If you search for anything on Google, Bing or another search engine, typically the first three results will say “Ad” before the listing. This means that these high-visibility spots are paid advertisements by businesses and other organizations looking to gain increased traffic to their website from people searching for a given term.
These advertisements are purchased through an auction and paid for on a pay-per-click (PPC) basis, so a budget is set based on a specific cost every time someone clicks on the ad and runs until the budget is exhausted. There are a number of advantages to this form of digital advertising, but it’s important to understand how it fits into your broader digital strategy if you’re wondering whether your business needs it.
How paid search advertising fits into a broader digital strategy
PPC search advertising is a great way to get quick visibility and generate traffic for your website, but if it isn’t working in conjunction with other digital channels, you run the risk of inefficiently using your marketing budget. For example, if there are keywords where your website is performing well in organic search results — the unpaid search listings generated by the search engines themselves — it would not be cost effective to spend your PPC advertising dollars on this area.
Instead, paid search advertising can be effectively employed in these areas:
- Underperforming organic keywords
- Areas where your competition is outperforming you
- New campaigns and search areas where your business is still establishing itself
The short answer is that you do need paid search advertising, whether you are just getting into digital marketing or you have been doing it for years. Since organic search is often a long-term strategy that takes time and resources to see results for, paid search can be a great way to get off the ground. What’s more, paid search platforms such as Google Ads offer tremendous flexibility for budgeting and tracking while offering a wealth of useful data that can even help your other marketing channels.
Turn to a partner for paid search expertise
The digital marketing space can be notoriously tricky for any size business to navigate. This is where a knowledgeable and trustworthy partner can help. At Burg & Co. Marketing, we’ve built a team with a depth of experience in marketing channels including paid search advertising, search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing and social media marketing. We know how to balance these different pillars to create an integrated strategy that is right for you and your brand.
To learn more and schedule a free marketing consultation for your organization, contact us today.
