subject: How (and Why) To Use Ppc For A Building Lead Generation And Boosting Sales [print this page] Pay per click is the most direct and measurable form of advertising in existence. That's right: those little, yellow highlighted search results at the top and right side of search engines like Google and Yahoo have been complete (but not perfect) game changers for dentists providing everything from dental cleanings to full mouth reconstruction.
What Is PPC Marketing?
For the uninitiated, pay-per-click (or PPC) advertising is a search engine marketing approach that allows you to attract active prospects searching the Internet for products or services you provide.
Through a complex bidding and ad quality process, your ad displays on relevant searches served up on specific keyword-driven results pages. Users click through your ad to your website or a landing page specifically designed to address their search criteria and convert through a call to action response. A media fee is assessed every time a user clicks on your ad, meaning you pay the search engine for displaying your ad. Consumers and businesses use online search overwhelmingly when looking for products and services of all kinds. As a result, PPC programs must be carefully developed, executed, and tracked in order to be effective. Simple, direct, and powerful. That's the gist.
How Is Your PPC Campaign Being Monitored?
The core purpose of a PPC campaign is to implement strategies and techniques to increase lead flow and new customers for a company. The way this is done effectively is to conduct in-depth research on a specific industry, keywords, messaging, landing page designs and conversion methodology, as well as budget and bidding management and reporting.
Then to use the information gleaned to continually make adjustments to the specific PPC strategy to keep it ahead of the client's online competition. PPC campaigns are expensive, however, and companies who implement successful campaigns need to be alert and dynamic: if not executed and managed properly, campaigns can result in lost opportunities and wasted advertising dollars. With this in mind, if you are looking to launch a campaign (or monitor and improve an existing one), you need to search out an experienced company that has a proven track record of delivering results.
What are the Red Flags to Look for When Picking Your PPC Campaign Provider?
As mentioned above, PPC campaigns are multifaceted and complex, and they can be expensive. But cost varies on a case per case basis and is a nominal figure: the actual dollar amount of a campaign is meaningless unless it is compared with (and justified by) the results it achieves. How else does a company determine if its campaign is expensive or not? A company spending $15,000 per quarter on a campaign that generates $100,000 in new business in a quarter is a completely justified investment, rather than an abstract expense.
Companies launching PPC campaigns - and other interactive or Internet driven marketing strategies - should always think in terms of return on investment and conversion. Traffic without conversion is noise. A haphazardly concocted PPC campaign that isn't done right is an expense. But one, if done right, that could be their best lead generation and revenue boosting activity.
The company you choose to implement and manage your PPC campaign should have a team dedicated to the task and provide reporting on its success. It should also tell you what the reports mean and guide you through the process and changes in a consistent and thoughtful way. It should offer a personal account manager, provide access to strategy and development, content creation, automated bid management, budget analysis, keyword research, keyword editing, frequent, consistent contact, competitive intelligence and analysis, comprehensive sales tracking, detailed reporting, and, ultimately, peace of mind.
