6 Reasons to Use PPC Online Advertising

Is your small business using pay-per-click (PPC) advertising yet? If not, what are you waiting for? Your competitors are probably using PPC, because it's an important online advertising tool.

Here are six reasons your business should be using PPC advertising—and three tips to make it more effective.

Why PPC online advertising boosts your business

1. PPC enhances your organic search engine optimization efforts. Some 91 percent of website traffic comes from the first page of Google search results. Using PPC online advertising gives your online presence that extra “push” it needs to get on the first page (after you’ve done your SEO, of course). PPC ads appear at the top of search engine results, so users searching for what you sell will naturally be drawn to them. (Read more about how to get your website on the first page of search results.)
2. PPC can boost your search engine results position — fast. Organic SEO is vital to the success of your website, but no matter how well you do it, it takes time to take effect. With PPC, in contrast, you can boost your website's search engine rank almost overnight if you do it right. Using content marketing can help, too.
3. PPC results are easy to measure. When you use PPC advertising, you can immediately get feedback about how well each ad is working. Create a dedicated landing page for each PPC ad, and you will be able to track which ads attract clicks and which visitors convert to users. You can even use this information to help improve your website's organic SEO. (Find out more about which lead generation metrics to measure.)
4. PPC ads offer great flexibility. Have you ever invested in a print ad that didn't pay off? Too late: Your money is already spent. Perhaps you even committed to running the ad multiple times. With PPC, however, you can turn on a dime and make changes to your ads whenever you want to. Adjust your keywords, your call-to-action and other elements of your ad as often as you want. Do A/B testing with two different headlines, for example, and discover which one works best in a matter of hours.
5. PPC advertising is affordable for small businesses. With pay-per-click ads, you set the price you're willing to pay for a click. You can easily track your spending and change your budget on a moment’s notice. You never have to worry about going over budget or getting hit with a big bill unexpectedly.
6. PPC ads get results. PPC ads offer proven returns. Consider: People who are ready to buy click on PPC ads almost 65 percent of the time. More than half of those who click (52 percent) follow up by calling the advertiser. In fact, the average business makes $3 in revenue for every $1.60 spent on Google AdWords.

How to get the most from your PPC online advertising

1. Test different tactics. Don't just run the same old PPC ad over and over. Take advantage of the opportunity to test your ads. Look at your analytics and see what keywords and copy are attracting the most website visitors and conversions.
2. Create a dedicated landing page for each PPC campaign. Sending users to a specific landing page with a clear call to action related to the ad increases the chances that they'll convert.
3. Get professional help. PPC online advertising offers a wide variety of options, from ad extensions and negative keywords to remarketing and dayparting. Don't know what these terms mean? You could spend a lot of time learning — or you could turn to online advertising experts to help.

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