The third and final blog in our PPC Series focuses on the different PPC Strategies and the Pros and Cons of using them. The previous blogs focused on the changes that Google has made to displaying Ads and then Top Tips for Making a PPC Campaign.

When using PPC there are generally 3 broad categories that a PPC Campaign falls into:

• SEO Cover
• Promotional Push
• Market Supremacy

Covering SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)

PPC can be used here when undertaking a re-branding exercise.  Alternatively, PPC can be utilised if you have a new website, and Google takes a few months to fully index the website so it will start appearing in searches.  One way to cover this drop in keyword traffic is to use PPC for the keywords which you wish to cover, so the company’s website will still be in the view of the customer.  Once the website is starting to appear in searches, the PPC can stop.
 

The benefits of this Strategy are:

• It is a short term solution; therefore it is relatively cheap to cover while the SEO on the website is being indexed.
• Can increase traffic you wouldn’t normally have received, and therefore increasing your potential customer base that will then look for your website in further searches.
   

The drawbacks of this Strategy are:

• Indexing a website can take a while (estimated between 3-6months, but can take up to a year) so the cost of PPC could be high.
• Because of the number of sites competing to be number 1 in Google Searches, expectations are high and they are expected to mirror PPC Ads instantly.  This is an unrealistic expectation as SEO is an on-going process, with increases as well as decreases expected.
• Not so much a negative, but when looking back over historical data (be it through our reports or Google Analytics), there might be a drop in search engine traffic due to the PPC expenditure.

Promotional Push

PPC can be used if you want to promote a special offer, new service etc. (and have the PPC Ads set up to the correct landing page). The idea behind this is, owing to the time delay in indexing a website, and your need to promote a new service, PPC is a great way of generating interest and sales/ bookings and can bring in substantial results in a short space of time.
 

The benefits of this Strategy are:

• It boosts traffic to the new product/ service and also to your website as a whole; therefore increasing the sales funnel and increasing your potential and actual customers.
• Short term PPC are more cost effective than a continual campaign.
• Puts the product out there for future reference – even if the customer has no intention of buying now the product description/ brand name will be remembered.

The drawbacks of this Strategy are:
 

• Competitors copy your approach; resulting in the Cost per Click being higher and either increasing the cost of the campaign, or receiving fewer clicks for the budget outlay.
• The cost of the PPC Campaign must be taken into consideration with each sale, as well as other costs.
• When someone clicked on your Ad it doesn’t necessarily guarantee a sale.  People may be browsing for ideas instead of products to buy there and then. The plus side is that if they liked your product and price they might return to buy it.

Market Supremacy

The final PPC strategy is by far the most expensive marketing strategy, Market Supremacy. This is the strategy used when you already have a good SEO position and want to be top for keywords or phrases you are already appearing for, and trying to block out competitors from the top of the page. This strategy is not best practice, as Google has hampered a few businesses that have carried out this practice in the past, but it still happens today.

The benefits of this Strategy:

• It is possible to single out a search result with good SEO rankings and PPC, thereby boosting traffic and potential sales, because of strong positioning.
• Create/ establish/ solidify a brand or product/service within a customer’s mind
• In the long run, the PPC transfers into organic clicks.

The drawbacks for this Strategy are:

• Very expensive:  For short, medium and long term costs this is very bad practice as depending on how popular the search term, the more costly the CPC will be and also seasonal variances e.g. Gift Voucher/ Special Offers increase dramatically at Christmas.
• Long term PPC when stopped can also mean that traffic to your website drops off also, because the financial outlay for creating Ads ceases when the budget runs out and unless your SEO work is strong clicks will be lost. This is why we promote a strong SEO so when PPC is finished there is still a strong Search Engine Position.
• Again similar to a promotional push, it leaves the door open for competitors to copy this model; thereby pushing the CPC up and decreasing the amount of clicks from the budget outlay.

As covered earlier, the best uses for PPC are for short term cover until the site has been indexed or if you are running a short promotion and want to gain the advantage in offering this product or service.  Market Supremacy strategy is very costly and can also backfire as outlined above.

The purpose of this series was to show how Google PPC has changed, and to also provide you with some expert knowledge when it comes to PPC Advertising; the benefits and pitfalls.  If you want to discuss this with us further, please do get in touch by email or phone, or leave us a comment below.

Written by Niall McCusker