Why Pay Per Click (PPC) : Google AdWords

Pay Per Click (PPC) has become an effective way for many companies to generate a significant revenue from their websites, however to ensure that PPC adverts work it is essential for businesses to remain fully in control of who sees the ads and when. With Google being the world’s most popular search engine, using Google AdWords for your PPC means that you can stay on top of who sees your website and when on the most used search engine; which could result in a significant increase in revenue.

Search Ads

Using Google AdWords, you can bid for your advert to appear closer to the top of Google’s search results page when relevant search terms and keywords are used. You can do this with multiple keywords and when it is up and running see which words are bringing in the most conversions on your website and which words are the most relevant. You can then change the amount you bid on certain keywords so you don't waste money on advertising your website where it isn't relevant and isn't bringing in revenue.

Google AdWords, and PPC in general, is just about being smart about your audience and who can see your ads. If you use broad search terms, for example, they are less likely to bring in conversions and just cost you a lot of money; this is because when people have entered a search term and your site appears but isn’t what they are looking for, they are likely to click on it thinking it is relevant as it has been displayed as part of their search results. Using specific search terms, however, are likely to benefit you because users who are searching for that term are likely to be interested in what you are advertising.

You can also see what kind of devices people are looking at your site so you can see if, for example, mobile users are interacting with your site in a way that leads to conversions. Also, you can see what day of the week and what time of day your site gets the most conversions so you can make your website appear more frequently at the top at those times, optimising your conversion opportunities.

Display Ads

On Google AdWords, you can pay for your website to appear as an advert on other websites when people look at other relevant sites. For example, if someone’s recent search history has a pattern of looking at cosmetics, Google will start to show the user adverts related to cosmetics because it wants to sell the user what it thinks is of interest to them.

As well as this, you can target a certain demographic such as age range or gender, which will help to ensure that your ad is being seen by your potential customers. Also, for a certain length of time you can target users who have recently visited your site, but who have not made a conversion.

Budget

To use Google AdWords effectively you need to manage your budgets strategically to ensure your company is getting the most out of the money being invested. If you have a large budget on one category but conversions are slow that month, it could be more beneficial to transfer some of the budget to a busier category as this category will be more likely to result in a higher conversion rate.

To set a budget you need to take in to consideration how much traffic you want to attract to your site, as well as how much time you want to achieve that target in. Your budget needs to be large enough to show results and data but not so large that it is losing you money.

Is Pay Per Click right for you?

The good thing about PPC is you can see results instantly, but you need to keep track of every pound spent to see a positive impact.

If you want to use PPC you need to be willing to be price competitive and have a site that will track results. Ensuring you are able to track results is vital, as if you are just giving information and you are not tracking the conversion rates, you will be left with no data to help determine your future budgets and whether or not your site is generating revenue.

Written by Lillie Edwards, work experience student