If you have never done a Google search before, then we would like to know where you have been. For those of you who have, you most likely have run into pay-per-click (PPC) ads that appear at the top of search results. These PPC ads are an effective way to generate traffic that converts into customers, as long as you are near or at the top of the search results.
You make your way to the top of the results page by choosing the right keywords, budget, and optimizing your ads. However, Google Ads makes it easy to spend a lot of money quickly. If you do not understand what you are doing you could lose your whole marketing budget in a blink of an eye.
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Are PPC Ads Beneficial For Your Small Business?
The short answer is yes. Google Ads are great for small businesses needing to reach target audiences and create conversions. Learning Google Ads, especially local ad listings, can help you have your Google Ads be one of the most profitable ways to attract and convert new customers.
Why Use PPC?
PPC and Google Ads are only advantageous if you know how to use and optimize them. The main advantages of Google Ads are:
1. Reach People Who Are Looking For You
Using the right keywords with your PPC ads can land you in front of potential customers at the exact moment they are looking for products or services you offer.
We used a “shoe” search example earlier and it illustrates this point exactly. Anyone who is looking up the word “shoe” is most likely looking to purchase new shoes in the near future. Having an ad that shows your products on transactional keywords is an easy and great way to convert new customers.
2. Target Audience Based On Geography
A local store owner likely does not care about appearing in search results outside of their geographical area. Luckily, Google Ads allows you to target your ads based on geography which can help you appear to potential customers near your store.
Combined with local SEO, geographically targeted ads can lead to more local customers in your area.
3. Target multiple audiences who use the same products
Selling products that multiple audiences might be attracted to can be an opportunity to utilize PPC ads. PPC ads can help you reach those multiple audiences by targeting different keywords.
For example, if you sell CBD products that can be used for both humans and animals and tried to create a product page and needed to optimize it for search, you might need to choose between your audiences or optimize using a more generic term. However, PPC ads let you target each audience individually using specific keywords. “Canine CBD medicine” and “CBD edibles” will result in similar product results, but each phrase attracts a different audience and PPC allows you to target both.
4. Send people to specific landing pages (to increase the chance of conversion)
When clicking on a PPC ad, you are sent to a specific page on that business’s website. Most people send others to their home page via their PPC ads which is ok, but not the most optimal choice.
With PPC ads you can send traffic to pages that are built and optimized for conversions. Sending traffic to sites that not only offer exactly what people are looking for but are optimized for conversion significantly increases the chance of converting traffic into customers.
5. Easily track results
The amount of information you can track with Google Ads is a little overwhelming. Fortunately, if you know what you are doing it can all greatly benefit you. Some of the things you can track are clickthrough rate, ad spend, conversion rate, ROI and clicks.
PPC ads are attractive to many marketers because of the ability to track ROI. The return on investment is a major factor when it comes to your marketing budget and PPC ads won’t leave you in the dark.
6. Get results quickly
PPC ads are not the end all, be all, but they will start getting you results much faster than most of the other marketing tactics.
If you know how to use PPC ads, have the products, ad copy’s and optimized landing pages, then PPC ads are a simple yet extremely effective way to start converting traffic into customers.
Keywords
One last thing to take into consideration is your keyword selection. What keywords you choose determine who sees your ads. PPC ads are best suited for transactional searches which are those where the searcher wants to buy something.
Doing research before settling on keywords is a smart idea as you can see what words can lead others to your site and products. The best way to do this is to simply search words and phrases you are thinking of using on Google and see what the results are.
Conclusion
In conclusion, yes PPC ads are worth it for small businesses — if you use them properly. When set up and used correctly, Google Ads help you target your audience(s) and drive conversions quickly. Just keep in mind that you need to have solid keywords targeted at your target audience, optimized landing pages, and the products to offer.
I’m responsible for taking new websites live, troubleshooting any and all technical issues, and finding the answers to all of our technical problems. My favorite part of the job is facing new challenges everyday and seeing the unknown as a puzzle that needs solving.
