According to Forbes, pay per click (PPC) advertising is growing at a very fast pace. By 2008, companies were spending $8 billion a year on PPC advertising. Here’s some current stats and considerations:
- Market size: The global PPC advertising market is now projected to reach $730.4 billion by 2026, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.7% between 2023 and 2026. (Source: Statista)
- Competition: The competition has indeed intensified, but it also offers a wider range of platforms and targeting options. Platforms like Google Ads, Bing Ads, Facebook Ads, and Amazon Ads dominate the market, providing granular targeting and data-driven insights.
- Cost: While costs have risen compared to 2008, advancements in bidding strategies and campaign optimization have helped advertisers maximize their return on investment (ROI). Automation tools and AI-powered solutions further refine targeting and budget allocation, making PPC campaigns more efficient.
Key PPC-related trends to consider:
- Mobile dominance: With the majority of internet traffic now coming from mobile devices, optimizing campaigns for mobile search and in-app experiences is crucial.
- Social media advertising: Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok offer powerful ad formats and audience targeting capabilities, attracting significant PPC investment.
- Video advertising: Video ads are growing in popularity, with platforms like YouTube and Instagram offering engaging formats and effective targeting options.
- Personalization and automation: Advanced data analysis and AI-powered tools are enabling highly personalized ad experiences and automated campaign optimization, leading to improved results.
Overall, PPC advertising remains a powerful and dynamic marketing channel. While the industry has moved far beyond the $8 billion mark of 2008, its continued growth and evolution offer exciting opportunities for businesses to reach targeted audiences and achieve their marketing goals.
Managing an effective PPC campaign isn’t easy. There are several important issues involved, which I detail below. Not addressing all of these issues properly will result in poor sales performance, spending more than necessary, and overall decreased return on your investment.
Keyword Research
All pay per click advertising requires a list of keyword phrases. Identify which terms you think your potential customers will search for when thinking of your products or services. Since you already have a website, it’s often handy to take a look the existing search terms you’re being found for in the organic search results–look at your existing website statistics. There are many online tools that help with keyword research, including the online tools provided by Google AdWords and Yahoo! Search Marketing (formerly Overture). Wordtracker (www.wordtracker.com) is also a good service to help with keyword research, although they charge for their research service. Hitwise (www.hitwise.com) also can help with keyword research and, like Wordtracker, also a paid service.
Once you come up with an initial keyword list, you’ll need to choose a PPC search engine, set up the account(s), write ad copy, decide on a daily and monthly budget, and set up landing pages for your ads.
Keyword search trends are constantly changing and evolving. Over time, your potential customers will be searching for different keyword phrases depending on industry trends, the time of year, changes in the economy, and other factors. It’s always good to do a major review of all of your keywords on a regular basis, perhaps once a month. And as you watch your website statistics and sales activity, adjustments will inevitably need to be made depending on which keyword phrases are returning the greatest ROI.
Choosing a Pay Per Click Search Engine
There are more than 15 major pay per click search engines. Google, Yahoo!, and MSN generally have the most traffic, but did you know that new pay per click advertising opportunities come available all the time? Each industry has unique pay per click opportunitiesâ–there are comparison shopping search engines that charge on a CPC (cost per click) basis that are good for companies that are selling consumer products. There are even Business to Business search engines that specialize in industrial products, as well. Choosing the right PPC advertising opportunity is key to your overall marketing campaign’s success.
Gone are the days of relying solely on organic search traffic. Reach a wider audience and maximize your product’s potential by listing it on these established shopping search engines:
- Google Shopping: The undisputed leader, Google Shopping boasts vast user traffic and powerful filtering options.
- Bing Shopping: Microsoft’s answer to Google Shopping, offering a significant reach and targeted advertising options.
- Amazon: Not just a marketplace, Amazon’s search engine is a powerhouse for product discovery. Consider listing directly or through Amazon FBA.
- Shopzilla: A well-established platform with a focus on price comparison and user reviews.
- Shopmania: A European giant with a strong presence in international markets.
- PriceGrabber: A veteran in the comparison shopping space, particularly strong for electronics and appliances.
Bonus Tip: Consider niche-specific search engines like Etsy for handmade goods or Rakuten for Japanese products.
