Paid Search Advertising

The power of Google Ads

Your target market is searching Google for your services as we speak, and if you aren’t appearing in your niche you are missing out big time. You need to be in it to win it after all.

Why bother paying though? Everyone just scrolls past the ads at the top of search engine results right? Nope, this is a complete myth. In fact, over 63% of all Google users have clicked on a Google Ad before, and many either don’t care that they are clicking on a paid Ad, or simply don’t realise they are.

Google Ads is an incredibly powerful marketing tool, allowing you to select exactly what search terms you want to appear for, and when you want to appear for them.

Why bother with Soapbox then? If it’s just pay to win surely you can just do it yourself?

Well, sure, anyone can run a Google Ads campaign, but without experience and an understanding of key metrics such as cost per click (CPC), conversion rate, and quality score, they will end up paying well over the odds and are incredibly unlikely to see a positive return on investment.

Our PPC nerds know exactly how to tailor Ads to take advantage of the Google algorithm and secure valuable clicks for less, appearing above and undercutting your competition all at the same time.

How do Paid Search Ads Work?

Imagine an auction where you are bidding against your competitors for the top spot on Google for key search terms.

 

Some terms are more valuable than others, and you will have to pay more if you want to win the highest ad rank.

Say you are a window cleaner in the Shawlands area of Glasgow. Winning the auction for “window cleaner Glasgow” will cost more than the one for “window cleaner Shawlands” but the potential rewards are also a lot greater.

However, this is not a fair fight. Google ads auctions are not an open market where the highest bid always gets the top prize.

Google wants their results to be relevant to user searches, meaning that a website that is optimised properly for the keyword phrase will usually be able to secure rankings much cheaper than other less relevant sites.

This is known as the quality score of an Ad, with the higher the quality score, the lower the cost per click (CPC).

Many rookie PPC users give up on their campaigns pretty early on after being understandably shocked at the huge amount they are forking out for a single click, and unoptimized campaigns are extremely unlikely to result in a positive ROI.

Avoid PPC Nightmares

Get PPC right and you could be looking at unprecedented business growth. Get it wrong and it can swiftly become an extremely expensive nightmare.

 

We have heard horror stories of people paying as much as £75 for a single click before! Unless you are selling private jets, this isn’t likely to be very profitable!

Keyword research and careful optimisation of both landing pages and text ads are the keys to success in any Google Ads account, and Soapbox Digital are the locksmiths that you need to call.

We will conduct extensive research into your niche, identifying high value keywords that are most likely to result in a tangible business inquiry or sale before carefully crafting Ads that will secure clicks for these terms at the lowest possible price.

Our Glasgow team have extensive experience of both Google Ads (previously Google AdWords), Bing Ads, and all forms of social media Ads.

Your Local Paid Search Ads Experts

Dominate the search engines and your competition with a paid search campaign managed by one of Glasgow’s leading digital agencies.

Using smart bidding techniques and on-page optimisation, our team of PPC experts will design a bespoke paid search marketing strategy that allows you to target your most valuable online searches at the lowest possible price.

Even better, you won’t pay a penny unless someone visits your website and let’s be honest, who could say no once they see what you have to offer!

Paid search advertising vs Search Engine Marketing

SEO and Paid Search Advertising have one key similarity, they can both be used to get your business website to the top of the search engine rankings.

 

At Soapbox, we offer both services, so we have no horse in the race when it comes to which you choose. Some of our clients do both, some do PPC ads alone, and some only do SEO. It all depends on your budget, your industry, and how quickly you want to see results.

What is the difference between SEO and PPC?

Search Engine Optimisation involves optimising your website for key search teams most relevant to your business. A very simple example would be a plumber in Glasgow optimising their website to appear for “plumbers Glasgow”.

Appearing at the top of the organic search results (below paid Ads) is extremely valuable, but it does take time, especially if you are starting from scratch with a brand new site.

A PPC campaign, on the other hand, can see any business, no matter how big or small, reach the top of the Google search results pages immediately, so you can see why it is such a popular option.

However, once you stop running Ads, your website will vanish completely from the search results so SEO is often a more appealing option in the long-term.

Dominate the search engine results pages (SERPs) NOW

The great thing about paid search campaigns is that you pick exactly what products, or services your company appears for, and when.

Sure, with a powerful search engine optimization strategy, you could end up ranking for all your money making terms a few months down the line, and we can help you to do just that, but if you want immediate results, paid search ads are in a league of their own.

Measure your ROI with Google Ads

Judging the success of PPC campaigns is pretty straightforward.

You simply take the value of the leads generated through the campaign and subtract the amount that you have spent on securing the clicks that led to them.

SEO, on the other hand, can help you dominate major search engines for years to come, with little or no ongoing cost, but tracking the exact ROI is much more difficult.

Key Paid Search Advertising Terms

There is a lot of complex jargon involved in the world of paid ads and many businesses reject the idea of running ads simply because it all seems a bit too complicated.

We get it, you have a business to run and you don’t have the time to learn a whole new language just to advertise yourself online. Luckily, our experts speak fluent Google and are walking encyclopaedias when it comes to Google search and Google Ads.

Get in touch with Soapbox Digital Media and we will walk you through everything you need to know about online advertising and paid search platforms.

A quick introduction never hurt anyone though so here is a quick rundown of some of the key terms involved in paid search accounts:

 

Ad Placement

Pretty self-explanatory this one, Ad placement are the locations on a page in which an Ad will be displayed. This can include the top 3 positions on the search results page, the right hand side of the results page, and banner Ads on sites such as YouTube.

Negative keywords

Keywords are the words or phrases you wish to display a paid search Ad for. Negative keywords, in contrast, are the ones you do not wish to appear for. This could be to avoid advertising for the wrong services, or to avoid ultra-expensive Ad auctions that drain the life out of your budget.

Ad Groups

Groups of keywords within a single Google Ads campaign that share the same Ad and landing page.

Ad Extensions

Additional pieces of information such as your company phone number, product types, and prices that can be added to Google Ads to attract attention and improve Ad quality.

SERP

SERP, or Search Engine Results Page, are the results that are displayed when you make a search on Google, Bing, or another search engine.

Get in Touch

Interested in taking your online marketing to the net level with a Paid Search Advertising campaign? If so, contact Soapbox Digital Media today or visit us in our Glasgow studio.