There is a common belief that pay per click (PPC) ads aren’t really for local business. We’d like to dispel that right now. PPC is capable of doing a substantial amount of good for a small business, particularly brand new ones.
There are several pros and a couple of cons, so let’s get right into it.
The Pros of PPC for local business
- Can be cheaper than SEO – Because there are various budget controls built into the PPC platforms, you are able to manage your costs thoroughly. This isn’t possible with an SEO campaign, where you typically are shelling out a large sum up front.
- You will get near instant results – While an SEO campaign could take a long time to bear fruit, (by which time the Google search algorithm will have changed necessitating you having to do it all again!) with PPC you know how your campaign is doing within hours after it starts.
- Can get you multiple first page listings – Even when you are ranked on the first page, you might still want to run PPC ads to take a larger share of the virtual real estate there, bringing you more visitors and more profits.
- Far simpler to target a specific audience – Using targeted keywords and interests, you’ll be able to laser target your ideal audience.
- You can easily track and measure results – The back offices of all of the major PPC platforms give you all the stats you could ask for in regards to tracking and measuring your results.
- Can aid your SEO campaign – Built deep into Google’s secret search algorithm, traffic and social interaction play a substantial role. Your PPC ads can help with this.
The cons to using PPC for a local business are basically three:
- Large learning curve – Although they have some similarities, Google, Facebook and Bing, the biggest and most effective PPC platforms, all have their distinctions, learning this can take some time and money.
- Some cost involved – There will need to be an advertising budget set aside, and you’ll only go so far as it will permit you. Knowing when to stop and pause campaigns is a major part of this, as well as when to double down on winners.
- You’ll need great keyword research – Understanding that PPC is largely a keyword game, you’ll need to either do or cause to have done extensive keywords research. Cost of doing business.
Implementing PPC for local business could be a very profitable way to go. Take the time to learn and allocate a decent budget and watch it work for you.
