When it comes to deciding how your company should implement search marketing strategies, you have a lot of options. You probably know everything there is to know about modern Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques and might even have a specialist or team working solely on that task to boost your website’s organic traffic.
When it comes to being discovered online, the major search engines are king, even if other methods, such as social media marketing, email advertising, and other promotions, do play a role.
Why pay for search ranking?
If your company has been employing an SEO strategy for some time, you may have already seen significant gains in climbing the SERPs; you should, of course, keep expanding upon those successes.
Starting a paid search campaign is not a replacement for or alternative to SEO work; rather, it is best viewed as a supplementary or targeted strategy, given the importance of ongoing maintenance and improvement.
A successful paid search marketing campaign attracts and converts customers at the bottom of the sales funnel, when they are most ready to purchase. It’s ideal for sites that have just gone live but don’t yet have a strong search engine presence. But how do you know if it’s a good fit for your business’s needs?
How To Know if Paid Search Marketing Is the Right Choice
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is not a panacea for marketing needs and won’t benefit all companies. It may not be useful if search traffic isn’t converting to new business.
PPC, on the other hand, can be incredibly useful for any company that needs to be found via search engines. While this is generally true, it may not be completely true for all types of businesses. Allow me to explain:
Small retail business could benefit from paid search marketing
Smaller retail stores that focus on selling specialized goods both online and in-store. They have two major sales periods that drive the majority of their online revenue, with some foot traffic throughout the year.
As the seasons change, they could add new products to their online store and offer seasonal discounts. If they wanted to generate traffic whenever they wanted, paid search would be the way to do it.
While year-round visibility in local search is important, boosting sales during peak periods is the top priority. It makes sense to use PPC strategically in this case, switching it on as needed during peak months and sticking with SEO for the remainder of the year.
Paid search marketing when used in tandem with innovative SEO strategies, such as dedicated promotional domains that automatically forward to the main site, can be a powerful tool for this business, but it is not one that is employed constantly.
Medium-sized service businesses definitely will
Companies of a medium size that offer services throughout the year and compete in a highly competitive market within a specific region.
They almost certainly have an online store, but its sole purpose is to collect money for previously issued invoices. Investing in paid search will benefit businesses with similar target audiences and online profiles.
Pay-per-click advertising is, and should be, a constant part of their online marketing strategy. Every potential customer and online sale counts in today’s fiercely competitive marketplace. Paid search spending optimized for peak traffic and attention periods can supplement organic SEO strategies, giving businesses an edge.
Non-profit company…not so much
To raise funds, charitable organizations that emphasize personal contact within a specific community or industry. In general, strong relationships with local business leaders are more effective than a website in bringing in donations for these organizations.
In addition to a mission statement and brief biographies of the board members, their website serves primarily as a repository for details and photos from previous events.
PPC, however, is not a viable option for most nonprofits. They don’t care if people find their site through search engines, so there’s no point in trying to get more people to visit.
Pamphlets, business cards, and banners at in-person events will be the primary sources of traffic to the site. Paying to promote a website that only provides information and does not collect donations is a waste of money.
Conclusion
PPC strategies can benefit many other types of organizations. It’s important to work with a partner who understands that your organization is unique and that your needs may change from week to week and month to month. Work with a company to create a local, regional, or national PPC strategy to maximize your PPC efforts. Improve campaign effectiveness by monitoring performance.
