When looking to grow your business, pay-per-click advertising, or PPC, is one of the most popular options for businesses. In this form of marketing, businesses simply pay search engines to rank them first on the first page.

They appear as sponsored ads on the search engines, and once a visitor clicks the ad, you pay a small fee to the search engines. 

Over the years, many misconceptions have arisen concerning PPC advertising. This is because most people who use it don’t understand the right time to use PPC. 

Below, we show you the only times when you should invest in PPC advertising. 

When you need fast traffic

The main benefit of paid advertising is its speeds in delivering results. Unlike SEO which may take weeks, or months, to start getting a little traffic, PPC works like wildfire. 

Since your website is placed on the first page of search engines, you can expect the results in minutes. Research has shown that most visitors only visit the top 5 posts on the first page on any search engine.

Therefore, with PPC, your website gets the first-page exposure it needs to start attracting visitors. It’s a great way to improve the traffic on small businesses with few to none organic traffic. 

When you need to reach a specific audience 

Getting a lot of traffic is good for any business. However, if the traffic isn’t coming from your target audience, converting the visitors to customers will be impossible. 

Most PPC platforms gather data from their users in different demographics. This makes it easier for you to target your campaign to customers of a specific geographical location, age or gender.

PPC can also help increase awareness of your brand to an international audience. However, you may have to work with an international advertising agency to help you tap into this market.

When you want to test a new campaign 

Before launching a new product, service or offer, your business may test out its reception in the market using PPC. Paid advertising brings in more traffic quickly meaning you get enough feedback on how to improve the product. 

Although the advertising costs may be high, doing this will save you millions in losses and faulty products or failed promotions. 

When you need to gain competitive advantage

If your business needs an extra boost during the high season, you can also try paid advertising to keep up with your competitors. This is particularly useful when running seasonal promotions like black Fridays, Christmas, Easter and Back to school.

PPC will ensure that your ads reach the right audience, therefore, increasing your sales. 

When you need to change your strategies

If your advertising strategy isn’t attracting as much volumes as you wanted, making changes with PPC advertisements is very easy. You can quickly change your keywords, target audience and ad texts, for you to start getting results. 

This is different for SEO, as changing your keywords will take you more time to see results.

When you need to track your ads 

The only way you’ll know if your ads are effective is when you can monitor their progress. PPC advertisements are great because they provide you with an analysis of each keyword you’re using.  This way, you can know what’s working and what’s not.

You also get a clear picture of how your money was spent, making it easier to calculate your ROI. 

When you need more control over your ads

PPC ads allow you to schedule your ads to run only during your office hours. Therefore, if you work from 8-5, then the ads will be on your search engines during these times only. This way, visitors who click on your ads will find you during your office hours.

Final thoughts

PPC advertising is best used every time you need to see results quickly. It’s a good way to grow your business, but you’ll still need SEO to maintain the business. Therefore, when looking into your marketing strategy, ensure you’re using PPC advertising for the right reasons.