PPC is one of the most cost effective and measurable forms of advertising, yet there are still businesses who neglect to utilise this powerful tool in their marketing operations.

In simple terms, PPC is pay-per-click, a form of search engine marketing in which you only pay each time one of your ads is clicked on. And when we talk about search engine advertising, primarily this refers to the giant that is Google Ads. Other search engines are available, but with 90% of traffic on all devices, Google dominates the market.

PPC is a way of buying visits to your website based on user’s search terms, rather than attempting to earn those visits organically. Often, the impact of PPC can be overlooked by small businesses. It is a less visible, less tangible and not as straightforward as traditional marketing, such as leafleting or newspaper advertising. But not understanding it is no excuse for ignoring it!

It is an essential part of the marketing mix. Search engines are where people – your customers – go to ask questions and to find out about services and products. Think of them as people who are sticking their hand in the air wanting to know more about products and services like yours. These are high quality leads! There is a purchasing interest to their browsing. By ignoring them, you are losing warm prospects or worse still, leaving the way open for competition to engage with them. Indeed, some competitors may even exploit any negligence by “brand hijacking”, ie. paying to advertise to audiences who search for your business name.

It trumps untargeted forms of advertising like newspapers and radio, where you can only hope your target market sees or hears and hope they react to it on their devices. With Google Ads, the consumer is king, the adverts are accessible 24 hours a day on their device at their convenience, relevant for their needs and can be responded to immediately with a click or two.

Most users will spend up to 30 seconds looking at the search results. Therefore, occupying space high in the rankings via PPC, is prime real estate. You need to be seen by eyeballs and under the thumbs of consumers on their devices. PPC is a form of advertising which is non-intrusive to its audience. It is products and services that meet their online query.  That’s why it offers real return on investment in generating enquiries. And for the advertiser, it provides real marketing intelligence tracking the effectiveness of your spend and conversion rates, allowing you to make strategic data-based decisions.

At Fruit, we have in-depth experience of local, regional and national PPC campaign set up and management, please contact us today to find out how we can embed PPC into your marketing mix and turbo charge your business’s lead generation.

“Zoom, just one look and then my heart went boom. Suddenly and we were on the moon.” so sang Fat Larry’s Band in the opening of their iconic ballad.

It’s safe to assume that the Philadelphia R&B group were crooning over something a little more romantic than video conferencing. But their 1982 hit sounds more relevant than ever. Video conferencing is keeping business, family life and friendships alive during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Fair enough, its reach hasn’t yet stretched beyond our planet, but video conferencing is eliminating boundaries culturally-embedded into all of our professional and personal relationships.

Zoom, Microsoft 365 Teams, WhatsApp, Google’s Meet, Skype and other platforms have all seen huge spikes in users since the global pandemic has halted society as we know it. From a daily use of around 10 million, Zoom soared to an incredible 200 million per day in March. It left the other platforms playing an urgent game of catch up and when Zoom’s privacy and security flaws became more apparent, the competition was quick to ramp up their offerings.

Google made its Meet app free to all users and with up to 100 users at once, is well positioned to attract a corporate audience. Facebook-owned WhatsApp has doubled users on a single call from 4 to 8 to meet the greater needs of families and friends trying to stay connected.

What will all this mean beyond lockdown? Will we return to prioritising in-person meetings and conferences above the virtual alternative? It is now hard to imagine a return to normal.

As a whole, we have become more tech savvy, confident in the use of video conferencing and shed our awkwardness of talking via screens. We have actually had no choice but to overcome, and humanity – as it always has – adapted. Coronavirus has caused the corporate world, business owners and employees to rethink.

Video conferencing is efficient, more economically viable and also more environmentally friendly. “All at once there was no turnin’ back,” Fat Larry’s Band continued. Those guys were really onto something.