Is PPC Right for Your Small Business?
Is PPC Right for Your Small Business?
Find out if pay-per-click advertising is worth it.
Pay-per-click advertising, or PPC advertising, can produce profitable results for some small businesses, but not all of them. The process of finding and bidding for targeted, relevant keywords that generate affordable leads and sales may be too risky and costly for small businesses with limited marketing budgets.
PPC advertising is an online advertising method that involves placing ads on search engines. Advertisers only pay when users click on their ads. Advertisers may be charged a flat rate per click or they may have the option to bid for specific keywords. When a user performs a search for relevant queries, an advertiser's PPC ads will appear alongside the search results.
Benefits of PPC
There are several benefits associated with PPC. PPC allows you to monitor the results of your ads, adjust your campaigns as necessary, and cancel your campaigns at any time. On the other hand, with traditional advertising, you're often locked into long-term contracts, even if your ads aren't achieving the results you had hoped for.
PPC is also an effective way to attract more local customers, since it allows for geo-targeting. Geo-targeting enables you to restrict your ads to certain metro areas, regions or countries, so you can reach customers in specific areas. If you just started your business, PPC can help you build awareness of your brand and generate website traffic until your website's organic rankings increase and your other marketing efforts bear fruit.
Types of Businesses for Which PPC Performs Well
Local service providers benefit from PPC because it gives them the ability to bid on keywords in specific geographic areas. PPC is particularly advantageous for service providers who offer relatively expensive services with high purchase intent, like doctors, dentists, lawyers, and some home repair professionals. For example, a person searching for information about broken water heater repair might need to have a plumber fix their water heater immediately. As a result, keywords related to broken water heater repair typically have high conversions from lead to sale. What's more, plumbers generate a high margin on the purchase of water heater repair services, making PPC a worthwhile investment.
Small software companies also have success with PPC because they generate high margins on software purchases and shipping software costs little or nothing. Furthermore, people looking for software typically seek specific features and functions, so they tend to use more defined keywords that ensure a better match. The cost-per-click of those keywords usually isn't as high since there isn't as much competition. Small businesses that sell unusual or hard-to-find items also tend to do well with PPC because of a lack of competition.
Reasons NOT to Use PPC Advertising
PPC is highly competitive. Typically, only 2% of clicks convert into leads or sales. So, if your products are inexpensive or your profit margins are small, investing in PPC may not be worthwhile.
Another downside of PPC is that it takes a significant amount of time to effectively manage a PPC campaign because you have to determine what's working and what isn't and then make adjustments. Most small business owners don't have enough time to manage their own PPC campaigns and their employees are already occupied with other tasks.
Let Efelle Media's PPC Experts Manage Your AdWords Campaign
If you think PPC advertising might be right for your small business but you aren't sure where to start, get in touch with Seattle online marketing company efelle. Our PPC experts will manage your AdWords campaign, so you can focus on running your business. For more information or to request a free quote, call 206.384.4909 or fill out our online contact form.
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