Google Adwords is the most popular online advertising platform and the chances are, you've heard of it. Advertising on Google Adwords is a form of Pay-per-click advertising (or PPC for short) and over the years we've heard every myth and urban legend going.
PPC or pay per click adverts are commonly used by businesses of all sizes to drive more traffic to their sites. Each time a user clicks the advert, the business pays a fee to Google. It’s a way to get to the top of Google quickly without having to invest in the time to do it organically.
If you’re considering investing in PPC then you may have heard a myriad of opinions and myths about it. Positive or negative, it’s worth understanding what’s true before incorporating it into your strategy.
We’ve cleared up five of the most common myths below to give you some facts.
1. It’s expensive
Businesses looking to invest in PPC can be scared by the ‘pay per click’ element. They panic that a huge bill will run up through people clicking through and bouncing off their site.
Well, there’s no need to worry - you and only you set the PPC budget. If you’re working with an agency, they will likely advise on what budget will be most effective but ultimately, the daily spend is up to you.
Your daily budget isn't set in stone either, you can change it as often or as little as you like -- particularly useful if your market is seasonal.
There might be times when you don’t see the ROI you expected but you need to be patient. It’s no good trying it once, seeing a loss and ruling it out. Given the time and nurturing it deserves, PPC can really pay off.
2. No one clicks on the ads
If this myth were true, PPC would have died a quick death years ago. You must remember that this is a key source of revenue for the search engine Google (and we all know what that means…). Businesses large and small spend a significant amount on this channel each year and if users simply scrolled past - nobody would be investing in it.
If you ensure that your ads relate directly to your target audience then there’s a much higher chance of a click through and all important conversion. Be sure to invest some time in looking at what your competitors are doing and thinking about what your target audience wants to see. This will help ensure you make the most of being at the top of the page.
3. Once setup you can leave it alone
No, no, no. Don’t fall for this one. It’s a common mistake that businesses make in thinking that the ads will look after themselves. If you want to see great results and a good ROI then you must continually nurture and optimise those ads.
Be sure to monitor and test all elements of the campaign from playing around with the ad copy to chopping and changing keywords. You should also keep an eye on the performance of the ad and keywords, here’s how.
Remember that Google’s algorithms are always changing so it’s important that you do too.
4. Position one is the most profitable
Although this position does give your ad maximum exposure, it is not always most profitable. For some, conversions can be higher at position one but for others, it can actually end up costing more.
There is sometimes a higher chance for businesses ranking at position one to fall victim to users just clicking on the first thing they see without really taking into account whether the ad is relevant to them. This leads to a high bounce rate and few conversions.
To avoid this, it comes back to making sure your ad copy is clear and relevant to the search. This will help to ensure that when users do land on your site, they find what they are looking for.
5. No one browses at night
Many businesses opt to turn off their PPC ads at night, under the impression that nobody is online then. Wrong! By switching ads off at certain times, these businesses are limiting themselves to a certain audience.
With the ability to shop and browse 24/7, there are plenty of night owls out there. Why miss out on this traffic? You’ve set your daily budget and if that means that some is spent at night then what’s the problem? This is especially true if you want to attract international markets on different time zones.
If you do decide to switch off your ad at certain times, use Google Analytics to establish what the peak times for your ad are. Using this solid data will help to ensure your ad performs.
Conclusion
To sum up, PPC can be an effective way to maximise your brand exposure and see an uplift in enquiries. Yes, there are some areas you must take into consideration such as budget and advert monitoring but they shouldn’t put you off. If you take the time to ensure the ads are relevant to your audience then it can be a very profitable way to generate new business.