Pay-per-click advertising (PPC), also referred to Adwords or Paid Search, is a form of digital advertising used to drive online traffic to your website. As in any online lead generation tactic, it takes money and time in order to drive quality leads to your website. But unlike other forms of online lead generation, PPC systematically targets specific keywords and audiences in order to drive traffic. Click the link below to watch a quick video about the basics of PPC:
[Video: What is Pay-Per-Click]
The Timeline of PPC Advertising
After you begin running PPC advertising it does take some time to ramp up your campaigns.
Consider this: when you begin running PPC, you are starting from zero in terms of performance history. And it takes anywhere from 30 days to 90 days to ramp up your advertising in this arena.
It is important to remember performance history equals data.
Building up data is what you need to do in order to succeed with PPC. This data helps your PPC team optimize your campaigns through using keywords and audiences who are a tailored fit for your business and marketplace.
[Video: Why PPC Takes Time to Ramp Up]
How Much Does It Cost?
Several variables affect the cost of your PPC. Seasonal changes, audience size and the number of competitors all contribute to how much you are going to pay for your paid advertising. It is a tried and true case of supply and demand in an online sphere. For example, immediately before the holiday season several advertisers pull their ads because of decreased traffic during the week of Christmas. Because there is usually less traffic, the cost of leads is indeed higher. Lower traffic equals higher cost.
Pro Tip: Keep running your ads the entirety of December. Our experts say the days after Christmas result in a spike in traffic. Since the majority of advertisers drop their ads in this time, you ads will have a larger audience. Even though they may be more expensive for that specific set of time, you will have a large audience all to yourself … along with the other advertisers who read this!
The exact price of your individual ads fluctuates with the supply and demand in your online marketplace. We advise the larger the audience the better in order to insulate yourself against these changes.
[Video: Why the Cost of PPC Changes]
To learn more about PPC advertising and how you can increase your lead generation efforts, visit the BoomTown Library for more Paid Advertising resources.
Learn More About Paid Advertising
[How-To Videos and Free Downloadable Guides]