PPC For Small Businesses & How This Powerful Channel Can Help Grow Businesses

In today’s digital age, standing out online is crucial for small businesses, especially against other competitors. Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising offers a targeted and measurable way to reach your ideal customers whilst they actively looking for your business, service or product, making it a powerful addition to any small business marketing strategy.

First off, what is PPC marketing?

PPC is a form of online advertising where you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. This means you’re not wasting money on impressions (ad views) that don’t translate into website traffic. Popular platforms for PPC include search engines like Google and Bing.

PPC campaigns are the sponsored listings you see at the top once you search for something in the search bar on Google or Bing. To reach the top of the SERP (search engine results page), your campaigns enter an auction in which Google (or Bing) reads thousands of signals depending on the quality of the ad and the behaviour of the user to decide which ad is best suited to the query the user is searching for.

Imagine you’re a business owner, and you want your ad to appear when people search for keywords related to your product or service. You’ll participate in an auction alongside other advertisers bidding on those same keywords. Each advertiser sets a max bid, which is the highest amount they’re willing to pay every time someone clicks on their ad (cost-per-click or CPC).

However, having the highest bid doesn’t guarantee you the top spot. Search engines consider another crucial factor: Quality Score. This score reflects how relevant and useful your ad and landing page are to the user’s search query. Ads with a higher quality score can outrank competitors with a lower score even if their bid is lower. Quality Score is influenced by elements like your ad’s click-through rate (CTR) and how well your ad text and landing page content align with the user’s intent.

There’s one more twist: most PPC platforms utilise a second-price auction system. This means the winner of the auction (the ad displayed at the top) only pays slightly more than the second-highest bid. This discourages overly aggressive bidding and rewards advertisers who have crafted high-quality, relevant ads.

So, the takeaway for small businesses is this: PPC isn’t just a spending spree. By creating compelling and informative ads that resonate with your target audience and optimising your landing pages for conversions, you can significantly improve your quality score. This allows you to potentially outrank competitors with a lower bid, making PPC a more strategic and cost-effective marketing tool for your small business.

So why is PPC good for small businesses?

Small businesses often struggle to be seen and heard, however without a digital marketing presence, you’re asking people to know you exist without telling anyone! Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising offers a powerful solution, by targeting people who are actively searching for products or services like yours with additional audience targeting capabilities, such as location, age, gender, demographic, interests and behaviours as well as overlaying customer match list or website data to remarket those who have already interacted with your business.

PPC can be a game-changer for small businesses, but navigating the world of keywords and bids can be tricky, especially when working with a limited budget. The good news is, with a strategic approach, you can still achieve impressive results. Here’s how your budget can guide your PPC strategy:

Smaller Budget, Sharper Focus: Longtail Keywords are Your Friend

With a limited budget, aiming for high-volume, generic terms like “Dubai holidays” (74,000 monthly searches) might seem tempting. But the reality is, such terms are fiercely competitive, driving up your cost-per-click (CPC) and potentially exhausting your budget in a day, just on that one keyword.

Instead, focus on long-tail keywords. These are more specific phrases with lower search volume but a higher conversion rate. For example, “luxury all-inclusive family holidays in Dubai” might have a much lower search volume (say, 100 searches per month) but those searching with such specificity are much more likely to be ready to book, leading to a better return on your investment (ROI).

Even with long-tail keywords, you can further refine who sees your ads. Google Audience Signals allows you to provide additional details about your ideal customer. Going beyond demographics like age and location, you can target users based on their income bracket. In our example, if you know you specialise in luxury Dubai vacations, you can leverage Audience Signals to target users with a higher household income, ensuring your ads reach those most likely to convert after seeing your offer for premium getaways.

Budgeting for Success: A Mix of Strategies

As your budget grows, you can expand your reach. Consider allocating a portion of your budget to a few broad keywords like “family Dubai holidays” to capture some high-volume traffic. However, continue to prioritise long-tail keywords as your core strategy. This balanced approach allows you to cast a wider net while still maximising conversions from users with high purchase intent.

