When you launch a website, whether it is personal or for a business, you want to attract traffic. This can be done using various methods such as social media, content, email and word of mouth. Another way to bring viewers to your site is through pay-per-click advertising (PPC). This is sponsored online advertising that is placed on other sites and search engines. You only pay when a user clicks on your ad.
Courtesy of Leetwet
PPC can be a cost-efficient way to market your site. You get to target users by using specific search terms. To illustrate, if you own a clothing store and you want people to know you sell particular styles, you can create an ad that will appear when people search for that style. There are pros and cons to PPC, though. Because you pay for these ads, it is easier to get your name listed at the top of the search engine results. On the other hand, some people are weary of ads. If you are considering PPC, here are a few other pros and cons.
Pro: Immediate Results
It only takes a few hours to set up your PPC account through search engines such as Bing and Google (Adwords). Open an account, create the ads and bid on the search terms you want to use. Once that is set, your ads will quickly appear. You can then review reports on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
Pro: Enhanced Visibility
You can get improved visibility right away. This is especially helpful if you have a new site without a strong online presence. While working on your SEO strategies, PPC can be a way to get your site in front of potential visitors right away. Not to mention you get to choose from a larger word base that you could include as keywords in your site’s content. Additionally, you can also use PPC to target viewers by region.
Con: Click Fraud
Costs can quickly escalate when more people click on your ads than you initially expected. If you work with a PPC company, you want to do thorough research to ensure the company has plenty of favorable reviews with proof of success. Unfortunately, there are so many PPC businesses that will make money by clicking on your ads in addition to hiring people around the world to do the same. This will cost you an arm and a leg, and you won’t get the traffic you want. Although it is deemed an unethical practice, many companies still utilize click fraud.
Con: Closing Your Account
When your PPC campaign is running, it is easy to see your results. Problems occur when you close your account or end your campaign. Then you no longer have any reports to view. Users also won’t see your ads because they are no longer displayed.
Your traffic will fall, which might give you angst. For PPC to continue working, it needs a long-lasting campaign. Moreover, sponsored listings usually receive only 15 percent of the clicks. Better results might come from powerful SEO methods that put you at the top of the search listings.
So, whether you choose PPC, SEO or both, the crucial part is to get your name out there. PPC is a way to start, but you should have a strategy to go along with it. Otherwise, you might waste time and money. Have you used or do you plan on using PPC for your site? Let us know in the comments section below!
By
Kate Benedict
Thanks. I was confused about using PPC, but this article cleared up some of my questions.
Jason Dea
Great post. The only other thing I’d add in the “Cons” section is learning curve. Whatever media source you choose to purchase ad space on, whether that’s AdWords, Facebook, Bing, or even Twitter, each platform has it’s own nuances in terms of the admin as well as the behavior of your ad campaigns.
Whatever your goals are, one thing you’ll always want to do is optimize your ad spending. Drive down CPC, improve click throughs and also rotate your campaigns so they don’t go stale. That can be easy or difficult depending on the platform and your own experience. Because of that I usually suggest to pick one, and get great at it before you start trying others.