What is it?
Paid Search, or Pay Per Click (PPC) is a channel where an advertiser’s ad appears in the sponsored listings in search engines. It is often the most efficient channel on a media plan due to the way it works; with ads targeted to user intent, effective pricing and a fair placement system based on relevancy.
PPC involves displaying targeted text ads that are triggered by users’ searches on particular keywords. It is priced on a cost per click model where advertisers only pay when someone clicks on their ad. The PPC ad’s position on the search results page is based on an algorithm that uses a combination of an auction model and relevancy (or Quality Score).
Recently, the search engines have included the ‘Social Graph’ in the way their algorithm works. In addition to the above, search engines now look at what a searcher’s friends and social circle (or Social Graph) deem as the most relevant website, brand or product associated with the search query to rank an advertiser’s PPC ad.
Why is it important?
Consumers rely on search engines as one of their primary means of online navigation and shopping. Each consumer’s online experience has a ‘search moment’ directing them to the most relevant information or product they are searching for. For shopping, PPC is one of the main online channels that indicate a consumer’s intent to purchase.
PPC is a key component of an overall marketing communications mix and media plan. It is a channel that interacts with all other elements of the marketing mix and its performance is affected by market dynamics and brand performance. Above the line (ATL) channels will generate interest and demand whilst search will harvest this demand. Paid Search’s demand harvesting capabilities and performance is completely dependent on ATL messaging, as well as market, economic, seasonal, competitive factors and other digital channels.
What we do
For us, PPC is a combination of art and science. PPC needs to be managed as part of an integrated channel strategy, not in a silo. To this point, we have fully integrated specialists in-house that apply innovative off and on site optimisation best practices. PPC is just as much a brand channel as a performance one.
Our innovative off and on site optimisations use the up-to-date best practices and technologies to ensure we provide you with the best-in-class PPC campaign.
Offsite, we look at external variables that effect search volumes and conversions, how other channels effect PPC performance and the optimal account structure that best suits business needs. We practise constant optimisation to improve Quality Score and apply best-in-class attribution through Artemis™. We will also advise on the bid technology that best fits your business needs.
Onsite, we look at your web analytics data to inform optimisation as well as your website’s usability; recommending multi-variate and landing page testing to improve conversion rates and Quality Score.
Why Media Contacts?
We have a proven track record of delivering success as defined by our clients’ bespoke needs and goals. From huge volume direct response search accounts such as TUI Travel PLC to branding campaigns that achieve reach like the BBC. We understand that the Paid Search market is highly dynamic and are always looking to test new tools before general release to stay ahead of the market.
We understand that PPC needs to be integrated with other channels. This is where Artemis™, our proprietary technology, fits in to give us a unique advantage in identifying how other channels impact PPC. We help answer business questions such as how to attribute sales across the search journey or how to save budget with a combined paid and natural strategy, defining how much and where to invest in display in order to maximise searches and boost conversion and how to quantify the halo effect from TV to search. In essence, our PPC capabilities are fully integrated, innovative, advanced and focused on constantly growing your return from search as a channel.
Contact
For more information, or if you would like us to contact you in regards to a sales enquiry please click here.