We've all heard of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Yelp – social media platforms and social networking sites you can leverage to help market your company in a revolutionized, intimate way.
These channels are flourishing, engaging, and opportunistic – but let's not forget other avenues of marketing. Enter stage right:
PPC –
pay-per-click advertising.
What is PPC Advertising?
PPC is an e-Marketing method that revolves around keywords, sponsored ads and search engine result pages (SERPs). Here's a break-down of the components of a PPC ad:
- Advertisers use PPC platforms, such as Google AdWords, to create customized, clickable ads.
- Each ad campaign is defined by a handful of keywords chosen by the advertiser.
- The advertisement typically features:
- a large title, which also serves as a link back to the advertiser's website, or a specific landing page, i.e. Homepage Cookie Recipes
- a brief description of the relevance of the site, i.e.: Learn how to make thousands of homemade cookies with our cookie recipes.
- the actual URL of the site, i.e.: www.CookieRecipes.com
Where and when do PPC ads appear?
The ads are displayed
on top of or
along side organic search results when those or similar keywords are entered in a search engine by a browser. If a browser went to Google and typed in "cookie recipes", my example sponsored PPC ad might appear on top of the regular sites that otherwise may have very good SEO and positive page rank.
How much do PPC ads cost?
Each keyword carries a different "per-click" price, meaning the advertiser has to bid on each keyword, out-bid the competition, and pay a small fee each time the PPC ad is clicked on by a browser. The more popular the keyword (the more frequently a keyword is searched for), the more expensive the cost-per-click.
What's a good PPC ad platform?
As far as PPC ad platforms go,
Google AdWords remains the top player in the market. While it's considered the most expensive PPC program, it is known for being "the biggest and the best for volume, traffic, quality and user interface" according to
PayPerClickSearchEngines.com.
AdWords accounts require a
$5.00 initial fee for registration and setup, but from there, the cost truly depends on the keywords in question. Pros of AdWords include unlimited customization of budget and PPC ads, as well as unlimited number of ads with specific keyword niches.