Pay-per-click marketing, also known as PPC or paid search, is far and away the most popular direct marketing channel on the Internet. In 2009, companies spent billions of dollars on paid search campaigns, with huge success. And it just keeps growing.
One reason many businesses turn to paid search is that it’s easy to define and stick to a budget. Another is that today’s tools make it easy to measure ROI. And it’s easy to turn PPC programs on and off quickly.
But PPC marketing is not for everyone. Without thorough research, a clear plan and skilled program management, a PPC campaign can end up costing thousands of dollars, with nothing at all to show for it.
How do pay-per-click ads work?
You bid on specific search terms and phrases related to your business. The higher your bid, and the better your ads follow best practices, the higher your position in the list of sponsored ads on Google, Bing, Yahoo! and other search engines will be. Many people will see your ad, but you won’t pay until someone actually clicks on it. Herein lies the real challenge of PPC marketing: getting your ad seen and clicked by prospective customers. Thousands of clicks by non-buyers just costs you money.
Is PPC right for me?
Maybe, maybe not … which is why the first thing we’ll do is look at where your business ranks today. A competitive analysis will help us understand how people search for you and your products or services, and what your competitors are doing related to pay-per-click marketing.
How can Virtual Solutions help me?
We’ll start with that all-important competitive analysis, which will help us understand whether or not a paid search program is a good investment for you. If the numbers indicate that PPC might be worth exploring, we’ll develop a strategy, run a pilot campaign or two, and go over the results with you. From there, we can help you determine a viable budget, manage your program for you, and keep you updated on results.
Ready to find out if pay-per-click marketing makes sense for you? Contact us at 816-822-0900 or info@search-consulting.com.