Pay-Per-Click (PPC) marketing is one of the most effective means of driving traffic to a website and quickly at that. As the name suggests, you have to pay for each ‘click’ that directs a visitor to your website.
There are certain important factors to keep in mind here. The most important of all is that you need to have a clear idea of the return on investment (ROI) you can expect on your PPC marketing campaign. You will have to pay for each click regardless of whether it results in a sale or not. This is why it is important that you understand who PPC marketing is for and who is it not for.
Does Traffic = Leads/Customers?
It is one thing to drive traffic to your website but quite another to convert visitors into leads/customers. This is the first cutoff point where you can decide if you should or shouldn’t use PPC marketing.
If your website or landing page isn’t equipped to convert traffic into customers, there is little you will gain from it. On the other hand, if you are confident that your website is ready and prepped for converting visitors into leads or customers, you should consider PPC marketing.
Have You Found the Right Keywords?
Keywords play a key role in PPC marketing. Every search starts with a keyword or a search phrase. If you don’t know the right keywords to use for your campaign, you won’t gain anything from running PPC ads.
First of all, you need to figure out which keywords are perfect for you. After this, analyze the cost of the keywords you want to target. If they are costly, the ROI may not be worth the effort even if you manage to convert every single visitor.
How Deep Are Your Pockets?
Compared to other internet marketing methods, PPC marketing is considerably cheaper. However, that doesn’t mean you can afford it easily. You may have to pay well over $1 per click. If your budget for a day is $50, you cannot expect more than 50 visitors.
In short, PPC ads may increase the number of visitors to your website, but it may not be enough to deliver the profits that you are looking for. So, if your marketing budget is limited to $500, for example, then PPC marketing is clearly not for you.
Are You in a Hurry?
If you want to increase the number of visitors to your website in the least amount of time, PPC marketing is your best bet. On the other hand, if you have the time and the patience to wait for a while, there is probably no need to spend money on PPC marketing when you can get more out of it investing in other marketing methods, such as SEO.
What is Your Current Traffic Volume?
If you are attracting sizable relevant traffic through organic internet marketing, there is no need for you to indulge in PPC marketing. Of course, the choice is yours at the end of the day, but you may not gain much from it. You are better off improving the methods you are already employing than taking on something completely new.
Answering the questions listed in this article can help you understand who PPC marketing is and isn’t for. This will hopefully make it easier for you to decide whether you should invest your time, money and resources in running a PPC campaign for your website or you’d better invest those in another marketing method that you are more experienced with and already know it delivers results for you.
