Why You Should Think Twice Before Pausing Your PPC Campaign.

Digital marketing is constantly evolving, it seems like every day we wake up to new trends, new tactics and new debates regarding which tools are effective and which tools are not.  Paid search marketing is often at the crux of these debates. .  There are hundreds of case studies and articles that emerge daily all contributing to the “GREAT PAID SEARCH DEBATE”.  Take, for example, the following: “Days” or “eBay Says Much Paid Search on Google and Bing Is Ineffective”.

Over the last few weeks the PPC debate spiked with the publication of eBay’s case study claiming that their paid search campaign was ineffective, which was contradicted by Harvard Business Review’s (HBR) “Advertising Analytics 2.0” in which a major consumer products company reported that paid search drove 25 percent of sales while making up only 15 percent of the overall digital marketing budget (note this study took into account placement beyond search engines). 

Our summary on the debate is like a good fitness program.  The time it takes to reach optimal performance and the results you get will vary, but you have to put in the effort to see the results.

In short, here are a few reasons why you can’t afford to stop your PPC/CPM efforts:

1. Brand Awareness

Any brand, whether large or small, knows that they must continue to generate brand awareness to become, and stay, relevant.  To generate awareness you need to go beyond search engine results pages and opt for ad placements on the sites your consumers know and trust.

For example, a health and beauty advertiser with spring specials should opt for a solution like NTENT that can place them on relevant spring fashion and beauty articles on sites like Divine Caroline.  This type of placement helps create stronger brand associations and awareness with consumers.

Bottom line, your ad(s) needs to be positioned for discovery at the pinnacle point of content consumption whether your consumers are online or on mobile.

2. Ad Assists

Would you cut cardio out of your spring training program?  No, because cardio is essential to any fitness regimen.  The same applies to paid search marketing.  The HBR article previously mentioned states that, “analytics reveal that ad assists from online banners and ppc ad placements show a 12 percent jump in search related activity”.  A savvy retailer knows the value of “ad assists”, in that all aspects of a digital marketing program are intertwined.  Ad assists can be an essential part of moving consumers down the purchase funnel as discussed in Winning the Zero Moment of Truth, that states, “Shoppers use an average of 10.7 different sources in their decision-making process, conducting online research even for small purchases like mascara and cough syrup”.

Bottom line, your PPC campaigns have a ripple effect.  Your ads do not live in a silo and they can have a big impact on your business when viewed in conjunction with all your marketing efforts.

3. Real-time Messaging

An effective fitness routine requires that you change it up in order to drive results.  An effective marketing campaign must be equipped with tools that allow retailers to switch up their promotional message in an instant. 

Bottom line, there is no better tool than paid search advertising which gives marketers the ability to change images, ad copy and adjustments for optimization in real-time.  Print, TV and even display are incapable of doing this as efficiently.

Summary

The above are just a few reasons why you should think twice before stalling your paid search program.  It isn’t a silver bullet but, used effectively and in conjunction with other marketing strategies, the value of paid search is undeniable.

For more tips on how to make your paid search campaigns call us at 212.967.9502 or email us at customerservice@ntent.com.  We are always happy to help!

Do you have question? Send it our way – email us.