Companies are always looking to get an edge on the competition. Sometimes, that means going above and beyond with marketing efforts. Enter pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. Are you familiar with PPC? Do you know what PPC services are and whether they are worth paying for?

The experts at Salt Lake City’s Webtek Digital Marketing say that PPC can prove to be a cost effective and productive way to drive sales. But they also acknowledge that PPC isn’t right for every company. And even when it is, paying for PPC services might not be the right strategy.

The Basics of PPC

To understand PPC services, you first need to understand the basics of PPC itself. PPC is a digital marketing strategy that relies on placing ads on websites, in search engine results, and on mobile apps. Even social media and video streaming platforms are taking PPC ads these days.

PPC’s basic model is found in its name. Advertisers pay for every click or impression their ads get. In search engine results, for example, you are paying for clicks. But on a video streaming platform, you’re paying for impressions.

The one thing both models have in common is that you only pay when your ads do something. If no one clicks on a website ad, you don’t pay dime for it. In addition, the amount you pay for every click or impression is based on a bidding process. You bid the amount you are willing to pay. Your bid determines how frequently your ads appear and the amount you are billed for each click or impression.

The Basics of PPC Services

With the basics of PPC out of the way, it is time to talk about PPC services. Webtek offers such services, by the way. Those services include several marketing and research tasks that advertisers would otherwise have to do on their own. Here is a brief sampling of some of those tasks:

• Keyword Research – PPC bids are based on keywords. Therefore, some keyword research is in order before an advertiser can decide which keywords to bid on and how much to bid.
• Ad Creation – An agency offering PPC services will include ad creation in the package. Marketing experts create ads based on client criteria and marketing goals, ads designed to grab consumer attention and encourage clicks.
• Campaign Implementation – Structured ad campaigns are commonplace in the PPC world, just as they are in more traditional advertising. A PPC agency will design and implement campaigns on behalf of the client.
• Ad Tracking – Another common PPC service is ad tracking. Service providers track the performance of each ad in order to determine what’s working and what’s not. Solid tracking and analytics can guide future campaigns.

A full-service provider like Webtek can handle a client’s PPC needs from start to finish. PPC experts can handle everything from keyword research to campaign implementation and analytics. An advertiser looking to get into PPC should seriously consider hiring an agency in the absence of knowledgeable staff able to do things in-house.

PPC Has Its Downsides

It must be noted that PPC advertising has its downsides. One of the big ones is the risk of ad fraud. But paying for professional PPC services can mitigate most of the potential negatives, at least to some degree.

Have you been thinking of investing in PPC for your company? If so, know that you can do everything yourself or pay for PPC services. If you do not have much experience with PPC advertising, professional services are probably worth paying for.