What is Pay-Per-Click and Why You Should Get Certified

A price is paid by the advertisers to the advertising platform each time one of their ads is clicked under the pay-per-click (PPC) digital marketing model. By using these strategies, businesses can purchase website visitors or leads instead of generating them naturally. PPC is typically utilized to accomplish three key objectives: boosting sales, producing leads, and raising brand recognition.

There are two types of PPC pay models:

• Flat-rate PPC – In this type of pay model, the advertiser pays a fixed amount for each click. The rate may vary according to the content type and how valuable the users who clicked on the ads.
• Bid-based PPC – This type of pay models are followed by Google and Bing search engines. It allows the advertisers to compete against other advertisers with the help of an automated auction method. The winners of the auction get the highest ad spot.

What is Google AdWords?

Google AdWords is the most popular PPC platform which offers users to advertise their content on Google search engine and its affiliated advertising network. It works on the bid-based PPC model and advertisers bid on the keywords. After the bids have been registered, Google ranks the ads according to a metric known as AdRank.

AdRank = CPC bid X Quality Score

Quality score is a value which depends on ad relevancy, CTR (click-through rate) history and landing page.

CTR = number of users who clicked/number of users who viewed the link.

From the above AdRank formula, it is clear that even if you bid higher than your advertisers but if your ad is not relevant and is not connecting to the right landing page, your ads will not show up. This is why organizations hire skilled professionals to handle their PPC campaigns. You can gain the requisite experience with a certification course in AdWords or similar platform.

What are the Benefits of using PPC?

Is PPC worth it? There is a huge debate on that topic. Some say it is worth only for big organizations and not for medium scale companies. You can look at the following benefits and decide yourself:

• PPC is a straightforward method of marketing where you pay for valuable engagements. Usually, people who are interested in your products or services click on the links and thus, you pay for only those that provide good leads.
• You get instant results with PPC as compared to traditional methods of marketing. Unlike advertising, where you start a campaign and wait to get the desired results, PPC offers quick results as it is more targeted. You can efficiently reach the target audience you want in the fastest possible way.
• The results in a traditional method of marketing are difficult to measure. On the other hand with PPC, you get to measure the anything related to the campaign like costs, profits, people who visited your site, number of clicks and many more.
• PPC lets you have a greater control on your spending as compared to traditional method of marketing. If you feel that the campaign is not working, you can always stop it at the right moment.

What are the Advantages of Having a PPC Certification?

We all face the dilemma of whether to go for a certification course or not. If you are using PPC platforms like Google AdWords or Bing Ads, it is advisable to go for a certification. Here are some of the major reasons:

• A certification not only showcases your skills it also shows that you are quite comfortable in using that particular platform to create and maintain PPC campaigns. You will have up-to-date knowledge on various best industry practices and demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of the platform.
• It is the best way to convince a recruiter that you are skilled in PPC marketing using either AdWords or Bing Ads. Without a certificate, it is difficult for recruiters to measure your knowledge and expertise.
• The need for PPC experts is increasing as organizations understand the huge potential of online marketing. As a certified professional, you have the chance of earning a higher salary as compared to non-certified professionals.

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