Search Advertising: A Deeper Look

We’ve written articles on pay-per-click advertising but we wanted to know how search advertising works on a deeper level so we did a dive. First, let’s define search advertising. We all search for things every day on Google. Do you know those sponsored ads that are placed at the top of your search results? Those are search ads. All search engines offer search advertising for advertisers. You’re probably wondering, “What other search engines are there besides Google?” Well, there are a few other than Google but they take the number one spot with 77.43% of the market. After that you have something called Baidu at 8.13%, Microsoft Bing with 7.31%, Yahoo with 5.6%, and lastly, Ask at a whopping 0.13%. As you can see they really dominate the market. So, how do these ads work? Let’s use Google since they’re the dominant search engine out there. They use a second-price auction system. This system uses an auction for advertisers to beat out others in order to get a higher spot on the search list. However, that is not the only factor. They also use the advertiser’s ad rank to keep out poor-quality paid ads that link to terrible landing pages. Not every Joe Shmo can just bid on search engine ranks. Here’s how it works:

1.     Advertisers create ads that bid on keywords:

a.     Let’s say you’re an ad agency like ours that focuses on user-generated content advertising. You might bid on keywords like UGC advertising agency, UGC ad agency, etc.

b.     The agency will place their max bid that they’re willing to pay for the ad

2.     Someone searches: keywords matter so choose wisely what your agency will use

3.     Google looks for a match: this is called keyword matching. This is where Google searches to see if others in your industry are bidding on that word(s).

4.     The auction starts: for each account bidding on keywords, Google will choose one keyword for each account to enter the auction.

The winners are not necessarily the highest bidders as we stated above. It will depend on the quality score of relevance, expected click-through rate, and user experience. Relevance is how relevant your ad is to the search intention. CTR is how likely your ad is to get clicked on if shown. UX is how relevant your landing page is to your ad as well as the usefulness of the experience to the user. Second, is the ad rank we talked about above. It is simply the max bid plus the quality score. Lastly, the cost per click is considered. This is determined by your ad rank of the ad below yours divided by your quality score plus $0.1.

Search ads can be a great way to get eyes on your business. Google ads have an ROI of 800% and receive 65% of clicks for buying keywords vs only 35% for organic search results. Since Google is the most trusted search engine in the world their credibility is high. Therefore, any sponsored ad will be viewed as credible. These search ads are incredibly effective and cost-efficient. They can help drive sales and traffic to your site.

Avoiding Click Fraud

Paying for your advertisements only when their clicked on seems like a pretty good deal right? You don’t have to pay someone unless people actually view and click on it. Although it seems like a good deal, there are now bots on the web to consider. If these bots are clicking on your ads then you end up paying for clicks that aren’t real people. Aka. No real views. Basically, you’re wasting your money if “click fraud” happens to you! 36% of display ads are fraudulent clicks (Lunio, 2021). As we said, PPC is a standard advertising system where advertisers pay only when their ads are clicked on. The most common being Google Ads. The process is simple where advertisers begin by signing up for an account with a platform, create their ad and set the max cost they are willing to pay per click. Then, the ad goes into an auction with others are bidding on the same keywords. The auction will then determine the order in which ads are shown on the search. Finally, the advertisers pay when the ad is clicked on. So, why does click fraud happen and how? Well, it typically happens on large scale and have multiple motivations. Sometimes companies will use it for their competitors to hurt them financially and some websites will do it for their own financial gain. Other reasons can include more clicks to increase likes or make websites appear higher in search rankings. However, the first does not pertain to this article. In 2018 advertisers were estimated to have lost $19 billion due to click fraud, according to Forbes. There is no 100% guaranteed way to avoid click fraud but we have a couple of ideas that can reduce risks if PPC is something you’re thinking about investing in.

1.     Set different bid prices. Only use website that will give you the best potential results and limit how much you’re willing to spend per click.

2.     Track your competitors. As we said above, your competitors can be someone who commit click fraud so keep an eye on them. You can do this with website that provide free tracking reports, such as Click Defense and Ad Watcher.

3.     Monitor your PPC campaign. Google has analytics that allow you to track your campaign performance. Use this to see percentage of clicks that Google shows as potentially fraudulent or invalid.

4.     Be concise with your geography. Stick with one area for your PPC campaign. Some areas of the world have higher risk so try to avoid those countries.

5.     Stick to high quality websites. Low-quality sites are places of high bot traffic. And honestly, don’t you want your brand on a top-notch site anyway? This one should be a given.

These are some risk management tips and there are some automated detection programs that will detect and mitigate click fraud from happening. These detect bots by flagging the user who just clicks on the ad and nothing else. Some of these include Shield, Click GUARD, Opticks to name just a few. In summary, if PPC is something your brand is thinking of investing in, make sure that you have a solid game plan in place in order to remain safe from click fraud. It can be a useful tool for advertising that keeps your costs low if done correctly.  

CTA: Why is it Important?

CTA or call to action buttons have a large role to play in advertising. This is where a brand turns someone who is a viewer into their customer. A lead into a client. According to Creative MMS, CTA’s on landing pages increase conversion rates by as high as 80%. But how? A call to action can help seal the deal on an ad campaign or website page. It inspires your audience to take the next step through giving the viewer obvious instructions what do next. The smoother the brand makes their CTA experience the better. People expect brands to give them information on what to do next so they don’t have to problem solve if they’re interested in what your brand has to offer.  

What do CTA’s look like though? Let’s walk through them. First, submission forms. It can be for a newsletter or something similar where your audience becomes more identifiable through emails. One of the most common types of CTA’s found on websites are service/product discovery. As the name states, they lead people to services/products offered by the company. Another popular type is sharing. This offers the viewers to share the content across social media platforms and increases visibility for your brand. One that is commonly found on video content is “learn more” or “continue reading” buttons. However, these tend to perform lower than download now buttons (HubSpot). One specific type of CTA is event promotion and is exactly as it sounds.

Now that we’ve discussed some types of CTA’s, what makes one more compelling than another? Let me preface by saying that testing should always be done within a company to see what types of CTA’s and placements work best for the brand. There are a few guidelines that a brand can stick to otherwise to ensure a solid CTA. One, clearly stated benefits and actionable texts for the user. This takes the brain work out of the decision making for consumers who already have insane decision fatigue from fast-paced lifestyles. Two, exceptional designs that make the CTA stand out with contrast to the page or video to attract attention immediately. Three, keep it short! It must be five words or less. Last, and most important, proper placement is key. It must be the most visible thing and command attention. This will require some trial and error to get it just right.

The key takeaway here is that calls to action buttons are important for brands. They shouldn’t be an aspect of ad campaigns or websites that are mistakenly overlooked. They help funnel sales and create new clients. People expect to be assisted on what to do next after reading or watching. CTA’s take the leg work out for them, gives them a direct roadmap, and transitions become seamless from leads to clients.