In the world of online medical marketing, paid searches are king, but what is a paid search? If you have ever heard of Adwords, pay per click or cost per click advertising then you all ready know the answer. If you need to improve your search engine marketing, it’s time to get better acquainted with this type advertising model.
What is a Paid Search Campaign?
A paid search, or sponsored search, allows the advertiser to find ways to improve their search rankings. It takes time for a practice to build up enough of an Internet presence to rank high in organic search engine results. Through paid search campaigns, a small doctor's office becomes more visible and moves up naturally.
Pay Per Click
There are two types of paid campaigns: pay per click and sponsered. Pay per click, or cost per click, creates ads that rotate around the Internet. The sponsor pays a fee for the initial ad impression and then spends more every time the ad generates a click.
The exact payment arraignment depends on the model. With flat-rate ads, the publisher charges based on the placement of the ads with high traffic sites costing more money. The bid-based system means companies bid for the right to use special keywords or for a prime ad spot.
Sponsored Ad Campaigns
Sponsored ads pay for a place on the first page of search results or sometimes in a featured spot on a website. A search engine allocates the upper section of the results page just for sponsored ads, meaning those companies paid money to get their page listed there. Most search engines designate the sections with headers that say “Ads” and “Web Results.”
What is the Goal of a Paid Search Campaign?
The goal of any search engine marketing strategy is to increase web traffic and leverage conversions, according to Search Engine Land. Paid searches improve the reputation of the practice and enhance the brand by getting their name out there. Viewers may not click on every ad they see, but they will read the name and take note of it. The more times a surfer sees the name “Acme Nail Company,” the more likely it is that the name comes to mind when is is time to buy nails.
Managing Paid Ads
Even the most successful marketing campaign requires tweaking. Business 2 Community offers some areas you should monitor to see if see if a paid search campaign is successful.
Impact – First, decide which campaigns need optimizing. A marketing effort that is generating clicks and conversions won’t need any work. Focus on the one that are costing the most but offering the poorest results and tweak the keywords to get better results.
Clickthrough Rate (CTR) – The goal is at least a one percent clickthrough rate. This means how many times does someone actually click on the ad; anything less than that and you will need to optimize.
Conversion Rate (CVR) – How many leads come from the ad? Aim for 3 to 5 percent.
Paid searches take some effort to manage, but they work, especially for businesses just getting started. What is your paid search budget?