Pay per click (PPC) is a form of online advertising used to direct traffic to websites. Websites that invest in it will have their advertisements displayed to potential customers when a keyword query matches their keyword list or when their web content displays relevant content. Payment works on a per click basis, meaning that the advertiser pays the publisher (i.e., Google, Bing, website owner) when their ad is clicked and the potential customer has successfully landed on the landing page.
When given the choice between PPC and SEO, webmasters and business owners opt to run the former first because it brings them faster results. They run the PPC campaign for a month or two, test the keywords that convert better and then try to rank with those keywords organically with SEO.
Too often, the same webmasters and business owners make the mistake of thinking that paid advertising is a piece of cake and that they know it all and can achieve it all without the help of PPC Management experts. Our advice to you is to not judge the book by its cover and to take the following 5 myths we’re about to debunk seriously.
- Investing In Too Many Keywords
Driving too many keywords into one campaign is as silly as it sounds. The traffic it brings will not necessarily be high quality. Choosing specific keywords that have high search volume and low competition will prevent you from running into such a problem. Traffic from a select few and very specific keywords are much more focused on the intended audience.
- Not Working With Other Publishers
Google might be the most prominent choice; however, it is not the only publisher that will feature your ads on a per click basis. Excluding alternative publishers, such as Bing and Infolinks from the process will disavow a significant percentage of the possible audience. As well, you may find that by working with alternative networks you will be saving yourself a lot of money.
- PPC Campaigns Affect My Organic Results
This statement is false; there is no correlation between high rankings on paid ad campaigns and organic search. However, it should be noted that anything that raises brand awareness will have a positive impact on SEO. The initial interest has the potential to over time turn to increased brand searches and increased brand + keyword searches. It’s important to note that you should not be investing in PPC Management solely because you want to gain organic rankings later.
- The More You Spend, The Better You Rank
This statement is also false. Now, with a bigger budget, you can produce more click data and conversion data at a faster rank than with a small budget, which in turn can inform your optimization decisions. That’s definitely true. A big budget might also allow you to bid higher for your keywords, which can give you better positional preference. However, this idea doesn’t factor in quality score, the score Google assigns your keywords on a scale of 1-10 determining the relevance of your ad, keywords, and landing pages to each other. Quality score is very important.
- Low Search Volume Keywords Should Not Be Bid On
It is important to note the value that can be gained through long-tail keywords, which will often have lower traffic than short tail and more generic keywords. Just because a keyword doesn’t generate a large amount of traffic doesn’t necessarily mean you should not invest in. If the keyword is relevant and is bringing quality traffic to your website, bid on it, even if the positive effect it has is just a small one. Long-tail keywords may generate just a few visits, but those visits will be highly qualified and often more likely to result in a goal completion and at a lower cost per click.