Remember: It’s all about finding the right balance between reach and relevance. By leveraging long-tail keywords and strategically incorporating broader terms as your budget allows, you can create a PPC campaign that drives qualified traffic and conversions for your small business.

You can test either side of the marketing funnel – targeting those who are searching research-based queries (best places to go on holiday) or those who know exactly what they want (all-inclusive holidays to Dubai) allowing you to capture people throughout their journey.

With strategic bidding and high-quality ad creation, you can secure top placement on search engine results pages (SERPs), putting your brand right in front of potential customers who might otherwise miss you. This increased visibility allows you to capture a larger share of the market and establish yourself as a leader in your industry.

Why will PPC not work for certain small businesses?

While PPC offers a wealth of benefits for small businesses, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. Here’s why PPC might not be the best fit for every situation:

• Resource Intensive: Managing PPC campaigns effectively requires time and expertise. Keyword research, ad creation, campaign optimisation, and budget management can be a significant undertaking, especially for businesses with limited resources. Consider your team’s bandwidth and capabilities before diving into PPC.
  • It may be worth considering a digital marketing agency (like Talking Stick Digital) to take care of the marketing, especially as a small business you want to make sure the money you are investing, is being put to good use and is being used effectively – with the professionals who have inside knowledge and expertise.

• Budget Constraints: PPC can be a budget-friendly marketing tool, but it does require investment. Highly competitive industries or specific keywords can drive up bid costs, potentially exceeding your budget for limited returns. It’s crucial to have a realistic budget and understand the potential cost-per-click (CPC) for your target keywords before starting.
  • For example, if in your industry you are competing against the big players, your average cost-per-click will be much higher leading to having a low ROI or high cost per acquisition which may not be efficient for your company. However, if you are in a niche industry, PPC is exactly the marketing tool you want as no other competitor is taking real estate within the SERP page – leaving a gap right for you!

• Learning Curve: PPC involves navigating complex platforms and strategies. Mastering the intricacies of keyword research, ad copywriting, and campaign optimisation takes time and dedication. If you’re not prepared to invest in learning the ropes, or you lack the internal expertise, PPC might not be the most efficient use of your resources.
  • You can also look at investing some money into an agency where they can do all the strategy for you, however, this is an additional investment alongside the paid spend for the PPC campaigns which for some small businesses, is not feasible.

• Long-Term Play: Don’t expect immediate results with PPC. Building a successful PPC campaign takes time and ongoing optimisation. You’ll need to continuously monitor performance, refine your strategies, and adjust your budget allocation to maximise your return on investment (ROI).

If PPC is not for you, there are other digital marketing channels that may benefit your business:

If PPC seems daunting, consider exploring alternative marketing strategies that align better with your resources and goals:

• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO): Focus on organic search ranking through keyword optimisation and content marketing. While SEO takes time to build momentum, it offers long-term benefits and cost-effective traffic generation.
  • SEO marketing is the organic listings that appear underneath the PPC ads
    (where it doesn’t say sponsored) This is a long-term strategy that does not take any paid spend, all you would pay is the management fee that you pay your digital marketing company to do it for you

• Social Media Marketing: Leverage social media platforms to connect with your target audience organically and through paid advertising options. Many platforms offer budget-friendly targeted ad campaigns.
• Email Marketing: Build an email list and nurture leads with targeted email campaigns promoting your products or services. This is a cost-effective way to reach a pre-qualified audience.

In conclusion, PPC advertising is a powerful tool, with its targeted approach, measurable results, and budget flexibility, PPC allows you to reach the right audience at the right time, driving qualified leads and conversions. Remember, PPC is an ongoing process that thrives on optimisation and data analysis. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t see results overnight. By continuously refining your campaigns and leveraging the expertise available, you can unlock the true potential of PPC and watch your business flourish online.

If you’re ready to leverage PPC for your small business but have questions or need help getting started, our team of digital marketing experts is here to guide you. We can help you craft a winning PPC strategy, manage your campaigns, and ensure you’re getting the most out of your investment.

Contact us today for a free digital marketing audit and take the first step towards achieving online success with PPC advertising.