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Looking to grow your business on a budget? Here's 5 reasons PPC is a great place to start

2 mins read

We know that It can be incredibly difficult to allocate your marketing budget well. There are many avenues to visit and all offer distinct and well documented advantages. But which do you choose when you don't have the time or funds to experiment?

Small business growth on a tight budget often ends in PPC advertising as it offers some very unique advantages when compared to the alternatives, especially for small businesses wary of mis-investing.

Here are 5 great reasons to include PPC in your marketing strategy.

1) Small Budgets

PPC tools such as Google AdWords and Bing Ads can be extremely effective for small budgets, as there is no signing-up fee and you only pay when someone calls you or clicks on your advert. If your strategy stinks and gets zero attention, you don't pay a penny!

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This can appeal to digital marketing newcomers as being able to test out different keyword strategies in the faith that only those that receive a response (are clicked on) will be charged.

Another budget saving feature of a PPC campaign is that you can set a maximum spend per day. Let's say that's £50. Once £50 worth of clicks have been recorded, your ad will no longer appear in those keyword searches. You will have your high quality traffic whilst never going over your predetermined budget limit. Having no hidden costs and the ability to forecast your marketing spend is extremely useful if you have little or no time to continually tweak your investment strategy and it's also great to know that you won't wake up with a hefty bill!

2) Targeting

Not only can you protect yourself from overspending on PPC by setting upper limits for daily spends, you can also specifically target your AdWords so that keyword searches are only returned in certain countries, regions or only at specific hours in the day.

Geotargeting allows AdWord searches to be returned exclusively to individuals searching from specific locations, speaking specific languages. This is a fantastic feature that allows you to be increasingly niche in your AdWord investments, saving you time and money that may otherwise have been wasted on searchers unable to take advantage of your product or service due to their location or nationality.

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You can also use targeting to reach people at different parts of the buyer journey. If you are trying to reach customers at the end of the buying process (rather than in research mode), begin by focusing on the keywords people search for when they are ready to buy, avoid keywords involving the how's and why's, and focus on keywords unique to your value proposition and keep you competitive. Having your AdWord investments optimised to specific parts of the buyer journey will turbo boost your conversion rates and add clarity to your lead nurturing.

3) Need Results Quick?

PPC is the tool for you if you are looking for results fast. Whilst organic SEO investments are traditionally seen as something that develop continually over time, PPC is an instant hit.

PPC ads will appear in search results the day you confirm them. Being able to see customers instantly directed to your site the same day can be an extremely tempting proposition when your budget is small but your need for visitors is high. This would work especially well for short-term competitions and offers, or trading periods such as the 'back-to-school' rush for uniform suppliers.

4) Match Types

Differentiating your match types enables you to control how your keyword choices are implemented. Match types dictate whether your advert is shown for searches containing keywords which are:

  • Close variants of your keywords
  • Plurals of your keywords
  • Spelling mistakes of your keywords
  • Searches containing your keywords but in a different order

Choosing a broad match for example, will allow your advert to show for the most expansive search terms. This is great for driving additional traffic but may not bring the most relevant leads to your site.

To combat this potentially diluted approach, you can select a list of 'negative keywords'. These are exclusions which when used well, can tailor a broad match list into an extremely useable, expansive set of AdWords. This will reduce the amount of irrelevent searches reaching you, aiding conversions which will grow your business.

5) Real Time Reporting and Optimisation

Setting specific goals to track your leads, inquiries and sales will allow you to quickly determine which keywords are performing well and which need more attention (or possibly pausing).

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This type of feedback and implementation of the changes necessary can be carried out the same day and the results of the change will begin to take effect immediately. Again, for businesses with a tight budget, being reactive to any investment made is key. Being able to change course quickly will ensure any investment is optimised to the full throughout your PPC campaign and you can track and grow your business with ease.

If the above has sparked your interest to create a PPC campaign, or if you are just looking to find out more about how PPC can be a cost effective way of generating online leads today, why not download our FREE e-book:


 

If you have any questions about marketing on a budget or wonder how PPC could help you today, please share your comments and questions below: