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This is the sixth and final post in our series on the elements of an effective digital marketing strategy. We’ve covered everything from websites, content marketing, and social media, to email marketing and search engine optimization (SEO). All of these elements are quite effective on their own, so you may be wondering why you even need to consider paid internet advertising. In this post we will show you why internet advertising is still profitable and the secret to making it work in your digital marketing strategy.
First, let’s define our terms. PPC advertising or marketing is basically paid internet advertising. You place an ad on an online platform and are charged a fee anytime a user clicks on the ad. It doesn’t matter if your ad is placed on a search engine results page (SERP), a website, a blog, or a social media platform. You won’t pay unless someone clicks—and this is good news because those who click are likely a bit further along in the buying process and therefore more qualified leads. In many ways, getting someone to click is the easy part… what happens next is up to you.
If you’re doing PPC advertising without thinking through what happens after the person clicks, you’re probably going to lose the lead (and your investment). PPC will never be profitable apart from an intentional strategy that moves these new leads through the buying process. If you’re spending a chunk of change on PPC advertising, and don’t have a plan for how to nurture the leads you generate, your efforts will fall flat. On the other hand, with the right plan in place, PPC can go a long way to enhance your digital marketing ROI.
The secret to profitable PPC marketing is strategy. PPC is most effectively leveraged in conjunction with an overarching digital marketing strategy that includes content marketing, social media, SEO, lead offers, and, as always, a beautifully branded and technically flawless website. The right ads in the right places can do more to bolster your content marketing efforts than organic search can accomplish on its own. Retargeting ads on social media platforms have saved many a lead from growing cold. The secret is in the strategy—intentionally plotting the course for how these new leads make their way through your sales funnel.
Businesses want their websites to be on the first page of Google for search terms that describe their products and services—but this isn’t easy to do organically. When you use PPC for specific search terms your website will appear first above all other organic listings. It does get a little complicated when you start talking about fluctuating impressions and bidding on keywords which is why we recommend you outsource your PPC efforts to an agency you trust (like us!) to handle the tricky parts for you.
Imagine someone visits your website but leaves without taking an action. What can you do to keep that lead from going cold? The answer is retargeting ads. Almost every new website you visit will tell you “we collect cookies, you cool with that?” When you click OK you’re allowing this website to track where you go next. That business can then put ads on the websites you visit after you leave their site. For example, let’s say you’re researching a vacation to Disney World. You’ve spent a lot of time on Disney’s site but you haven’t bought anything yet. Later that day you see ads for Disney vacations on that food blog you visited to grab a recipe for dinner. That’s retargeting advertising. Creepiness aside, retargeting ads are effective because your ideal customer may not be ready to buy yet. Retargeting ads keep your brand in the places where your customers are spending their time and keeps your brand top of mind so that they remember you when they are ready to buy.
The number one question we get asked by business owners and nonprofits is, “how do we get more traffic to our website.” There are obviously a lot of ways to do this, but what makes PPC different from the other elements (e.g., SEO, content marketing) is that you can do more to target a specific audience using keywords and search terms to find more qualified buyers. Using PPC to lead internet searchers to a customized landing page on your website, written with specific search terms and keywords in mind, can help you grow your email lists and continue building relationships until these new customers become raving fans.
We talk with a lot of folks who think you do SEO or PPC, but not both. We think that SEO and PPC can work nicely together to maximize ROI. For example, you may have a nice library of content on a specific product or service that’s already enjoying ample organic traffic. If you take the best performing content and connect it with a PPC ad targeting a specific demographic, you’ve just amplified your best content to an entirely new audience.
Have you ever noticed the “boost post” suggestion in your social media feed? These channels recognize when posts are getting a lot of traction and give you the opportunity to reach a bigger audience using PPC. While these suggestions aren’t always home runs, they do underscore the importance of leveraging PPC to grow your social media following. Social media PPC is especially effective when paired with videos, which is another reason to always incorporate videos into your marketing mix.
Whether you need to update your website, optimize for SEO, launch a new social media campaign, or establish lead pages for online advertising, we’ve got you covered. If you have any questions about digital marketing we would love to be your go-to source for ideas, inspiration, and implementation for digital marketing services. We are ready to get started and help you grow your business. Please let us know how we can help!