PPC Services

PPC is a paid advertising model, meaning you appear as an advertisement on a search engine results page or other targeted areas, rather than earning exposure organically; you then pay a small fee once your ad is clicked on. PPC isn’t limited to just Google Ads, there’s a whole realm of channels that can advertise your business including Microsoft Ads, Media & Paid Social Advertising.

Google Ads is a business advertising service by Google. Adverts will be displayed on Google’s search results, rather than other search engines such as Yahoo or Bing. Through Google Ads, you can also manage your ad campaign from start to finish. 

There are six main campaign types that suit our clients best, these include: 

• Search ads. Ads target keywords used by potential customers in their online search, meaning the paid ad will appear on the results pages for this search. 
• Display ads. Display advertising is less specific in its targeting, appearing almost anywhere on websites, using a mix of imagery and text to engage audiences. 
• Remarketing ads. Remarketing ads target those who have already engaged with your website or products, encouraging them to buy.
• Video ads. Video advertising utilises videos as the media for advertisement, appearing on platforms such as YouTube.
• Shopping ads. Google Shopping ads appear at the top of the results page displaying products and prices related to a user’s search. 

Online display advertising is a campaign type within Google Ads. It refers to adverts which appear on a website - usually to the side, above, or below the website content. The ads are usually square or rectangular in shape, and may feature images and text which can move. 

PPC refers to a paid advertising model where you pay every time your advert is clicked on. This covers a broad spectrum of advertising methods and ways to advertise your business online.

Cost Per Click (CPC) is the cost associated with a single click across your entire campaign. The CPC of PPC is the total cost divided by the number of clicks. If you received 100 clicks on your advertisement, for which there was a £200 budget, then your CPC would be: 200 ÷ 100 = £2 per click. 

Cost Per Action (CPA), is the price that you’ve paid for an action (filling out an enquiry form, downloading a PDF) to take place on your website after your ad has been clicked. This is known as a conversion action.

Average CPA and Target CPA are commonly used words when running Google Ads campaigns. 

Average CPA. This is a calculated metric which looks at the actual cost per action (conversion) and works out an average across a period of time. For example, if you receive one conversion at a cost of £10, and another at a cost of £20, the average CPA would be £15.

Target CPA. This is an automated bidding strategy that uses Google’s machine learning and top signals in order to bid and get the most conversions for your campaign. You can set how much you’re willing to pay for each conversion action and Google will do their best to target towards or achieve that figure. However, there are a number of complexities to consider when undertaking Target CPA.

SEO and PPC both represent ways of getting your website seen by search engine users by placing your website as close to the number one position in the result rankings as possible. PPC utilises paid methods to do this, displaying a link to your website as an advert in a visible position on a search page or website. SEO uses optimisation strategies on and off your website to help your website climb the results rankings organically over time, without using paid methods.

Whilst PPC reaps almost immediate results, SEO is more viable long term. They work best together, however.

Yes, PPC complements SEO. For many reasons, the two marketing strategies work best when used together. For instance, you can increase your brand awareness and site traffic through greater visibility when implementing both PPC and SEO. The data gathered from PPC campaigns can guide your SEO strategy and content, such as the most effective keywords to target.

One of the disadvantages of PPC is that it requires skill to be performed successfully - the thorough research, design, strategy, as well as monitoring of the campaign should be completed by someone familiar to this platform. 

Another disadvantage is that clicks don’t always lead to sales - someone may click on your ad and show interest, but it is up to you to convert that lead into a sale.

Finally, PPC campaigns need regular maintenance in order for them to be successful over time. Campaigns must be tracked and adjusted to stay relevant and on trend.

Where PPC ads appear depend on the type of PPC used. 

In Google Ads, you have the opportunity to be shown across Google’s search engine, as well as Google’s network (which covers around 90% of the internet) and includes Google platforms such as Gmail and YouTube.

Search Campaigns can be configured on Google Ads and Microsoft Ads, and both use their own search engines to show ad results within searches. Ads can be seen at the top and bottom of the search results page, and can be distinguished away from organic results with *sponsored* text.

PPC costs can vary depending on how competitive your industry is and the complexity of your goals. Some clients need more campaigns than others, requiring a greater budget allocation. Oftentimes, the greater your budget allocation, the better your results - however you should always consider the cost per click (CPC) of targeted keywords.

The average CPC in the UK is between £1 and £5. However, we’ve seen keywords in the past that have an average cost per click of £65, which is why a careful strategy is so important.