If you have a modern business, creating an on-line presence is no longer an afterthought – it’s now one of your main concerns. It’s not just about creating a proper website anymore, but also about getting it in the front of potential clients.
There are essentially two approaches to generating website traffic: organic (SEO) and paid (PPC). Generating organic traffic involves taking the time and effort to get noticed by search engines and social media users; generating paid traffic involves taking the money and effort to instantly put your website in front of the right Internet users.
Effective digital marketing always relies on both organic and paid strategies woven together for best results. Both of these methods have their strengths and drawbacks, and both are mandatory tools in your marketing arsenal. For this article, we’re focusing specifically on why buying traffic is so important and how you can use it to your advantage.
The Fastest Way of Generating Targeted Traffic
The most obvious benefit of PPC (pay per click) traffic is the speed; there is simply no faster way to get targeted website to your website, with the obvious drawback that you’re effectively paying per each click that brings a visitor into your website – meaning that as soon as you stop investing, traffic shuts down immediately.
In any case, you can absolutely make paid traffic work to your advantage by simply watching your ROI. As your start a new campaign, you may find that achieving a positive return of investment can be a little tricky, especially if you’re advertising in a highly competitive industry; but once you put a little energy to fine-tune your campaigns and maximize conversions, you may stumble upon an effective way to kick start any new business or test any new product in record time (provided you have the resources to pay for the initial traffic).
Think of it this way: as long as your campaigns generate a higher profit than their cost, you effectively have a money-making machine in your hands no matter what you are selling through your website. If you happen to achieve a substantial ROI, then you will often be able to scale up your campaigns and thereby get impressive results very fast.
You Can Target Users with Laser-Focused Precision
Another key benefit of paid traffic is how you are given extremely precise control when it comes to targeting user demographics. And we’re not using the word “precise” lightly, since most PPC systems give you tools that allow incredibly accurate, surgical, laser-focused targeting of a number of variables, from the actual keywords people are looking for to the actual amount you’re willing to pay for each click (paid traffic generally uses an auction format, with advertisers who are willing to pay the most getting the top position in paid rankings).
Some of the most interesting advanced features of PPC that can be used to achieve extraordinary results include Geo-targeting and ad scheduling, which essentially give you the ability to pinpoint users in space and time. You can just as easily focus on potential clients from a specific town, or you can set up ads to only show up in special occasions which are relevant for your particular business or service.
There is a learning curve in getting the most of these tools, which means that most people won’t usually manage to turn a profit from paid search right off the bat. But when you start getting a solid grasp on the system and its potential, you should realize that paid traffic can become a highly profitable business lead generation tool.
Advanced Analytics Tools Let You Precisely Manage ROI
While the concept of paid traffic is indeed simple to grasp on the surface, things can get complex really fast when you start doing your first experiments, since there are indeed many variables to consider in adjusting your campaigns to achieve the highest ROI.
When paying for traffic, you are given an extremely advanced set of analytics tools that provide you with all the data you need to really scrutinize your efforts and see which campaigns are generating the biggest results. Once you learn how to properly use these tools, you will have tremendous control over your ROI since you can make adjustments on the fly and have a clear notion of where your money is going and which campaigns are yielding the best results.
As you keep fine-tuning your PPC traffic experiments you should be able to gradually improve your results, and when you achieve a formula that works you will often be able to set things up in a way that involves little to no on-going maintenance.
PPC as a Useful Complement to Your SEO
At this point, you should have a clear notion of how PPC can work to your advantage. Provided you have available funds to invest in your online marketing campaigns, there are no good reasons why you should pass up on this opportunity to get quality visitors into your website that will routinely convert into paying clients.
The above is especially when you realize that a successful PPC campaign will indirectly give an edge to your organic SEO efforts. Buying traffic can be a powerful way to kick-start a new website and get visitors who are interested in what you are selling and may even help by spreading word of mouth on their own natural volition.
If you haven’t yet put a little time and money into learning about paid traffic and how to use it to your advantage, this is your wake-up call! Why not sign up right away for your favoured PPC network and start doing your first experiments? You may find this can be the fastest way to make your website become profitable, but you’ll only know once you get down to business!
