Digital advertising is a remarkably effective way for businesses to serve ads to the exact narrow audience demographics they desire. Paid per click advertising is a very intuitive tool in this process that utilizes search engines to target ads. We’ll look at what PPC Advertising can do, and how best to use it.

Platforms

Google AdWords and Bing Ads are the largest platforms for PPC Advertising. AdWords is the market leader as it runs on Google, Display Network sites, and Search Partner sites. Both networks offer different kinds of customizable structures to help ensure the results you seek.

Keywords

 

The most common account structure for Paid Per Click advertising is the Keywords approach. Relevance is the key to success with a PPC campaign, so it makes sense that you would begin your approach by selecting very specific search terms that can trigger your ad. You can (and should) also employ “negative keywords” which will eliminate your ad from searches. As an example, if you’re selling fishing rods, you don’t want to waste money on having an ad served to someone who searches “free fishing rods” in Google or Bing. In this case, you would select “free” as a negative keyword, and perhaps “Fishing,” and “Rod” among your main keywords.

 

Targeting

You can target your ad delivery by device or location. For a device-targeting Paid per click campaign, you would decide to include desktops, mobile devices, and/or tablets. Location targeting (or geotargeting) will serve ads to people performing relevant searches within a determined proximity of a location. This is particularly helpful for brick and mortar retailers shooting to drive foot traffic.

 

Types of Ads

There are three main types of ads available for paid per click advertisers. Expanded Text Ads combine 2 headlines with a description line and two path lines (which include a URL, and the word AD, indicating a sponsored advertisement in search engines.) The expanded text ad is the most common and simplest.

The next type is a Product Listing Ad or “PLA.” PLAs work well when trying to showcase similar items that can be compared, in a grid-like layout. For example, if you were selling bracelets, you might use images of different colors and sizes. An overall title as well as individual short descriptions and prices are available.

Finally, traditional Image Ads (or digital banners) of 19 different sizes are available.