PPC is an online advertising strategy – and a fantastic lead generation tactic – that has the potential to deliver very targeted leads to your website.

There are many great things that a well-executed PPC campaign can do for your company. However, that doesn’t always mean it is right for your small business.

PPC advertising can be a very effective element of an online marketing strategy, and is a wonderful and complementary service best combined with your SEO activities. But how do you know when you’re ready to build your PPC campaign? Let’s look at the pros and cons of PPC advertising for small businesses.

Just to be clear, our company offers Google AdWords management as a service… because, well, we think it’s the best!

PPC Advertising Pros

• Immediate results – you can have ads placed on the first page of Google within minutes of setting up your account.
• Timely – PPC advertising is perfect for pushing limited-time offers, highlighting upcoming events and other time-sensitive needs that only a short-term, high-impact campaign can fulfill.
• Isolated – your PPC ads are not affected by algorithm updates like SEO is.
• Presence – your brand takes up more real estate on the SERPs (appearing in both paid and organic results) which gives you greater authority in the eyes of the search engines and those searching.
• Control – you have control over the content of your ads, the image displayed (if any), and the landing pages you wish to direct ads to.

PPC Advertising Cons

• Learning curve – it takes time to learn the ins and outs of a PPC campaign, and you may find that you need training in the area along with hands-on practice.
• Costly – if you’re not careful about setting up your budget properly, it’s easy to spend a lot of money quickly.
• Targeting difficulties – if your audience doesn’t fit neatly into a search category, it can be quite challenging to target the right people using keywords.

Things to Consider

Is your website designed to convert leads? How well does your website rank organically? Your site is the destination of your PPC ads, so the first step to a campaign that performs well is making sure your landing pages are optimized and ready for visitors. Start blogging and adding fresh content on a regular basis to boost your organic ranking, and highlight CTAs (calls-to-action) within your design and content.

How competitive are the keywords you want to rank for? What are the average CPCs (costs-per-click) in your industry? Can your advertising budget accommodate first-page bids? If you don’t have the resources to support a solid PPC advertising campaign, it may not be worth it just yet.

Do you have a system in place to track real results? Don’t make the mistake of throwing all your cash at your PPC advertising campaign and hoping for the best. Take advantage of the free options provided by the program, and hunt for any others that are relevant for what you want to track. In the end, how you optimize and track your campaigns is up to you, but you can’t neglect this step.

The Verdict

Weighing your options still? If you’re between SEO and PPC advertising, just remember that both should be part of your marketing strategy in the long run. The two complementary efforts will deliver best results. With that said, you may have a tight budget and limited resources, so it just may be best to begin with SEO activities first to boost your organic rankings before diving into a paid program.

But, then again, it really all depends on your business, what you’re offering, what your goals are, and where your starting point is. PPC advertising isn’t always right for every company, but we will gladly speak with you about your options and your specific situation. And of course, there’s no obligation by calling us or reaching out.

Contact us (give us a call or fill out the form on your right) for your complimentary business evaluation. We will help you decide which search marking strategy is best for you right now!

Have any thoughts or advice pertaining to PPC advertising? Comment below and share your wisdom with everyone!

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