Remember: Listing on multiple platforms increases your chances of reaching potential buyers. Research and choose the engines that best align with your target audience and product categories.
All of the PPC search engines have different back-end systems that work in unique ways. It’s necessary to keep up with the latest techniques for efficiently using each system. Unfortunately, only time and experience with using each PPC search engine will allow you to become more efficient at getting new campaigns set up and managing the account on a regular basis.
Click Fraud
Click fraud exists at every search engine. What is click fraud? According to a recent article by Duncan Parry about click fraud at Pay Per Click Analyst, “Click fraud occurs when a pay per click advertising link is clicked on for a malicious reason — in other words, by somebody (or a piece of software) that isn’t interested in the products, services on content the advertiser’s website.” There are several types of click fraud, including affiliate fraud, competitor fraud, and unintentional “fraud”.
While PPC search engines like Google and Bing have teams dedicated to combating click fraud, it’s not a foolproof system. Vigilant monitoring and specialized services can help you identify and address fraudulent clicks.
Here’s an updated look at the landscape, including new resources and strategies:
Identifying Click Fraud:
- Monitor website statistics regularly: Look for inconsistencies like sudden spikes in traffic from unfamiliar sources, high bounce rates, and clusters of clicks from the same IP address.
- Utilize PPC platforms’ built-in fraud detection tools: Google Ads, Bing Ads, and other platforms offer tools to identify and filter suspicious clicks.
- Consider third-party click fraud detection services: These services analyze your PPC data and flag potential fraudulent activity.
Combating Click Fraud:
- Contact the PPC search engine: Report suspicious activity and request assistance in investigating and potentially recovering lost funds.
- Partner with a reputable click fraud audit firm: These firms can investigate suspicious activity, negotiate with the PPC search engine on your behalf, and help recover lost funds.
Updated Resources:
- ClickCease: This comprehensive platform offers click fraud detection, prevention, and protection services.
- CHEQ: AI-powered click fraud prevention solutions for Google Ads and Bing Ads.
- Sift Science: A fraud prevention platform that analyzes user behavior and device data to identify and block fraudulent activity, including click fraud.
- DoubleVerify: Leading provider of digital media measurement and verification solutions, including click fraud detection.
Additional Tips:
- Implement click throttling: This limits the number of clicks from the same IP address within a specific timeframe.
- Use negative keywords: Exclude irrelevant or inappropriate keywords from your PPC campaigns to avoid attracting fraudulent clicks.
- Stay informed: Keep up with the latest click fraud trends and techniques to adapt your defenses accordingly.
Remember, click fraud can significantly impact your PPC ROI. By actively monitoring your campaigns, utilizing the right tools and services, and staying informed, you can protect your ad spend and optimize your online advertising efforts.
Maximizing Your Overall ROI
To maximize your return on investment from a comprehensive pay per click campaign, you need to be doing the following:
— Manage the overall PPC budget — Don’t run out of money too quickly. If you bid too high and spend all that money, your ads won’t show up in the search results.
— Keyword research — Create a list of keyword phrases and constantly adjust the list based on ROI of your campaign.
— Copyrighting — Write effective online ads that causes searchers to click.
— Competitive analysis — Do you know what keyword phrases are your competitors bidding on?
— Detailed campaign analysis and reporting — Are you using the latest technology that produce reports to tell you where you’re getting the best ROI?
— New keyword opportunity identification — Using a combination of competitive analysis and industry trends, you can identify new keyword phrases that are being searched for by potential customers. These new keyword phrases are typically less expensive and can provide an even great ROI than other keyword phrase.
— Online sales tracking — It’s important to know exactly which keyword phrases are bringing sales. Are you using the latest technology and tracking capabilities to track all of your online sales and know exactly where they’re coming from?
Managing a pay per click advertising campaign can be a very time-consuming task, especially if you’re not well-versed in all of the techniques and all of the paid advertising opportunities out there. If you have a very limited budget and a very small number of keywords in your list, setting up and managing a PPC campaign might be something that you can handle yourself. However, as you add more keyword phrases to your list and compete with more and more competitors, a PPC campaign can easily become unmanageable, requiring the need for a expert pay per click consultant or search engine marketing firm.