25 May 2009

The Power of Paid Search Marketing

Submitted by: Carla
{pp}PPC and SEO are the elements that comprise search marketing, and if the correct synergy is achieved, the two prove to be powerful marketing tools.


With our previous focus on Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and its importance in search marketing, we now look at Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising as the twin influence.

PPC works on a bidding system and provides paid-for traffic to your website on a per click basis. PPC advertising is key-phrased based and there are three visual elements to a Pay Per Click advert: a title, a description and a display URL. Adverts are displayed alongside relevant searches in the search engines, and alongside contextually relevant content on third party sites that have opted into PPC advertising publishers’ programmes (also known as Adsense).

The position the advert takes on the search engine result page depends on a number of factors generally referred to as the Quality Score. These include the bid cost for the keyword (versus the competition), as well as the relevance of the advert, your chosen keywords and the landing page. Google determines the position of your advert by utilising a weighted algorithm that takes these factors into account. This means that the highest bid will not necessarily rank first in these paid listings.

A PPC campaign can complement a SEO campaign in a variety of ways, especially in the early stages of the SEO campaign when the website is still acquiring organic rankings within search engines. PPC is a valuable marketing research tool since it is a great way to test key-phrases for an SEO campaign. Due to PPC’s immediate nature, your online marketing consultant can track which key-phrases are attracting the most visitors and conversions and adjust the SEO campaign accordingly to ensure maximum return on investment. Industries in South Africa that prosper by implementing PPC campaigns typically include commerce related websites and services such as property, tourism, financial services and consulting, health products, flowers, gifts, technology and dating amongst others.

Some studies suggest that running a SEO and PPC campaign simultaneously provides better click-through results. “You may not have a presence on the search engines in the organic listings for all of the key-phrases for which you’d like to rank, but utilising PPC to fill in the gaps will allow you to have a presence for all key-phrases related to your business activity” says Christine da Silva, AlterSage Founder and Chief Strategist. PPC can help to create brand awareness within the online sphere, especially since Google Ads appear not only on search engines but also on websites that have opted into the AdSense programme. These sites form part of the content network and give your PPC advert greater exposure to targeted audiences on third-party sites.

Another benefit of PPC is that the adverts appear in the search engines straight after you activate your campaign, therefore PPC is great way to achieve immediate results. Of course the advertisements are only active while you’re within your budget, meaning that the only drawback is that as soon as your budget runs out, so do your paid visitors.

For e-commerce websites a search engine marketing campaign that combines PPC and SEO is a great online marketing solution, especially for promotions. Since PPC adverts appear immediately and for any geo-location, they can be placed at any time to promote products for special events or occasions like Valentine’s Day or Mothers Day anywhere around the globe.

There are a number of ways to maximise the standard PPC conversion rate of 2% to the more profitable margins of between 4% and 10% (and sometimes as high as 20% depending on industry and offer), one being that the URL in the adverts should link to a unique landing page on your website. This will transfer the visitor to persuasive content relevant to exactly where they want to be. This typically reduces any additional clicks and searches on the website and psychologically leads to an action (conversion) taking place faster. Faster meaning possibly within the session rather than a return session.

Google recently announced they will be removing trade mark protection and allow competitors to bid on rival trademark terms and brand names. “With this new Adwords ruling taking effect from 1 June 2009, it will be imperative that PPC campaigns are supported with a solid SEO campaign to promote increased presence regardless of competitor bidding” says da Silva.

If you would like to know how PPC can add to your current online marketing strategy and increase your return on investment, feel free to contact us. With over a decade’s worth of combined experience in the marketing and online industry, AlterSage offer custom-created online strategies tailored to each client’s industry, audience and goals.

Contact information:
AlterSage
18 Roeland Street
First Floor
Cape Town
8001

[0ffice] (+27 21] 462 0036
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[Website] www.altersage.com