What is PPC?
Well, a textbook definition of PPC marketing says “Pay-per-click, also known as cost per click, is an internet advertising model used to direct traffic to websites, in which an advertiser pays a publisher when the ad is clicked. Pay-per-click is commonly associated with first-tier search engines.”
There are many types of PPC ads, but one of the most important and commonly used is the paid search ads. A user may search anything like “Buy Mobile Phone” or a local service like “Nearest Car repair service”. Our ads get triggered when a user searches a query matching our keywords in the Ad copy.
It is quite evident from the above example that a person searching a term like “Buy Mobile Phone” is already in their buying stage. This is the reason why PPC ads are so popular; the chances of a customer getting converted are much higher in PPC ads than any other form of paid advertising.
But it doesn’t mean that you cannot harness the power of PPC ads for other stages of the Sales Cycle. In fact, when used creatively, PPC ads can really help you build a strong Brand Identity.
We all know how branding a vital role plays in the growth of the company. Branding affects people on a psychological level and helps company to build trust among their employees.
So, it is recommended to use the power of search engine ads to amplify your brand.
Here are some tips to use PPC ads in a successful Brand Building:-
When it comes to PPC Ads everyone jumps to the technical things like KPI’s, CPC, CPM etc.
There are very few instances where companies think PPC as a branding tool. But effective use of PPC ads for branding has long-term benefits.
Use Remarketing list for Search Ads (RLSA) to offer Discounts to your existing customers.
Remarketing is an effective tool to keep your customers happy and retain them for a longer period of time. You can upload a list of your existing customers in your CRM and the next time when they search for a product or service you offer, you can advertise them with a unique offer like “Hey, since you are our loyal customer, we offer you 3-month rent free service”. This step can prove very effective in driving brand loyalty.
Run Ads for Awareness Stage
As mentioned earlier, PPC ads are mainly used to target customers in their buying stage. But you can also use PPC to attract customers even when they are in their awareness stage. This helps you to understand customer’s intention right from the beginning and you can create content and ad campaigns as per their needs. You could ask them to sign up your newsletter and give additional information about your business.
Specially Designed Landing Pages
Let’s say you have a product specifically designed for a particular set of audience. So when you decide to advertise this product you need to have a tailored approach. You should understand their needs, their intention of buying the product and design the page in a way that communicates your ideas in a language they can understand. Designing a landing page and projecting the fact you are specially designing this landing page will definitely have a positive impact on your customer. This makes the customer believe that you care about them and helps you build a deeper relationship.
Cross-sell other products
Any Marketing person will tell you that it is easier to retain an existing customer than to attract a new one. Cross-selling technique is applicable for a business which has a wide range of products and services.
For example – If you have an educational product and let’s say a customer has recently completed a course named “basics of written grammar”. Of course, a person who is interested in this course is trying to improve their writing. You can use your remarketing techniques to advertise him with course like “Basics of writing”, highlighting the fact that all your needs are fulfilled on the same website. This is a great way of keeping your customers loyal to your brand.
Make it easier for Customers to find you
According to Microsoft Internal research, the average time between a local physical search and the actual purchase of the product is around 5 hours; since many people prefer to visit a physical store before buying a product. Brands targeting a local audience, must also mention a physical store address in order to make it easier for a customer to find them.
Indirect Branding
When people are looking for an answer, instead of a product or a service, you can use this opportunity to solve their problems and brand yourself as an expert.
Content is the core of Digital Marketing. What if you can make your content marketing and PPC efforts go hand in hand?
Ratings
You must have noticed some star marks (called as ratings) in the ad listings when you search for a product or a service. You need to have at least 30, 4+ star ratings in past 12 months in order to be eligible to show star rating in your search engine ads, so you need to make sure that you receive ratings & reviews from your customers more frequently. People tend to do research before they deal with any business, having good ratings will make sure that your customer is enticed into thinking that the business is genuine and they might click your ads in order to make further enquiry.