PPC management for small business

We explore what PPC is and why it's important for your business digital marketing.

If you’re not using PPC, and perhaps you’re even wondering what it means, we’ve got you. Learn what it is, why it's an important digital marketing tool, and how to harness PPC for your business.

Ways to run efficient PPC (Pay-Per-Click) campaigns

With the business world being a constantly changing and evolving landscape, grasping key digital marketing concepts and strategies is crucial. One core element is Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising. Whether this is a new concept to you, or you’ve heard of it but wondered what it means, how it could help your business, and how to harness it’s potential, then this guide is for you. We'll explore the importance of PPC and provide insights on how to run effective PPC campaigns.

PPC: What is it?

PPC stands for ‘Pay-Per-Click’ and is a digital advertising process where advertisers bid on keywords with the aim of making their ads display at the top of the search results on search engines, such as Bing or Google.

How does pay-per-click work?

PPC advertising operates on a bid-based system. As the advertiser, you bid on keywords related to your business, and when a user searches for those keywords, an auction determines which advert appears in the top position, making it the prime location on a list of search results. The outcome is influenced by factors such as bid amount, ad quality, and relevance.

The advertisers pay the bid amount every time a user clicks on that ad. Showcasing your advert to the best audience at the best time is the objective of PPC, as this will maximise your chances of turning these users into customers in the most cost-effective way.

Google Ads and PPC

One of the top PPC platforms is Google Ads (previously known as Google AdWords). Google Ads enables businesses to display adverts on both Google’s search engine and its partner networks. It acts as a way of driving traffic to your business’s website, as once a user searches for keywords relating to your business, your ads can appear in a prime spot in their search results.

People often confuse PPC and Google Ads as one and the same, but they are two different things. PPC includes advertising on various platforms, including Microsoft and Meta. Google Ads is simply Google's own PPC advertising platform, and one of the most used options.

Creating a PPC strategy

Hopefully you are now a little clearer on the ‘what’ when it comes to Pay-Per-Click, so now let’s move on to the ‘how’ and review some top tips for creating a strong PPC strategy.

Define your objectives: Set clear goals. What is it that you are hoping to achieve? Do you want to increase website traffic, boost conversions, or raise brand awareness? Creating your PPC strategy feels much easier once you are clear on your aims, so ensure you establish clear PPC goals and objectives that can be measured and reported on throughout.

Research your keywords: You need to identify the most relevant keywords for your business that are sure to be high-performing, and you can do this by using a tool such as Google Keyword Planner. Keyword research will enable you to discover what it is your audience is searching for. Once you know this, you can include these as search queries within the copy of your website content and advert copy, to make sure you target these keywords thoroughly.

Allocate your budget: Work out what your budget will be and be strategic in how you allocate it. You’ll be able to work out a monthly PPC budget from your keyword research, as this should give you an idea of how much you need to spend to achieve your targets.

Creating advert copy: The best advert copy can highlight your unique selling points while speaking directly to your target audience. By including relevant keywords and as much helpful information as possible in your advert copy, you’ll encourage your audience to click through to your website from your PPC ad. We recommend keeping your copy concise, and ensuring you include a clear CTA (call to action) to get users clicking.

Optimise your landing page: To maintain a seamless journey and positive experience for your user, you should ensure your landing pages align with your advert’s messaging. From clicking on your advert to landing on your website’s landing page, you should ensure that the user (and potential customer!) has all the information they need to continue their journey from discovery to conversion. SEO (Search engine optimisation) can be a great help when it comes to supporting your PPC activity. Take a look at our guide to creating an SEO content strategy to learn how.

Test and learn: To ensure you know what is performing best, you should regularly A/B test your adverts’ headlines, descriptions, and visuals. Seeing what variations of these users prefer will allow you to easily and quickly identify what’s working, and what isn’t! You can then use this insight to tweak and improve your PPC to focus on what’s driving results for your business.

Monitor and optimise: Modify your bids, keywords, and targeting based on your performance results. Use this data and make sure you have a strong measurement strategy in place to understand how your campaigns are performing. Consider what metrics you want to measure, such as ROAS (return on ad spend), click through rate and conversions. You should keep monitoring performance data throughout your campaign, to identify areas which could be improved. If you’re stuck for what metrics to use and how to understand what’s working well, we’ve got some more ways to measure success below.

How do I know if my PPC campaign is a success?

It’s important to make data-driven decisions to ensure your campaign is a success and performing as best as it can, and this can only be done by measuring some key metrics. Be sure to define your KPIs (Key performance indicators) at the start of your strategy, as part of your overall campaign goals and objectives. Some key metrics to consider are:

Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of users who click on your ad after seeing it. A higher CTR indicates that your ad is relevant and engaging.

Conversion Rate: The percentage of users who complete a desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a contact form.

Quality Score: A Google Ads metric used to evaluate the quality and relevance of your keywords, ads, and landing pages.

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): The revenue generated for every pound spent on advertising.

Cost Per Click (CPC): CPC measures the cost of each click on your ad.

Ad Position: Monitor where your ads appear in search results – higher ad positions increase your visibility and click-through rates.

Key advertising platforms

Hopefully you now feel more confident in understanding the basics of PPC, so it’s time to explore the ‘where’, so you can kick-start your campaigns across key platforms such as Google, YouTube, and social channels.

1. YouTube: Google-owned YouTube is the ideal platform for reaching a vast audience through engaging video content.

2. Meta Ads: With its extensive user base and detailed targeting options, Meta Ads are a powerful tool for reaching specific demographics. Boost your skills with Meta’s e-learning platform, Meta Blueprint.

3. Instagram Ads: Perfect for businesses with compelling visuals. Owned by Meta, which makes it easy to manage campaigns on both platforms. Read our step-by-step guide to creating an Instagram advertising plan.

4. Microsoft Advertising: Formerly Bing Ads, Microsoft Advertising provides an alternative to Google Ads, often at lower costs per click.

5. LinkedIn: Ideal for B2B marketing, LinkedIn offers precise targeting options to reach professionals in your industry. Read our guide on using TikTok for your business.

6. TikTok: Excellent for reaching a younger, highly engaged audience through short-form video ads. Read our guide on using TikTok for your business.

7. Twitter / X: Enables you to promote tweets to a broad or specific audience, making it a versatile platform for brand promotion.

Explore the various ad platforms and work out which feels best for your business and its goals. Remember, when it comes to PPC, having a robust strategy with clear objectives, along with continuous trial and error testing to optimise performance, is key to success.

If you want more help on PPC adverts for your business, how to get started, or how to take your strategy to the next level, get free one-to-one guidance from our V-Hub expert advisers.