Is it time to run Paid Ads, Consider Your 2024 PPC Strategy

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, wages and salaries increased 4.6 percent for the 12-month period ending in June 2023 and increased 5.3 percent for the 12-month period ending in June 2022. Raw materials have increased from 5% to 22% in the last 12 years. You are going to need to increase prices and/or sell more products and services!

You need to ensure you have enough leads in the pipeline to create the sales your business will need to thrive and grow. Is it time to improve your lead generation process? If it is, do you have the expertise and tools to be successful? A lot has changed with Google Ads, a key driver of leads for many firms. Let’s talk about what you need to know to create a 2024 PPC strategy to make the most of your advertising spend. 

Know Your Goals & Objectives

Whether or not it's time for your business to run pay-per-click (PPC) ads depends on various factors, including your business goals, target audience, budget, and the nature of your products or services.

PPC can be a powerful tool for businesses when used strategically. However, it's not a one-size-fits-all solution, and success depends on careful planning, monitoring, and optimization. Before diving in, thoroughly research and evaluate whether your PPC strategy aligns with your business objectives and resources.

Benefits of Pay-Per-Click

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising offers several benefits for businesses looking to promote their products or services online. Some of the key advantages of PPC advertising are:

• Immediate Visibility: PPC ads can appear at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs) and on relevant websites almost instantly after you set up your campaign. This immediate visibility can drive traffic to your website quickly.
• Generate Leads & Sales: PPC campaigns can help generate leads, increase in-store sales, or online sales with shopping ads. 
• Competitive Advantage: PPC allows small businesses to compete with larger companies in the online advertising space. Smaller budgets can still yield effective results when campaigns are well-managed.
• Measurable Results: PPC platforms provide detailed analytics and reporting tools. You can track metrics such as click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, cost per click (CPC), and return on ad spend (ROAS). This data helps you measure the effectiveness of your campaigns and make data-driven decisions.

PPC advertising can be a powerful tool for businesses to reach their target audience, drive traffic, and achieve their marketing goals with a high level of control, measurability, and flexibility. Successful PPC campaigns require careful planning, management, execution, and optimization to maximize their benefits.

PPC Management in-house or outsource to an agency?

Deciding whether to manage PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising in-house or outsource it to a digital marketing agency depends on your specific business circumstances, resources, and goals. Both options have their advantages and disadvantages.

Here are some considerations to help you make an informed decision:

In-House PPC Management:

Advantages:

• Greater Control: When you manage PPC in-house, you have direct control over your campaigns, strategy, and budget. You can make real-time adjustments and closely align PPC with your overall marketing efforts.
• Familiarity with Your Brand: In-house teams are typically more familiar with your brand, products, and services, which can lead to more tailored and on-brand ad campaigns.
• Immediate Communication: Communication between team members is seamless, allowing for quick decision-making and adjustments.
• Cost Control: You can potentially save money on agency fees by handling PPC internally.

Disadvantages:

• Expertise Required: PPC advertising is complex and requires a high level of expertise to manage effectively. You'll need team members with PPC skills, which may involve hiring and training.
• Time-Consuming: PPC management can be time-consuming, particularly when it comes to continuous monitoring, optimization, and staying up-to-date with industry changes.
• Resource Allocation: Managing PPC campaigns internally may divert resources and attention from other core business activities.

Outsourcing to a Digital Marketing Agency:

Advantages:

• Expertise and Experience: Agencies often have teams of PPC experts who specialize in various aspects of digital advertising, ensuring that your campaigns benefit from their knowledge and experience.
• Time Savings: Outsourcing PPC frees up your internal resources to focus on core business functions while the agency handles the advertising.
• Access to Tools: Agencies often have access to advanced tools and technologies that can enhance campaign performance and efficiency.
• Scalability: Agencies can quickly scale your PPC efforts up or down based on your needs and goals.

Disadvantages:

• Cost: Hiring an agency typically involves fees, which may vary based on the agency's reputation and services. However, these fees may be offset by improved campaign performance.
• Less Immediate Control: While you have input and oversight, you may have slightly less immediate control over campaign adjustments compared to in-house management.
• Communication Challenges: Managing communication with an external agency can sometimes lead to delays or misunderstandings if not managed effectively.

The decision between in-house and agency PPC management depends on your budget, available expertise, and your willingness to invest in training and technology. Some businesses may start with in-house management and later transition to an agency as their PPC needs grow. Others may prefer to outsource from the beginning to benefit from the expertise and time savings agencies offer. Carefully evaluate your specific goals, time to results, and resources to make the best choice for your business.

What can you expect from an effective PPC Strategy?

Regardless of whether you run your PPC campaigns in-house or outsource, an effective PPC (Pay-Per-Click) strategy should be designed to achieve specific business goals and deliver a strong return on investment (ROI).  You need to provide feedback or context on the following:

1. Campaign Objectives: Whether it's driving website traffic, generating leads, increasing sales, or raising brand awareness, your strategy should outline specific goals that align with your business objectives.
2. Keyword Research: This involves identifying relevant keywords and phrases that potential customers use when searching for products or services like yours.
3. Target Audience: Define your target audience, including demographics, interests, behaviors, and geographic location. This ensures that your PPC ads are shown to the right people.
4. Budget Allocation: How your PPC budget will be allocated across campaigns and account for daily or monthly spending limits to maintain control over costs.
5. Competitor Analysis: Understand your competitors' PPC strategies, including keywords, ad copy, and budget. This information can inform your own strategy and help you identify opportunities.
6. Reporting & Conversions: Feedback into what is closing because not all leads and sales are equal when measuring marketing ROI.  

Whoever is running will provide you with recommendations.  They need to provide context so they can bridge the gaps amoung your business, the competitive landscape, and your PPC platform. It needs to be customized to your target audience, offerings, competitors, industry, and geography. 

Realistic Expectations of Your PPC Campaigns 

Be sure to be realistic with your budget and time to results. The budget is where we see clients run into issues. If you want $250K in results but only have a $500 per month investment, you might want to adjust your level of expectations! 

The second issue is the time to see results.  Depending on the complexity of your campaign, industry, and competitiveness, I’ve seen the initial campaign set-up take up to 30 days for small or mid-sized businesses. We’re talking about account creation, keyword research, ad copy and creative, ad extension, copywriting, and landing page development.  

The third is a lack of a clear offer in comparison to the competitive landscape.  Sometimes a free consultation will work.  In other cases, you might need to offer something more compelling to get the attention of the customer.  For example, 25% of your first month or purchase. 

Conclusion 

When you are running PPC or considering a PPC strategy for 2024, you’ll need to be a part of the strategy. Your feedback will be critical to the success of your campaigns. It will provide context to whoever is executing your campaigns.  

Business owners and executive management are dealing with the increasing cost of labor, raw materials, inflation concerns, and military conflicts. Not to mention the numerous changes to paid search platforms such as more AI, pending changes to 3rd party tracking, more local ad options, and more. Your PPC strategy will need to adapt! 

You’ll need to make changes to win more business, maintain your market share, keep your profit margins, and increase your revenues in 2024. An effective PPC strategy could be your path to increase brand awareness, lead generation, and more online sales.