PPC stands for Pay-Per-Click advertising and is one of the most used promotion channels in the world of Google and online marketing. 

The concept behind PPC is rather simple: advertisers (aka sellers or retailers) place ads on an online platform (like Google Ads and Microsoft Ads) with the purpose of driving customers towards their website or app. The pay-per-click name comes from the fact that advertisers pay the platform a fee each time a user clicks on their ad. 

But why do businesses use PPC advertising when they could use SEO to climb the SERPs? 

Well, SEO is a long-term strategy that can bring a wide array of benefits, but it takes time and effort to get there. On the other hand, PPC ads bring faster results and can help a business outgrow its competition or get a boost in sales. 

However, PPC ads are not always the best answer, especially for small businesses. A successful PPC campaign needs to consider the timing and frequency of the ads, and duration. 

When & How to Run a Successful PPC Campaign?

For small businesses, the marketing budget is precious, which is why most business managers will “measure twice and cut once”. Still, over 45% of small businesses invest in PPC campaigns, so it’s clear this is an effective method – as long as it’s well designed.  

Quick tip: One way to make sure you won’t go over budget is to manage your own ads. For this, you should invest in a PPC management software tool that fits your needs (read more here). Such a tool can help you understand the bidding process and allows you to easily manage different campaigns (among others).    

The Timing

Once you have the right tools to help you run complex PPC campaigns, you will have to test things out with the best time (of the day/ week/ month) to let the ads run. It’s crucial that you identify the time intervals when your target audience is most active, to maximize your campaign’s exposure. 

Keep in mind that the “best time” will differ from one campaign to another – even if you’re focusing mainly on the same type of products and/ or services. In addition, some campaigns have a seasonal factor to consider (ads for Halloween decorations won’t return results in February, for instance).

The Frequency

Depending on the audience you’re targeting, their level of online activity will be different. Therefore, it’s important to identify the time of the day when they are likely to be more active and increase frequency during those time intervals. 

For instance, according to research, most online audiences tend to get more active during the day, with peaks between 11.00 a.m. and 2.00 p.m. Of course, this situation may change according to each niche’s work schedule and other factors.

When is Best to Start a PPC Campaign?

The right timing is also influenced by the goals you want to accomplish. Therefore, ask yourself why do you want to run such a campaign? 

In most cases, the answer is about increasing brand awareness, boosting sales, overtaking the competition, or supporting a newly launched product. All these instances can benefit from a well-designed PPC campaign, but you also need a solid SEO strategy to boost your business’ visibility in front of your audience. Therefore, it’s best to combine these two methods in order to get steady growth and maximum exposure. 

In summary, PPC ads can be effective and make for a great advertising tool, as long as you consider all the factors of influence. Out of those, timing and proper management are among the most important ones.