The 5 Best PPC Advertising Platforms

Have you been investing in PPC campaigns but not getting the desired results? The PPC Advertising Platforms you have chosen for pay-per-click advertising could be the reason.

To re-jog your memory, PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising is an effective digital marketing strategy that allows businesses to drive targeted traffic to their websites through paid advertising. Advertising platforms are host websites that display adverts in return for a fee. When web visitors click on an ad through their website, the platform receives a split of the revenue.

However, with multiple advertising alternatives available, choosing the right PPC advertising platforms for different type of business can seem like a difficult task. Only 45% of small businesses do some type of online advertising or paid social, but PPC advertising is still a concept that confuses the best of us. It’s crucial to carefully assess and select the most suitable PPC Advertising Platforms to ensure the success of your campaigns and achieve your marketing goals effectively.

This blog acts as an ultimate guide to help you choose from the most popular PPC Advertising Platforms for advertising, such as Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Microsoft Bing Ads, LinkedIn Ads and Pinterest Ads. It will guide businesses on how to select the most suitable platform for their business and carry out productive PPC campaigns smoothly. To start, we’ll begin with the pros and cons of each platform and then get into some BONUS tips that you should know about!

Here are the top 5 PPC Advertising Platforms you need to know:

1. Google Ads (Formerly known as AdWords)

How often do you hear the phrase…‘Let me Google that?’ probably at least once every single day!! This is because Google Ads is the largest search engine, the king of paid digital advertising, and one of the most popular PPC advertising platforms, including Google AdWords for paid search and digital marketing. It offers a wide reach and diverse advertising alternatives, including PPC ads. If you are a business with a focus on search intent and if you’re looking to capture high intent traffic, then advertising on Google Ads for PPC ads would be the best choice for your digital marketing strategy.

Pros:

• Massive reach with billions of users accessing this search engine daily.

• Access to the google analytics which allows conversion tracking.

• You can set an automatic feature for Google to come up with your bidding strategies on keywords within your budget.

• Advanced options, including keywords, demographics, and geographic targeting.

• Various ad formats, including text ads, display ads, shopping ads, and video ads.

• Access to Google’s advertising network, including search partners and websites.

Cons:

• High competition for popular keywords can drive up costs.

• Requires ongoing optimisation and monitoring to maintain performance.

• May not be suitable for all business types or industries.

2. Microsoft Ads

Microsoft Bing ads, also known as Microsoft Ads, are similar to Google Ads. Although not as popular, it still attracts millions of users a day! Through Bing ads, you get displayed on both Bing and Yahoo search engines, which makes it a great PPC approach on the display network. Plus, Bing is the biggest ad network behind Google (Slightly ahead of Facebook Ads, especially for PPC marketing). Microsoft Ads offer an alternative and is one of the many effective PPC advertising platforms for businesses looking to expand their reach and target a diverse audience.

Pros:

• Higher-income audience demographic.

• Low cost for paid search advertising.

• Cheaper clicks than Google Ads (70% less expensive).

• Ad Campaigns from Google Ads can be imported.

Cons:

• The majority demographic you’ll be showing ads to lean on the older side, which might not be suitable for some businesses.

• Search traffic tends to be quite a bit lower.

3. Facebook Ads

Facebook Ads is another powerful social media platform for businesses looking to reach a specific target audience based on demographics, interests, and behaviours through pay-per-click marketing. It also offers extensive user data, making it ideal for businesses focused on building brand awareness, engagement, and generating leads through display ads. It is one of the most popular PPC advertising platforms as it helps in building brand awareness and connecting with customers through visually appealing display ads that can capture the attention of your audience.

Pros:

• Extensive targeting options based on demographics, interests, behaviours, and connections.

• Highly visual ad formats, including images, videos, and carousels, to capture audience attention.

• Ability to leverage the engagement features, such as likes, comments, and shares.

• Economical for businesses with a limited budget because it allows you to cross post and advertise your posts on Instagram Ads as well.

Cons:

• Users may have different intentions when using Facebook, making it more suitable for top-of-the-funnel marketing.

• Ad fatigue can occur due to repetitive ad exposure.

• Ad performance may vary depending on industry and target audience.

4. LinkedIn Ads

Also known as the “Facebook of business professionals” LinkedIn is a vast social media network that helps professionals connect with each other and as a platform is specifically designed for professional correspondence and business-related advertising. This should be chosen as one of the PPC advertising platforms, if your business deals with B2B clients.

Pros:

• Access to a professional audience with high purchasing power making it an effective PPC strategy.

• Beneficial for B2B marketing, lead generation, and recruitment.

• Different ad formats available, including sponsored content, text ads, and dynamic ads.

Cons:

• Generally higher costs compared to other platforms.

• Smaller audience size compared to Google and Facebook.

• Limited reach for certain industries or businesses targeting a broader consumer audience.

5. Pinterest Ads

Pinterest, a social media platform, is designed for users to explore and find inspiration, ranging from DIY projects to purchasable items. It has become one of the most favoured PPC advertising platforms for new brands to build their presence and foster customer loyalty. Here’s a fascinating statistic : On Pinterest, shoppers tend to spend approximately twice as much as shoppers on any other platform and typically fill their baskets with 85% more items compared to shoppers on other platforms. For those in the eCommerce industry, this information is undoubtedly exciting and promising making this an excellent choice as a PPC advertising platform.

Pros:

• It is very cost effective which is great for new brands to break out.

• It is a great medium to encourage app downloads and generate website traffic, you can expect to pay $0.10 – $1.50 per engagement with your post.

• There are keyword targeting options in addition to audience targeting.

Cons:

• It is labour intensive and is estimated that you need to push out at least 5 pins each day organically and slightly less in a paid campaign.

• There are very few automation opportunities.

• The demographic of Pinterest skews heavily toward women in the 25–44 age group, which might not work for all businesses.

BONUS Tips for Choosing the Right PPC Advertising Platforms:

1. Identify your business goals: Determine whether you want to drive website traffic, generate leads, increase brand awareness, or achieve other specific objectives.

2. Understand your target audience: Consider the demographics, interests, and online behaviour of your target audience to select a platform that aligns with their characteristics.

3. Evaluate your budget: Different platforms have varying costs per click and require budget allocation. Determine how much you are willing to spend and assess the resourcefulness of each platform.

4. Analyse industry fit: Consider the nature of your business and industry. Certain platforms may be more suitable based on industry-specific characteristics or target audience preferences.

5. Test and iterate: Start with a small budget and run experiments across different platforms. Analyse the performance of your campaigns and optimise based on the results.

Alternatives to PPC Advertising

If you run a small business and have a limited budget, or simply don’t want to align yourself with the main search engines, you can still achieve great success with organic choices like enhancing content marketing and building your social media presence. Even without relying on a ppc platform, the conversion rates might be low in the beginning, but it will pick up pace eventually.

Despite the impression that marketing is becoming more “pay to play,” a smart organic approach, such as search engine optimisation (SEO) or social media efforts, can provide significant benefits, making it a viable alternative as opposed to looking for the best PPC advertising platforms for your business.

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