PAID SEARCH ADVERTISING

A paid search marketing strategy can take your digital media campaign to the next level because it is designed to connect your business with searchers who are actively seeking what you may be advertising. There are several different types of campaign strategies but the main ones are PPC/CPC (pay per click/cost per click) and CPM (cost per impression). Many people argue that PPC/CPC campaigns are most effective, but discerning your marketing tactics will ultimately guide you to which method is best.

With a PPC campaign you big for ad placement within a search engine’s sponsored links for keywords that relate to your business or services and then you pay the search engine a small fee for each click. It’s kind of a more direct “you scratch my back, I scratch yours” situation. An effective PPC can place your company at the forefront of web activity for relevant information because potential customers, usually at the point of purchase, will primarily see your ads in their search queue, thus increasing your sales conversion rates.

On the other hand, with a CPM campaign, you are an advertiser that appears on a search engine results page (SERP) and pay the search engine every 1,000 times your ad is viewed on the page. As a general rule of thumb, PPC/CPC can be best for sales, while CPM can be best for companies who want to raise general brand awareness.

Google AdWords is Google’s own advertising platform – offering both PPC and CPM advertising (including site targeted banner, text and rich media ads) – and is generally designed to maximize the benefit for all parties involved: Google, your business, and the users themselves. You can choose to gain access to either or both the Google Search Network (Search, Shopping, Maps, etc.) and the Google Display Network (any of their partners and other Google sites like Gmail, YouTube, and Blogger). Moreover, with their Enhanced Campaigns you can choose to target audiences based on time of day, location, and the device they’re using (mobile vs. desktop).