The Pros and Cons of PPC Advertising

As a PPC agency that has been in the industry for over a decade, we know a thing or two about pay-per-click advertising. PPC is one of the most common types of advertising, it stands for ‘pay per click’, meaning you only pay when your advert is clicked on. Google, Bing and Amazon all use a form of PPC advertising, the ads can range from search engines to video ads on YouTube.

Whilst PPC advertising can benefit a great range of businesses, naturally, there will always be pros and cons. By understanding what these are you can get a better idea of whether this is the right type of advertising for you.

The Pros

Let’s start with the good stuff…

PPC ads are immediate

If you want to get your ads out into the digital world quickly, then PPC is one of your best bets. If, for example, you have a sale that is occurring next week, you can set up a campaign to advertise this, and as soon as you press live your ads will be appearing all over the net. This is unlike other digital marketing strategies, for example, SEO, which can take weeks or months to come into effect.

They can build brand awareness

PPC advertising is great for building brand awareness. Even if people fail to click on your ad, you are still getting your name and message out there. They may, even subconsciously, make note of your product name or service, which can result in you being at the forefront of their mind when they actually need you.

You can DIY

You may choose to hire a PPC agency to manage your ads, but it is not strictly necessary. Launching a PPC campaign is time-consuming, and a little complicated, but it can be done. If, however, you want display or video ads created, you may want to turn to an agency to get the creative on point.

You won’t spend money if no one clicks on your ads

Payment is only taken after people click on your ad, you don’t have to pay for the space itself. If you run an ad for a month but no one clicks on it, you won’t spend a penny. This is one of the best benefits of PPC advertising, and the reason why it is so cost-effective.

The Cons

PPC campaigns are expensive long term

The longer you keep your campaign running, the more you have to spend. If you are planning a long-term marketing solution, options such as SEO may be better. It can take a while for your site to move through the ranks, but even so, this is not something you have to pay for.

You might pay for accidental clicks

Not everyone who clicks on your ad will end up as a paying customer, in fact, you might get many accidental clicks. You can try to limit the number by being careful with your keywords, but even so, you can’t totally avoid this.

It’s highly competitive

A lot of your competitors are going to be running ads for the same keywords, just like yours. They’ll also be bidding competitively, which may boost up how much you pay for a click.

If you want to chat more about the pros and cons of PPC advertising, we’d be more than happy to run you through them. Just get in touch.