In the beginning, Google made Paid Search, and the businesses rejoiced.
This brief section will guide you into the basics of PPC, how it works, and how it can help your business grow.
• PPC Platforms – Search Engines such as Google & Bing
o Google’s search engine is by far the industry leader in exposure, usability, and performance due to their extensive global reach: nearly 68% of all searches on the Internet today.
o Bing, as part of Microsoft, is next, coming in at nearly 20% of all Internet Searches. However, just like any online platform, learning how to best navigate it, how to best use it, and ultimately, how you can make it work best for your business, are the key goals.
• PPC Auctions
o Bid x Quality Score = Ad Ranking
o PPC Auctions at Google, for example, work in a different way than a normal auction. Unlike traditional auctions, the amount of money you have to bid on an item is not the most important aspect. However, Bid is a major component of how Google ranks your ads.
o Quality Score is the other big piece:
1. The Quality Score of the keyword being bid upon
2. The Quality Score of the Ad triggered by the keyword
3. The Quality Score of the landing page where the ad delivers the user
When combined, this creates the Quality Score of the entire account.
Quality Score weighs heavily upon an Ad’s Ranking position within the auction, and ultimately where it will appear on the search results page.
• PPC Payment Methodology
o Both Google and Bing, or any of the other search companies out there, always expect their piece of the PPC pie – after all, these platforms make internet marketing and paid search advertising accessible to even the smallest of business owners. Just as you would pay a prominent newspaper with a huge readership to advertise in their Sunday Paper, Search Engines will charge you to advertise on their search engine as well.
o Also, just like that same prominent newspaper, you will have to write the content, or in a PPC case, build out the account, manage, and optimize it. At this point, business owners must decide whether to build and manage the account themselves, hire someone within the company, or hire a professional Internet Marketing Company that can manage the account proficiently with the business objectives in mind.
• PPC Business Benefits
o In the Vacation Rental, Hotel and Travel Destination Industries, Paid Search Advertising (PPC) is the first of many potential steps to delivering people to your site, which ultimately brings travelers to you, and drives overall revenue skyward.
o If done correctly, most businesses can gain a higher return on investment, especially when compared to traditional marketing techniques.
o PPC Advertising tracks every penny going into the campaigns. If set-up properly, it can also track every penny made in revenue. This will allow you, the business owner, to track your ROI on every dollar spent on your PPC campaigns. This gives PPC a one-two punch when compared to traditional marketing.
