Using PPC Ads for Branding
I heard recently that most of marketing can be considered science because it is normally a matter of trial and error until you find the formula that works. I agree with the basic idea, but would emphasize that there is normally a strong theory behind the original trials that result in error. Thomas Edison’s quote : “I haven’t failed, I’ve found 10,000 ways that don’t work” is the best example of what I mean.
We recently ran a branding experiment using PPC ads. Knowing that click through rates are statistically very low, we decided to design the ads more towards branding than to achieve actual clicks (granted we weren’t against click through). We identified keywords where INTX Microbials wasn’t ranking as strong as we would like and then designed PPC ads with the company name in all the ad variations. We also targeted keywords in which they had front page SERPS and used the same PPC ads.
The results? A 10% higher click though rate on ads where INTX had natural front page placement. What does this tell us? Not much really, but you can make some assumptions (or theories). Double placement solidified users interest and trust in the company and while click through rates on PPC ads are normally low, there can be arguments made that they can be a powerful branding tool if designed correctly.
I was reading Bruce Clay’s blog and Lisa Barone had an article about Promoting Yourself Using Other Brands which was very interesting. I agree with Lisa that using PPC ads to market your business on competitor brand names is not likely the best tactic available, but it is a clear example of using PPC as branding.
I’ve done my share of PPC advertising and haven’t been a big fan in the past mainly due to cost, but using the ad placement to obtain exposure and increase company branding has warmed my heart towards PPC advertising in recent years.
