4 Reasons Why Your Small Business Needs to Start Using PPC Right Now

I talk to local small business owners all the time who are using antiquated methods to advertise – newspaper ads, coupon books, mailers to residents, etc. Most of these business owners don’t use paid search advertising and many don’t even know what it is. Typically, they bemoan the cost and are skeptical of its effectiveness. For some reason, every owner thinks their business is different than the “average” business that can find results with PPC. They all start with “Well I don’t know if it would work for my business though, because…” and then I listen to them explain why they presume that they’re the exception to the rule. But the striking part is how much they actually have in common with many of the other local businesses that I’ve seen use PPC effectively.

So, if you’re still holding out, here are the main reasons why your business needs to get started with PPC now (as in actually really right now):

1.Expanded Text Ads
Paid search ads used to be really small – just a short headline, two lines of text, and your URL. Now though, Google is rolling out Expanded Text Ads (ETA), which are basically beefed up versions of these traditional ads. They allow for many more characters to sell your business and your products/services to searchers across two headlines, a longer line of text, and a snazzier URL. Of course, bigger ads mean more real estate. This is a huge opportunity to get your business in front of searchers and block out your competition from being able to appear for those same searchers. More of you and less of your competitors? That’s right! It’s a win-win!

Now is the time to get started with ETA because they’re not actually required yet, but they will be next year, which means that in the interim your business can leap frog ahead of anyone who hasn’t updated their old standard ads yet!

2.The Holidays
The holidays are right around the corner (shocking, I know!), which means that your business should be planning and building out their holiday advertising campaigns now. If ever there was a time to give PPC a shot, it’s during the busy holiday shopping rush when consumers are ready to buy!

3.Geographic Bid Modifiers
Modifiers allow your business to change how much you bid based on where a searcher is, which is to say that you can alter what you’re willing to pay for a click based on how valuable that click is likely to be for your business. This sounds a little scary, I know. But it really isn’t! It’s very easy to do and it gives you greater control over your costs so that you can increase the likelihood that that click will be profitable.

4.Mobile Competitiveness
Most people shop from their smart phones and use their smart phones while they’re out to find things to do and places to shop. This means that if you’re just doing traditional print advertising, you’re missing out on the potential to get your name and products/services in front of consumers at the moment when they’re looking for the things that you sell. Simply put, to be competitive these days, you have to be present on mobile. PPC ads are a great way to build brand awareness and drive sales with both local and national consumers.

Have I convinced you yet? If so, visit our PPC services page and let’s get started! If you’re still not sure whether or not online advertising would be beneficial for your business, contact us today and we’d be happy to speak with you and find out a little bit more about your business goals. We’ll give you helpful, honest advice about what would be best for your business!
 
Kate Pierce is the owner of LionShark Digital Marketing LLC, a West Michigan internet marketing company. Her areas of expertise include Paid Search, Search Engine Optimization, Business Blogging and Web Copywriting. She lives in the Grand Rapids area with her husband and son and enjoys cooking, watching sports, and spending time together as a family. Like a true digital marketing expert (i.e. geek), she loves talking about current marketing trends… so don’t say you weren’t warned!