The vast majority of people who search on Google do not look past the first page of search results. Google sponsored ads, also known as Pay Per Click (PPC) ads, provide all businesses with a website an opportunity to feature themselves on the first page of Google search results. In simple terms, it allows you to get your website and brand in front of people who are searching for what you have to offer.
How Does It Work?
When a person performs a search using Google, two different types of search results appear. (Refer to Figure 1 below for an example.) The main results appear on the left-hand side of the search results page and are known as “natural” or “organic” search results, which are based on a set of criteria that Google uses to determine if the website is relevant to the information requested. In addition, there are also search results on the right-hand side of the page, under the heading entitled “Sponsored Links”. Sponsored links can also appear above the organic search results in a pastel-coloured background.
Figure 1: Google search results showing organic and sponsored listings
Sponsored links, as shown in Figure 1, also referred to as Google Adwords or Google PPC, are paid advertisements. Every time a user clicks on one of these adverts and visits the advertiser´s website, Google charges a PPC fee to the advertiser.
What Does a PPC Ad Cost?
The amount varies and here’s why: advertisers, or website owners, enter a blind bidding process against other advertisers/website owners for their ad to be featured in 1 of 11 spots on the first page of Google for any given search term. So, what you pay to Google every time someone clicks on your advert depends upon:
- The number of people who are bidding on a keyword or search phrase and how much they are prepared to pay for it, and
- The position of where you want your ad to appear on the page
- The Benefits of Advertising With Google Adwords
There are several key benefits your business will receive from advertising with Google Adwords, specifically:
- Your advert appears in front of people who are actively searching for what you have to offer. They’ve specifically requested the information about a product/service you sell.
- You can set daily budgets so that once you’ve hit the amount that you are prepared to spend, Google will stop showing your advert until the next day.
- You can specify what time of the day or days of the week you want your advert to show.
- You can limit your advertising audience to a specific geographic area. If what you have to offer is only available to people in a particular region/city/country, then it won’t be shown to anyone outside of that geographical area.
- You can choose as many keywords/search phrases as you like and have different ads for each.
- You can specify that adverts go to any page on your website, not just your home page.
- You can bid different amounts on various search phrases.
There are also many more ways that Google Adwords can be set up and managed to ensure you only pay for visitors to your website who have a genuine interest in what you have to offer. While it is true that anyone can set up and run a basic adwords campaign, a poorly established campaign will result in money wasted if you are not getting the right visitors to your website, and if once there, they are not making a purchase or interacting with your website in a desired way (for example, signing up for your company newsletter, downloading a report, requesting a quote, etc).
If your keen to know more about optimising ad keywords, you may want to refer to this third-party article entitled How to optimize your entire search funnel.
Find Out How PPC Advertising Can Help Your Business
Our skilled team of experts here at The Web Company manage Google advertising campaigns on behalf of many of our clients. We monitor and manage many campaigns on a daily basis, making adjustments where necessary to ensure that our customers receive the best results for their advertising dollars.
So, if you’re interested in ensuring your business appears on the first page of Google and that the right visitors arrive at your website who are ready to inquire and/or make a purchase, give us a call. We’re here to help. 09 834 6646.
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