ideally you would do both.

5. What's a landing page?

   A landing page is just a page on your website. Nothing fancy. The key though is to make sure your landing page content is relevant to what your selling. You have mere seconds to engage with your future customer before they click away.