Pay-per-click (PPC) is important for establishing and capitalizing on an online presence. While PPC advertising has a lot of nuances, it’s a straightforward proposition. Find a keyword, build an ad, bid, get visitors, convert — and pay for each of those clicks, to be as profitable as possible. Sounds easy enough. However, PPC marketing can also be successful in aiding larger marketing efforts, such as building brand awareness and driving traffic to valuable content, when focusing on top-of-funnel strategies. It’s a murky and goal-driven approach. It may take more work on the front end, while the ROI won’t be as directly correlated. But using PPC ads to drive traffic to the right marketing content can make overall marketing efforts more effective — at a low cost if done right.
The right content for PPC marketing
Before spending the time and money to invest in a PPC campaign, the right content is key to growing when using PPC. Think of a PPC marketing campaign as an extension of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This, of course, requires having an SEO strategy in the first place.
Finding the right keywords is the first step toward a strategy that ideally gets you some degree of visibility online. However, while the overall SEO strategy should be built around discoverability, web traffic, and building page authority, keep in mind that not all SEO content is created equal. Some are more focused on visibility, some are designed around gaining backlinks, and some are built around conversion. Excellent SEO strategies bring all of these content initiatives together. For this reason, it’s vital to promote the right content specific to the customer’s search query at the right time.
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For example, while acquiring backlinks is a critical need to improve SEO, the types of searches that would lead to gaining a backlink are not from people who would click on ads. The top-of-funnel search query may be the beginning of a customer’s journey for consideration. Although it is less likely to lead to a conversion than a product page, it may be necessary to build brand loyalty. So, search intent is a critical feature in determining what to promote.
A pure SEO play may take a long time to recoup the investment. But coupled with a strategic PPC marketing campaign, the search intent can be more clearly defined at a faster rate with data-driven decisions. Simply paying money to drive traffic to your website isn’t going to move the needle. And it won’t create actionable data even if it leads to more sales. Getting the best ROI starts with knowing what content to promote at the most strategic time in the customer journey, where both PPC and SEO efforts support your marketing initiatives.
The value of long-tail keywords (but not too long-tail)
While it can be tempting to focus on the fat head of keywords to maximize visibility and ROI, a PPC marketing plan can find a lot of value in the long tail of keywords. There are several reasons for this.
The first reason circles back to search intent. A long-tail keyword is likely to be more specific, and the searcher will probably look for a particular answer or product. It’s a much more focused approach and easier to predict. “What is the best container for food prep” is a much clearer intent than just “food prep.” Volume might be lower, but the people who do click are more likely to have found what they’re looking for.
On that same note, the second reason the long tail matters is that there is likely to be less advertising competition. High-traffic keywords have a lot of ads with many bids, meaning the quality will have to be high to be seen. You may need to bid more than you want, all to be in a crowded ad field on Google itself. But being the only advertisement on a highly specific keyword puts the answer to a question right at the top of the search page.
However, there is a fine line between long-tail keywords that drive traffic and a keyword that’s so long tail the ad will be hidden due to a lack of search volume. That, of course, does little to help marketing efforts. Research then becomes essential, which is where SEO and PPC strategies collide. Capitalizing on long-tail keywords that have already been shown to have success can help prioritize where your efforts need to be focused.
Low volume, high benefits
The ROI on an SEO campaign is likely to be more challenging to track. Focusing on advertising — the company or brand — more than just a product, creates a more esoteric goal. In order to maximize value, ad quality is important. This is one of the key metrics Google uses to decide which ads get featured, and it can lead to a lower bid getting preference because it has higher quality. With the associated difficulties in tracking, anything to lower costs is worthwhile.
However, even a high-quality ad will cost money on a crowded, high-value keyword. To start, having the highest quality ad is especially difficult due to the amount of competition. Then, even if you get an ad of high enough quality, the competition means many people will try to update their ads. This, if nothing else, will require extra bandwidth on your end to stay ahead. Finally, even a great ad will have a higher cost in a crowded room.
It may be possible to get away with a lower-quality ad in a scenario with limited competition. But it’s still beneficial to put the proper effort in. Regardless of the cost, an ad should reflect the search query. The content on the landing page should do the same. That will help reach the customer where they are. As a bonus, it will lower the cost per click of the campaign, which will be extra beneficial for an ad that wasn’t overly expensive in the first place.
How to grow with PPC marketing
How do you create a PPC marketing campaign that makes conversions with content that converts and with long-tail keywords to drive more specific traffic? It comes down to advertising the answers to customers’ questions — and ensuring there’s an appropriate CTA at the end.
Customers remember when a website offers value to them. And with over 3.5 billion Google searches a day, providing an answer is a significant source of value. It is, in fact, the primary focus of content marketing. This is where the CTA comes in.
Driving traffic to a webpage that provides a relevant answer helps build trust with a customer; offering a solution in the same place provides an easy opportunity to convert. Google itself will reward you for being relevant to consumers. Not being relevant is a major reason an ad goes unseen. It’s best practice for everyone involved to be giving customers the best experience possible.
A change of mindset
Incorporating PPC into your SEO campaign can be effective if the goals are correctly calibrated. Changing the way of looking at PPC marketing by augmenting organic growth with inorganic growth can be a game-changer.
The mindset needs to be about growing awareness and conversions while incorporating PPC and SEO efforts during all customer journey stages. Therefore, establishing KPIs ahead of time is so important. What are you trying to accomplish, and what is success? Most importantly, what cost is acceptable to achieve this?
Perhaps the simplest way to do this is to create a target cost-per-lead or cost-per-acquisition. Then measure the campaign against that, giving weight to the different interactions your customer takes. Identifying metrics, like the conversion of those leads vs. orders, will provide a clearer picture of what initiatives to leverage during specific customer journey times.
PPC marketing experts
A good PPC ad gets you in front of customers’ eyes for a small fee. Done right, it can grow traffic, build awareness, get leads, and drive conversions. Used in conjunction with SEO, it can significantly expand your marketing strategies in your organization plus improve brand loyalty. It’s not the traditional way of going about pay-per-click. Combined with the right content, keywords, and mindset, it can enhance what’s already there. The only question is: What’s that worth to you?
At Boosted Commerce, we acquire and grow Amazon, Shopify, and D2C businesses. Utilizing PPC is a key way in which we grow the brands we acquire. Our team of advertising experts takes what you’ve built and helps build it into even more. If you’re ready to exit your business but want to make sure it keeps growing once it’s out of your hands, reach out to us today.
About the author
Caitlin Gray joined Boosted Commerce as Director of Growth in 2021, where she helps grow brands post-acquisition. She has more than a decade of experience in digital marketing, spanning everything from fitness to nutrition to furniture. She is certified in Amazon and Google Advertising. Caitlin holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in International Business from Boise State University.
