What is paid search really doing for your campaign?

Here in client services, I work with a plethora of businesses across a variety of sectors, all with very different wants and needs. What’s the one thing they all ask for? They all want results. Which leads many to a common follow-up question - what is paid search going to do for their campaign?

How do clients get results from their marketing?

If you're already afraid of asking, "what is paid search?" - don't fret. The spectrum of digital marketing is vast and ever-expanding, and it's steadily becoming more and more difficult to keep up and be heard in this crowded online space. Paid search simply offers a way to jumpstart your marketing and compete with bigger brands.

Your website acts as a shop window, and as such, can’t be expected to draw attention just by being there. Content is king for your long term growth and organic visibility, but this takes time for this strategy to build its power. Rome wasn't built in a day! Whilst organic traffic is technically free, it's a labour of love trying to win high organic search engine rankings, and the resource used to create this content is still a cost to your business.

Social media can lend a helpful hand - this is your opportunity to find new audiences and tell them about you - but again, social can be a slow burner. What's more, various social channels are making it more challenging for businesses to gain visibility in this over-crowded space, with algorithms changing regularly.

Newer, less-established websites can take time to build traction and gather enough domain authority to get on the first few pages of Google for your key search terms. Consider also that most people never click beyond the first page, so you could spend some time waiting for the leads to roll in from those coveted SEO spots. Rather than sitting around and twiddling your thumbs till this happens, why not give your website a biddable boost?

What is paid search going to do for your campaign?

In my time, I have worked with businesses averse to spending money on paid media campaigns, seeing this strategy as ‘high risk’ or ‘too expensive’. My response? In a well-designed campaign, it's actually a logical step to seeing quicker return on your ‘digital investment’.

In layman’s terms, if we were to compare the same principle to the high street - how do you expect to attract new customers to your shop if you’re surrounded by big brands who have the advantage of familiarity and reputation under their belts?

In ‘real life’, as a new business, you might launch with a sale, or an incentive to drive footfall, perhaps have some flyers created to spread the word or have a local celebrity attend your grand opening. In essence, you would give people a reason to visit. The same principle can be applied to your website, with the main difference (and advantage) being that you can hyper-target who you attract online.

First, there is a variety of channels to choose from to amplify your brand, depending upon your target audience. Looking to sell the latest Love Island merchandise to teenage girls? Snapchat could be a viable platform. Hoping to attract a slightly older crowd to your new bingo hall? Facebook might be a safer bet.

Another benefit of digital marketing is that compared to traditional offline paid efforts, there are much more cost-effective ways to market your business. All paid media platforms enable you to monitor spend and see results in real-time, so unlike other channels such as radio and TV, you can measure performance minute-by-minute as it happens. See exactly who has engaged with your advertising, consider how you can improve it on an ongoing basis and make decisions based on performance.

Last but not least, the level of detail you can apply in your targeting is pretty incredible. For example, ‘negative keywords’ allow you to filter out irrelevant search terms from your campaign, meaning you won’t spend money on users who are unrelated to your target audience.

Where is your paid search going wrong?

Google Ads has the following advice to creating a successful campaign, which should be considered for all paid marketing efforts:

1. Ensure your campaign has a clear goal
2. Always keep your target customer in mind
3. Decide your budget and spend wisely
4. Use negative keywords in campaign planning
5. Create great ad copy for each campaign
6. Make sure your ads reach the right people
7. Monitor your campaign and track results

Paid media is just one facet to the digital marketing mix, and works best when a brand is utilising a number of channels within a carefully-planned and well-executed strategy. Whilst taking the plunge into the ‘unknown’ might seem like a daunting prospect for those still getting their head around digital, one of the perks of my role is seeing all the components come together and perform for our clients.

If you're tearing your hair out over any of the above, get in touch or book your free inbound marketing assessment. Lead generation is our speciality after all...