Want to instantly reach and attract more customers for your e-commerce business? You need to know about pay-per-click marketing. More popularly known as PPC advertising, it’s a highly-targeted paid digital marketing strategy that only lets you pay for the results you made. But how do you choose the best PPC ad network for your e-commerce business?
There are several PPC ad platforms out there, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Search engines are the most popular network, but, they are not the only hosts for your PPC campaign. Your ads can also appear on websites, social media, and more.
In this guide, we will explain what PPC ad networks are, how they work, and what are some of the most popular ones you can use for your e-commerce business.
But First, What Are Pay-Per-Click Ad Networks?
PPC ad networks are online advertising platforms that connect you as advertisers to a pool of publishers online. These PPC platforms act as a mediator. They match your PPC ads with the most relevant publishers such as websites and apps.
What’s more, PPC ad networks make sure that your advertisement reaches the right people. How do they do that? They consider several factors such as your keywords, topics, interests, demographics, location, and more. That way, your ads appear on people who are searching for products like yours.
Once your ad is placed online, the ad network also tracks its performance. They monitor how many people see your ad, how many of them click, and how many of them end up buying your product or service. In return for these services, they charge you for each valid click.
4 Factors To Consider When Choosing The PPC Ad Platform For Business
With so many PPC ad networks out there, how to know which one is the right for your business? The following are the important factors to consider when choosing an ad platform.
1. Reach
Before launching your PPC campaign, know the reach of your prospect ad network. Make sure that it can reach a large number of people. Furthermore, it’s also your responsibility to check how well they match your target audience. This will lead us to the next factor.
2. Targeting Capability
The majority of PPC ad networks, if not all, have a filtering feature for your advertisement. You can set who can see your ads based on demographics and other factors. Make sure that your ad network can provide this targeting option for you to reach the right audience.
3. Cost Of Ads
The cost of PPC ads varies depending on several factors. These factors may include your ad format, the network’s reach, the keywords used, and other targeting capabilities. Always check and compare if the network cost is within your marketing budget.
4. Reporting Features
This is the last but critical factor you need to consider. Your ad network should be able to provide you with a way to track your ad performance. A good PPC platform can provide real-time data to help you optimize your campaign. Is your ad network has that feature?
5 Best PPC Ad Networks For E-Commerce Businesses
What is the best PPC platform for e-commerce? You can use the factors above to find the right platform. And to help you narrow further down your options, here are some of the leading and most effective PPC ad networks you can consider.
1. Google Ads (Formerly Google Ad Words)
Google Ads is the most widely used PPC ad network and it’s not a surprise anymore. As of March 2023, Google remains to be the market leader for search engines with a share of 85.53%.
There are several types of PPC Ads you can launch on the Google Ads network such as search ads, shopping ads, display ads, and video ads. If you are running an e-commerce business, we recommend including shopping ads in your PPC effort.
Shopping ads on the Google Ad network are highly-targeted. Your ad only appears when someone searches for products similar to yours. The prices, images, product details, and your website are also shown in your ads.
Display ads on the Google Ad network are also a worthy investment. Google said that display ads appear on over 3 million websites and in over 650,000 apps. Furthermore, you can also use other Google services such as Gmail, Maps, and YouTube to make sure you appear wherever your audience is.
2. Microsoft Ads
Microsoft ads are also among the most popular PPC platform. While Google has the biggest market share for desktop search engines, on the other hand, Microsoft Search Network sees a continual increase. Currently, it has 13.2 billion PC searches every month.
PPC ads in Microsoft platform may appear in different forms. This includes Text ads, shopping campaigns, dynamic search ads, and LinkedIn serves text ads.
If you’re familiar with Google Ads, you’ll be happy to know that Microsoft Ads has a very similar interface. In fact, there’s a tool where you can easily import Google ads campaigns into Microsoft ads. This helps you save time learning a new system.
3. Meta Ads (Formerly Facebook Ads)
With 2.989 billion monthly active users in April 2023, Facebook (Meta today) is still the most active social media right now.
You can launch several interactive forms of Meta ads such as image Video, single images, carousel, and slideshow. Meta’s algorithm and targeting feature are also among the most advanced in social media. The platform effectively displays ads to the most relevant users. You can also tweak your targets based on different demographics.
What’s more, the Meta Ads platform supports retargeting based on users’ previous activity on social media. With this feature, you can showcase your ad to people who are already interested in your products and subjects, increasing your chance of conversion.
4. Instagram Ads
Advertisers on Instagram can reach 1.628 billion users on the platform. Despite this massive number, the Instagram ad doesn’t have a separate platform. Advertisement is also handled through the Facebook Ads platform. When you launch an Instagram ad, it can appear on your Instagram feed, and stories, as well as, on any Facebook placement.
Like Meta ads, your Instagram ads can also target certain demographics. What makes Instagram Ads really unique is that they don’t look like ads at all. By using interesting images, you can easily blend with other Instagram posts. This is a brilliant feature as users won’t feel like they’re being sold to.
5. LinkedIn Ads
LinkedIn is not like other social media platforms, it’s a professional network where the majority of users are working professionals. It’s the reason why LinkedIn ads are perfect for b2b businesses. But it doesn’t mean that E-commerce businesses have no place on this platform.
LinkedIn Ads has also several targeting options that let you reach the right audience. Since this is a professional platform, you can target users based on professional criteria as well, such as job title, company, industry, and so on. You can take advantage of this feature to target professionals who are most likely to be interested in your products.
The way you construct your message plays a critical part in making LinkedIn ads. Try to make your ads work-oriented and appear as a niche expert.
PPC Ads Done Right
You can connect with your target market and increase your e-commerce sales by launching your PPC ads on the right platforms. Be Global E-commerce Corporation can help you achieve just that.
We understand that each platform has a different kind of audience. Our PPC Experts will work closely with you to understand your industry and target where your customers at. From search engine ad platforms to social media networks – we will tailor your ads to match your platform and audience preferences.
