Marketing is undoubtedly one of the best ways for small businesses to attract customers. Though most small business owners and managers understand how the Internet can help them reach specific customers, they can learn from the online marketing techniques employed by larger companies. Such companies often use Pay-Per-Click Campaigns to drive web-surfers to their website through search and display advertising. By now, most small businesses understand what Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is all about yet few know that inbound marketing campaigns are well-served by complementary paid advertising efforts. Though paid advertising is often costlier than inbound marketing, ads drive web traffic and thereby increase the opportunity to convert visitors into subscribers. This practice ultimately increases the number of subscribers in the marketing funnel, who can then be nurtured through inbound marketing campaigns.
Pay-per-click Advertising
In the late 1990s, online advertising was all about banner ads. Today, online ads are typically a bit more subtle. Contemporary Internet ads are often carefully placed in an attempt to lure web-surfers to the advertiser's website. The key is to create and properly position ad copy that captures the visitor's attention. For example, consider a sporting goods store that places an ad on websites like ESPN or Yahoo Sports with a headline of, Top 6 Gloves for Your Little Leaguer. When parents of little league players visit these sites, they see the headline and many will click it to find out if their child's glove made the list. As a result, the sporting goods store welcomes a new online visitor with a high probability of conversion.
Advertising on Popular Websites Doesn't Have to be Cost Prohibitive
Implementing a PPC campaign on popular websites might not seem like an efficient way to spend the money you've budgeted for online advertising. Don't shun the notion off the bat. Plenty of big name websites provide surprisingly affordable advertising space. Certain websites allow for PPC campaigns while others have their own idiosyncratic platforms. Perform your due diligence on advertising networks such as Outbrain and Taboola. Such networks have affordable ad space available on a myriad of websites.
Define Your Expectations
When it comes to PPC for small businesses, defining expectations is essential. Take some time to ponder exactly the type of response you desire from a PPC marketing campaign. Write down specific campaign goals. You might determine that a click-through rate of 0.5 percent is the ideal result of your small business's PPC campaign. In layman's terms, this means that an online ad will receive 10 clicks for every 2,000 impressions. Perhaps defining your goal in terms of actual conversions makes the most sense for your particular business. As an example, you can define your PPC goal as a two percent increase in conversions across the three-month period following your PPC campaign. Such a goal will establish a benchmark to shoot for and also serve as a means of gauging the merit of your PPC effort.
It is clear that small business PPC is a low-cost and efficient means of reaching a target customer base. The days of costly radio, TV and print advertising are quickly fading away in favor of cost-effective online PPC advertising. Give PPC a chance to work its magic and your small business will reap the reward in the form of a customer influx that enhances bottom line.
