Does Paid Search Work?
| Diane Vautier August 3, 2010 |
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Lots of small businesses are struggling with questions around online marketing. Questions like “should I move my advertising to online paid search” and “does it really work”?
The short answer to both questions is a resounding yes. But wait, read on.
The first question – should I move my advertising online? According to a July 2010 eMarketer article, quoting the “State of Small Business Online Advertising Q2 2010” report from WebVisible, small businesses bumped their 2010 second quarter search spending by a whopping 159% over the same quarter last year. That indicates that small businesses are confident that moving to an online advertising spending format is a popular option.
The report further indicated that small businesses are purchasing more keywords as part of their PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns. Our guess is that as more small businesses become knowledgeable about paid search and how it works, they are refining their campaigns and searching for more targeted inroads that long-tail phrases can uncover.
The second question – does it work? Yes, it works, according to the report. 2010 second quarter conversions climbed considerably from the same quarter the previous year. Website conversions increased from 31.1% to 43.3% while phone calls increased from 4.3% to 6.9%.
That could mean that users are either becoming more accepting of online advertising, or marketers are becoming better at designing landing pages and offers, as well as tracking results. Either way, it’s a move in a positive direction for small businesses.
But, before you go rushing off to put all your eggs in the PPC basket, consider this. Paid search isn’t the only option to get found online. Search engine optimization also plays a significant role in online marketing and is neither obsolete nor ineffective. In fact, some argue that it has a more effective long-term advantage for getting found online.
As with any online marketing efforts, the approach should be a balanced one. Balance your short-term get found goals with those of your long-term goals and allocate resources accordingly. The question shouldn’t be whether to use paid search or search engine optimization, but rather how much of each should be part of your online marketing plan.
Marketing, PPC, Search Engine Optimization | Diane Vautier | 
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