PPC FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions

What is pay-per-click advertising?
What's the difference between PPC and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)?
PPC vs SEO – Which should I choose?
How much will a PPC advertising campaign cost?
How do I decide where my adverts appear?
Where will my adverts be positioned?
How much are the bids on adverts?
How do I stop competitors from repeatedly clicking on my advert?
How effective is PPC advertising?
How is the effectiveness of a PPC campaign measured?
What kind of reporting can I get?
What are the most common mistakes that novice PPC advertisers make?
How can the Web Search Workshop help my business?
What skills and experience does the Web Search Workshop offer?

What is pay-per-click advertising?

Pay-per-click advertising (or PPC) is the big growth area in search engine marketing and refers to the advertising technique whereby companies will buy ranking position for different search terms, based on the bid price required. A small advert will then appear within the sponsored results on most of the top search tools and once a web user clicks on the link to a website, that company is charged the cost of the visit.

What's the difference between PPC and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)?

There are some significant differences between the techniques of search engine optimisation and pay-per-click advertising, not least of which the latter is a form of advertising, whereas the former is a technique that should be developed into every business website to give it a chance to attract site traffic from prospective customers. We have provided a more detailed comparison of the advantages and disadvantages between these 2 techniques.

PPC vs SEO – Which should I choose?

We recommend beginning with a PPC campaign to get quick, effective advertising exposure. After a few months of gathering feedback from this, an SEO campaign can be launched to utilise the search term data gathered to its best effect. It is also good to start early with an SEO campaign, but this is a process that can take a few months longer to get results, due to the nature of Search Engines, and ideally both SEO and PPC can be used together.

How much will a PPC advertising campaign cost?

There can be 2 elements of cost - one is the actual advertising costs paid to the search engines, and the other can be the management fees paid to a company to manage your PPC advertising. The Web Search Workshop are totally transparent about the costs involved with Google Ads (AdWords) or any other PPC campaign. We will quote for the exact set-up and management costs, which can vary depending on the type of market and the size of the proposed PPC campaign. Unlike many other companies, we clearly separate our management fees from the cost of your advertising charges, so you know what you are paying for, and when, plus we usually work to a monthly spend budget so that you don't get any surprises. If you are interested in starting a PPC campaign and would like a quote or estimate of the likely advertising costs for your market, please contact us for details.

How do I decide where my adverts appear?

You can nominate which search engine you'd like your adverts to target. These include Google, Yahoo! and Bing, plus you can also extend your PPC advertising coverage to other search tools and third-party content websites. Google is by far the most popular search engine, with over 85% market share in Australia, so it is highly recommended that Google Ads (AdWords) is a good place to start!

Where will my adverts be positioned?

Ideally your adverts should be targeted to appear on the first page of search results, although this can depend on the search term, the bid price, your budget and the results being achieved. We aim to maximise your ranking position and website traffic within your budgeted spend, to ensure that you get the best positions and results for your campaign.

How much are the bids on adverts?

This will largely depend on the market that your site is operating in, the number of search terms that you wish to target, the competitive nature of the campaign (which can increase the bid costs), and the volume of search traffic. Bid pricing on your adverts depends on the level of competition in your particular industry or market sector, with niche markets containing limited competition having lower bid prices than more competitive, mainstream industries. We regularly adjust the bid rates according to the individual performance of each keyword, and hone in on those that produce the best Return on Investment (ROI) for a client. This regular monitoring and adjustment of bid prices is crucial to a successful PPC campaign and is an integral part of our PPC management package.

How do I stop competitors from repeatedly clicking on my advert?

This is a common concern and one that Google and the other main PPC providers are aware of and try to address. There are automatic safeguards in place that recognise multiple clicks from the same IP address, or unusual click patterns, so that credits can be issued or claims from advertisers will also be reviewed. Of course these systems can never be 100% effective and there may always be an element of 'competitor clicking' on your adverts, which need to be built in to the overall costs.

How effective is PPC advertising?

Pay-per-click advertising is proven to be the most measurable form of advertising and highly effective for many advertisers. Although it may not work for every business, our management of PPC campaigns and in-depth analysis of the data provided enables us to get the best possible returns on clients' advertising spend. Over a short period, these campaigns become increasingly effective, as we constantly adjust the campaigns for optimal performance.

How is the effectiveness of a PPC campaign measured?

Conversion tracking code can be supplied by the Web Search Workshop to track and monitor 'actions' on a client's website as a result of PPC activity. This enables us to focus on the most effective keywords and adverts that led to these conversions, which in turn can help to improve the results from a campaign, and from a website generally. We can also provide web analytics code, such as Google Analytics, to help track the overall performance of a website in terms of referrals, page views, conversions and more. There is also a wealth of data supplied from within the PPC campaign to enable optimisation of the best keywords and adverts, with the aim of reducing the cost-per-click and increasing the clickthrough rate to gain the optimal Return On Investment.

What kind of reporting do you provide?

We provide detailed monthly reports on how your campaign is progressing, with statistics on its performance trends and keyword activity. We analyse these trends and add personalised comments to each of these reports with our advice and recommendations on how best to improve the campaign.

What are the most common mistakes that novice PPC advertisers make?

We've seen many campaigns that have been poorly structured and managed, which result in wasted advertising spend and poor results. This often leads advertisers to think that PPC advertising, such as Google Ads (AdWords), won't work for their business, when in fact some improvements to the campaign could generate much better results. Some common mistakes we have seen include:

the "set-up and forget" syndrome - many advertisers who don't have experience of running a successful campaign just set it up and leave it to look after itself. Making the most of pay-per-click advertising can be a complex and time consuming process that requires daily monitoring and tweaking.
not using cost-effective keywords - it is very important to target the most cost-effective keywords, or the advertising budget could be blown rapidly, with no significant results. Many novice advertisers use keywords that are far too general and attract irrelevant and costly numbers of clicks. It is vital to make use of the different keyword match types that are available, including negative terms.
bidding too much to get into top position - this is a very common mistake, as many people think that simply being in the no.1 position results in more conversions. This is often not the case and there is a very fine balance between the cost-per-click, the most cost-effective position attained and the conversions achieved, which needs to be consistently monitored.
not analysing and using performance data - there is a wealth of information about the campaign and the website's performance that should be constantly assessed in order to reduce the advertising costs, whilst simultaneously increasing the conversions and hence the Return on Investment and profit margin of the business.

How can the Web Search Workshop help my business?

We can provide you with a professional service to market your website through search engines. We avoid technical jargon wherever possible and work with you to achieve your objectives. The best way to find out more is to contact us now for an informal discussion, or to request a FREE assessment to see what work we would propose for your website.

What skills and experience does the Web Search Workshop offer?

We have been established since 2000, providing search engine optimisation and PPC advertising for hundreds of clients, both in the UK and in Australia. Our experience of working with many different websites across a wide range of market sectors places us in a strong position to support your search engine marketing campaigns. You can view some of our clients or read some case studies and testimonials.

Do you have any other questions about PPC advertising, such as Google Ads (AdWords), that we haven't addressed here? If so, then please contact us and let us know what information you need and how we can help.