Online Advertising and PPC Management can be very confusing and difficult to get right for many companies. The bottom line is that it is all about results, so properly tracking and measuring as well as testing is essential.

When it comes to online advertising, the chosen routes are generally:

          * Google Adwords
          * Facebook Ads
          * Banner and display ad networks

For paid advertising, Google delivers up to 90% of searches in the UK, so although it can be costly, Google Adwords is the first option to consider. However, in our opinion, most Adword campaigns are poorly structured and monitored, ending up in huge unnecessary costs in some cases, and poorly targeted traffic which is simply a waste. If set up and monitored properly, Google Adwords can be highly targeted to deliver qualified traffic to the appropriate pages on your site. Of course, the landing page is equally important, so also part of the equation that we consider. Getting traffic is only a part of Digital marketing – if the traffic doesn’t convert (or whatever your objectives might be) then it has been wasted. One of the benefits of Google Adwords is almost instant feedback, so this can be useful when researching new products or services. Intelligent and well researched Adwords Management is vital to the success of any PPC campaign.

Landing pages are an important element of any PPC or online advertising campaign. . If I search for ‘green widget’ and your site appears as an ad, I will expect to go direct to the ‘green widgets’ page of your site, not to the home page and then have to search your site to find what I am looking for.

Facebook Advertising has grown significantly recently, and can also be a valuable tool, especially for certain types of companies or markets. Although the ads are not being searched for, in the same way that Google operates, you can very specifically target your audience. For example, you can deliver ads only to specific members of a group, or people who like, and actively participate in,  a particular facebook page. In certain industries and markets this can work very well, especially when growing your own facebook community.

LinkedIn has become another major player and can be a great tool for certain types of businesses and markets.

When it comes to banner advertising and display networks, this should be carefully researched for your specific market to target the ads appropriately.