Fact vs. Myth: PPC

PPC can sound scary if you don’t have any background knowledge on the subject. But, the reality is that PPC plays an essential role in the success of you SEM campaign. We’re clearing the air about some common myths and serving up real facts about PPC to help you better understand the realm of digital marketing.

Being in the #1 position will make you most profitable.

You’re better off placing as third or fourth.

Myth: While that’s sometimes the case, it’s not the norm. Being the first position gives you visibility and is great for branding purposes, but you typically end up spending more than you’re making. Instead, the first position draws in an audience of users who aren’t ready to buy yet and are only researching. You’re better off placing as third or fourth. Experiment with ad position to find the right balance of cost and value for your brand.

Dump as many keywords you can into your PPC account to generate the most traffic.

Myth: Doing a keyword dump may result in more traffic, but it won’t be qualified traffic. Targeting the most relevant keywords will generate the best traffic and lower cost-per-click. A PPC campaign is successful from the number of sales, not clicks. You won’t get any sales by with an overhaul of irrelevant keywords. Instead, you’ll end up blowing through a budget and receive little to no profit.

Keywords drive search engine advertising.

Fact: Google leads the world in search, so naturally, advertising is extremely competitive. Google advertising is a broad concept which takes time and effort to understand. The most important concept about advertising to understand is Google keywords. The right keywords separate good ads from great ones. Brainstorm a list of keywords and order them by the amount of traffic they will bring. Check frequently on high performing, low performing, nonperforming and negative keywords for the best optimization opportunities.

You can set up and forget a PPC account.

“A PPC CAMPAIGN REQUIRES CONSTANT MONITORING, TESTING, BID LOWERING, AND INCREASING, TURNING OFF, AND TURNING ON TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR MONEY.”

Myth: Setting up and forgetting a PPC account is a complete waste of your money. A PPC campaign requires constant monitoring, testing, bid lowering, and increasing, turning off, and turning on to be successful in making the most of your money. You should constantly be looking for optimization opportunities, which is why most businesses turn to a PPC agency or marketing firm to manage and dedicate their time and expertise to your account.