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Digital marketing takes various forms and each one requires a certain knowledge and experience to make it work effectively. PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising involves luring interested parties to click on paid ads that deliver them directly to your website or specific landing page. While this can be (and has been) a rather effective tool for marketers and businesses, both interest and success has begun to wane in recent months.
If your marketing efforts include heavy spending on Pay-Per-Click ads, you may want to rethink your strategy. Or, if your marketing company is still touting the effectiveness of PPC spending, but you are seeing a drop in ROI, you may need to consider a new marketing company. Without real expertise in PPC, you could be wasting loads of money. Take a look at these major pitfalls of PPC advertising.
Some of the Pitfalls of PPC Advertising
Intense PPC Competition
The simplicity of Pay-Per-Click advertising was its initial draw. Simply place an attractive ad, include a link to your site, utilize a popular keyword or search phrase in your wording to make it rank high, and BOOM – you generate traffic. The problem is, everyone realized how easy it could be, and so they all jumped on the PPC wagon. This made competition for popular keywords and phrases fierce.
Competition Means Cost
More competition for popular keywords drives up the cost. You could be paying prime rates for certain keywords and phrases that still do not result in high traffic. And if you have a limited ad spend budget, many of the best keywords could be priced out of your range, leaving you to try to make do with less popular keywords that aren’t used often or as much.
Steep Learning Curve
Is PPC dead? No, but using it effectively and avoiding the pitfalls of PPC requires a long-term strategy and constant monitoring and adjustments. This means for most users, there is a steep learning curve. Many marketers don’t really understand the metrics involved, how to measure them, or how to use them to adjust your ad spend. Gaining proficiency in PPC requires lots of time; and your marketing firm could be learning how on your dime while turning in a poor performance.
Shrinking ROI
One of the mains signs that PPC is dying is a shrinking return on investment(ROI). If you are spending more and getting less traffic, that is a sure harbinger for disaster. “Recent research has revealed that just 18% of SMEs using Google AdWords actually recoup their investment.” Not many companies can sustain ad spending for such a low ROI. And why would you want to, when other forms of digital marketing are far more promising, especially for connecting with modern consumer audiences?
A Vicious Cycle of Inflation & Saturation
PPC is currently trapping companies in a vicious cycle of inflation and saturation. As more companies attempt to advertise on Google and other search engines, the high influx results in an inflated price. The competition will only grow steeper, as the highly saturated market fights for the best keywords. Is this really how you want to spend your marketing budget each month?
Consumers Hate Ads
Let’s face it – consumers hate ads. Modern generations of consumers are tired of the boring, static ads of yesterday. They seek a better overall experience that offers them value. They want choices, variety, interaction, and to be entertained. Savvy consumers know the ads at the top of the search page or in the sidebar are purchased, not the most relevant results for their search – so them automatically avoid them.
The Need for Follow-Through
One of the major pitfalls of PPC is driven by consumers themselves. They are seeking a more refined user experience (UX) that includes value and the opportunity for a conversation. Simply clicking on a static ad is no longer relevant or desirable. This is why Content Marketing works so well and is still the top driver long-term for both B2B and B2C businesses.
One popular SEO company affirms that, “With a little patience and perseverance, a content marketing and branding strategy will serve you far better than even the best PPC ad strategy.” With content marketing, you are offering relevant information that can be used now, but that also spurs a conversation or further engagement. You build trust and demonstrate your expertise, making your company much more relevant and memorable to consumers.
Avoiding the Pitfalls of PPC
While PPC can be a part of your overall marketing strategy, it should not occupy a large place in that strategy. Seasoned marketers know how to strike a balance, spending your precious advertising budget where you get the best returns while covering every relevant part of the consumer spectrum to avoid the pitfalls of PPC.
1-FIND in Johnson City, Tennessee, offers digital marketing for businesses throughout the Northeast TN and surrounding regions. Contact us today for a review of your marketing strategy, PPC ad spend and ROI, or other aspects of advertising your company.
