I was on the phone with a client this morning and the conversation headed towards some of the intricacies of PPC marketing for an upcoming project. Specifically we talked about the difference between Search Based PPC, Content Network PPC, and Social Network PPC, or what I call Demographic Based PPC.
Now this particular project is based around a predictive financial model that uses human emotion to forecast market movements. While this is definitely not a small local business, I thought it may be helpful to some of the small business owners out there if I shed a little light on the different options that are available for your Pay-Per-Click dollar.
While you might not be familiar with these options yet, there is some great news for you, and your business: there is a very good chance that your competition is not using these tactics.
The Most Important Question to Ask About Your Potential Customers
Before we examine the different types of PPC options that are out there, it is important to take a step back and ask yourself: “where are my potential customers on the buying scale”. In other words, are your customers even aware that they have a problem that your products or services can solve, or are they already familiar with your business? Much as with writing headlines, the answer to that question can help determine what type of PPC adverting you ultimately decide to use.
From Rich Shefren discussing Eugene Schwartz’s “bridge” concept:
“The headline, according to Eugene Swartz, is the bridge between your prospect and your product. So it depends on where your prospect is based on the headline that you‘ll use. So according to Eugene Swartz, if they are aware of the product and that it satisfies the desire, your headline would then start with the product because they are already aware of it. If they are aware of their desire but they are not aware of the product, the headline starts with desire. If they are concerned with the problem and they are not even aware of the desire but they are aware of a problem, the headline starts with the problem and crystallizes it into a specific need.”
So the first step is to determine where your customers are on that scale. If you sell something common such as insurance or dog food, customers know that they need those services so you will have to do little in the way of convincing them there is a need. If however you sell financial planning, or are a chiropractor, there is a certain amount of educating that will need to be done. Such as pointing out potential problems that your prospects may not be aware of and then offering your services as a solution.
If your potential customers range from a full knowledge of your company and products to barely knowing that they may even have a problem, then a mix of the three different types of PPC advertising is the best way to go.
Where are Your Potential Customers Online?
Another factor when deciding on what type of PPC ads to use is to make sure you go where the potential customers are.
The best metaphor I can come up with to explain the different types of PPC is to think of all PPC ads overall like you would think of print ads. They all generally have a combination of words, pictures and a marketing message that you are trying to get in front of potential customers.
Now think of the three separate types of PPC as different mediums where you can place your ads. In other words, you can put your print ad in a newspaper, a magazine or a bus bench. Where you place your ad depends on what your goals are for the campaign and what type of customer you want to reach.
If own a local restaurant, and are looking to attract tourists, it might be best to place an ad into a local lifestyle magazine that new visitors are likely to pick up.
Simple enough, now let’s say instead that you run a local car dealership. A lifestyle magazine aimed at tourists is definitely not the right fit for your ad, but the newspaper, in the Saturday ‘Auto’ section is about as good as you are going to get.
Well, although the technology has changed the same principle applies to Pay-Per-Click marketing on the internet; you go where your best customers are likely to be…here is how it works.
Search Based PPC
Probably the best choice for local businesses, search based PPC is all about returning relevant ads to consumers after they have performed a search on one of the search engines.
If it is likely that potential customers will use the search engines to look for a local business to provide the goods or services that you supply, then this is the only place you need to worry about spending your PPC dollars.
For example, say you sell art supplies. More than likely a user who is looking for art supplies would go to a search engine and type in: ‘art supplies in Seattle’. With Search Based PPC you can quickly, easily, and cost effectively, get to the top of that list.
In other words, if people are likely to look in the phone book for your type of business before they make a buying decision, you definitely need to invest in at least a minimal PPC campaign. We will be covering how to do this in future posts to this blog.
Search based PPC is best for customers that know about the products or services you offer but may not know that your business offer those types of products or services.
I could go on and on about search based PPC, but let’s move on.
Content Network PPC
Content Network PPC placement is a little more complicated, and is only a good fit for certain local businesses. Basically these are the ads you see on news and article sites in the margins that will be somewhat related to the articles content.
These ads are good to target users who know they have a problem and are using the internet to research solutions.
For example, if you are a dermatologist you may want to run an ad that targets acne sufferers in your area who are browsing medical articles that discuss acne treatments. The best way to do this is to buy placement (via Google Adwords or Yahoo!) on medical sites that have these types of articles.
Using the power of keywords, and geo-targeting, you can make sure that your ad for ‘Local Acne Treatment’ is only shown to local customers who are looking at articles about treating acne. While Content Network PPC advertising is only for certain local businesses, it is easy to see the power in being able to target these very specific types of customers.
Now let’s take a look at an option that very few local businesses are taking advantage of.
Demographic Based PPC
Demographic Based PPC ads are most common on the social networking sites such as facebook and Linkedin. They allow the advertiser to only show their ads to certain demographic profiles.
For example, you can restrict your ad to only show to single females, over the age of 40, living in Sacramento, CA. Or you could target Spanish speaking males, under the age of 30, living in Arizona.
Now, if you are the type of business that has a very specific customer profile, such as a financial planner or weeding photographer (you can even target engaged users as well), these types of ads can really boost your advertising. But again, Demographic Based PPC is not for every small business.
Look for future articles that will walk you through this process step-by-step on the Facebook network.
Summary
Sometimes I wonder what the advertising greats from 80 years ago would think of our ability to instantly pinpoint almost any type of customer… I have a feeling they would love it!
So before you determine which PPC outlet is right for your business you should ask yourself a few things about your “ideal” potential customers:
- Where is my ideal customer on the buying scale?
- How is my ideal customer likely to look for the type of product or service I offer?
- Is there a demographic profile that represents my ideal customers?
Take some time to answer these questions and research the different types of PPC advertising that are available to your business. For my client that I spoke with this morning, we decided to go with Content Network PPC because our ideal customer is very likely to be researching investment options, but very unlikely to use the search engines to look for an advisory service based on the psychology of markets.
If you are not sure what type is right for your business, drop me a note in the comments below and I will be glad to make a recommendation. Also keep checking back as I will be writing many more in-depth articles regarding each type of PPC advertising.
