What is PPC?

PPC (Pay-Per-Click) is an advertising type in which businesses pay the platforms (e.g. Facebook, Google, etc.) every time the ad is clicked. It is one of the most effective ways for businesses to increase brand awareness, collect leads, and generate online sales.

Basically, it’s a way of buying visits to your site, rather than attempting to “earn” those visits organically.

According to Wordstream’s 2020 report, businesses make an average of $2 in revenue for every $1 they spend on Google Ads.

Check out these 5 strategies to boost brand awareness through PPC Advertising.

1. Bid on Branded Terms

Google’s study found that a full 89% of the traffic driven by search ads is not replaced by organic clicks when ads are paused. Visits to the advertiser’s site would not have occurred without the ad campaigns.

Given this, businesses should bid on branded keywords to dominate the SERPs. Utilizing this strategy can help secure the top spots as well as the organic listings. Having a control on branded terms shows that the brand is a prominent figure in the business.

2. Use Targeting and Audience Segmentation

Precise audience targeting results to PPC effectiveness. This strategy is what enables advertisers to reach specific audiences on different sales funnels.

For Google Ads, audience targeting is essential for reaching the right users using a variety of effective modalities. For instance, targeting options such as:

• In-Market Audiences: consumers that Google has determined are researching for a specific product or service they are likely to buy.
• Custom Intent Audiences: consumers who have either searched for or are likely to be responsive to products associated with specific keywords.
• Affinity and Custom Affinity: a broad audience based on their passions, interests, and behaviors.
• Similar Audiences: users who behave similarly to those who are contained within the retailer’s retargeting list.

These are only some of the many targeting options provided by Google, let alone those that can be employed on Facebook and other social platforms.

3. Use Negative Keywords and Exclude Irrelevant Websites

Advertisers can enhance the quality of the gathered leads by utilizing PPC segmentation strategies like adding negative keywords to filter out irrelevant searches, excluding specific web pages, and employing dayparting strategies to surface ads during particular times. These tactics can help in maximizing efforts while conserving PPC budgets.

4. Write an Appealing Copy

When running PPC ads to generate brand awareness, appealing copy is vital as it will position the brand as an industry expert, the go-to brand for all things related to a given niche.

To achieve such a goal, advertisers must learn how to set apart from the competition in an extremely distilled manner, while leaving readers wanting to know more.

The following questions can guide in formulating ad copy that speaks to the brand’s expertise and authority:

• What makes your brand better or different than competitors?
• What is unique or special about your product?
• Are there currently any sales or special offers?
• Any awards to tell?
• Are there any popular personalities (non-sponsored) that use your product?

Not only this will help develop brand awareness as a thought leader in the niche, but it will also aid in multiplying PPC conversions.

5.Target Long-Tail Queries

Long-tail keywords are highly specific, unique phrases that tend to have less keyword competition, and therefore a lower bidding cost. In the eCommerce industry, it is important to optimize campaigns for these types of queries.

For instance, businesses who sell casual shoes could take a head term like “Converse sneakers” to generate long-tail keywords such as “Black Converse casual sneakers”

There are free tools such as KeywordTool.io that helps uncover potential long-tail keywords. Moreover, advertisers can also obtain keyword data from Amazon, YouTube, Bing eBay, and other popular online destinations. Simply type in a head term like “Shoes,” and the tool will turn back a whole list of long-tail keyword suggestions.

A well-defined strategy can make PPC Advertisements drive brand awareness online. Unlike other forms of marketing, PPC can produce immediate results that generates brand recognition quickly to help increase website traffic, leads, and sales.