PPC Management

Why You Should Consider Online Advertising

We know what you’re thinking: why does a website focused on website design and SEO have a page devoted to online advertising? The short answer is because online advertising can play a very important role in SEO.

Different forms of online advertising such as pay-per-click (PPC), pay-per-thousand-impressions (CPM), display (banner) advertising, behavioral targeting, and retargeting (also known as remarketing) all have places where they can be used very effectively to give your SEO efforts a boost.

Before we talk about some of the ways online advertising can do this let’s make sure we’re on the same page regarding terminology.

Types of Online Advertising

• Pay-per-Click (PPC) – also known as Cost-per-Click (CPC) – is usually the form of online advertising that comes to mind first. Perhaps the best example of PPC ads are the ones you see on a Google search engine results page marked with a little ‘Ad’ icon. These ads are matched to the keywords being searched by the Google ad system and are determined by an auction scheme. All it takes to appear there is some keyword research to know what phrases to target and a willingness to spend some money to win the auction. As such, PPC ads are a very quick way to show up on page 1 for specific keyword phrases you want to target.
• Pay-per-thousand-impressions (CPM) is similar to PPC in that you are matching keyword phrases in bidding within the auction system. The difference is that you are paying every time ads are shown instead of only when they are clicked.
• Retargeting/Remarketing is a way to show ads to people who had previously visited your website. This is a very powerful way to stay top of mind and to reengage people who have shown at least some interest in what you do. You have experienced retargeting if you have ever visited a website to check out a product or service and afterwards start seeing ads for that product or service popping up on other web pages or even on Facebook.
• Display advertising also works on an auction system only the ads are typically banner images instead of text. These ads are placed on websites that are part of the display network and not on the Google search results page. This opens some interesting possibilities for displaying your advertising on websites related to what you do. For instance, if you sell camping equipment your ads could show on websites with articles about camping, assuming those websites are participating in the display network. Display advertising is frequently used with retargeting/remarketing to keep you top of mind and lead prospects along their buyer’s journey path.
• Behavioral Targeting is a variation on display advertising that places your ads only if the viewer matches certain criteria. For example, if your ideal clients are single men between the ages of 30 and 45 who like to cook, you can display ads to just that group.

4 Ways Online Advertising Works With SEO

1. PPC/CPM ads can be used to instantly show up above organic search results for keywords you wish to target. All you must do is be willing to spend the money to win the auction. Winning some keyword phrases will cost more than others depending on how competitive the keywords are, so keyword research will give you an idea of the budget required.
2. PPC/CPM ads can also be used to test out different headlines or topics by assessing what catches people’s interests as measured by what they click on.
3. Display advertising can build brand awareness by putting you in front of people who are interested in what you offer. By leading people to your website, the value of your site in Google’s eyes increases and this will help raise your ranking for future searches.
4. Once somebody finds you via search and then visits your website you can re-target them through online advertising to keep them engaged and bring them back to your site to view additional content, learn about offers, etc.

7 Keys to Effective Online Advertising

While online advertising doesn’t have to be expensive, if it’s not done correctly it can be costly. By that we mean that if you spend money but don’t get results your money has been wasted. Here are a few key things to think about when advertising online:

1. Know your audience. The more you know about your audience, the more effective you will be in targeting your ads to just that audience using messaging that they are more likely to respond to.
2. Define the objectives of the campaign. Do you simply want to build brand awareness? Move people further along the path of know, like, and trust? Sign up for your email list? Buy something from you?
3. Choose the right keywords. Just as with organic SEO, knowing what keywords your ad should be matched to is critical.
4. Write compelling headlines or use compelling display images. Give your viewer a reason to want to click the ad.
5. Build landing pages that deliver on the promise of the ad and that are tuned for conversion.
6. Pay attention to the key metrics about how your ad is performing, including what happens after someone clicks on it. In other words, do they “convert” to a client/customer.
7. Continually experiment with different versions of the ad. A/B testing is a method where two versions of the ad are shown, the better performing one is kept, and the poorer performing one is replaced by a new experimental version.

How We Can Help

At Austin SEO for Growth, we can do all the things necessary to implement a successful online advertising campaign for your business. We always start with strategy first so that we know who your ideal client is (this guides ad placement) and what your unique selling proposition is (this is the basis for your messaging). We then do the necessary research and build the ads to accomplish your campaign goals, and will monitor and optimize your campaigns along the way.

Contact us today to see how we can put online advertising to work for you.