Why Small Businesses Without Paid Ads Are Missing Out 1

Why Small Businesses Without Paid Ads Are Missing Out

Why Small Businesses Without Paid Ads Are Missing Out

Why Small Businesses Without Paid Ads Are Missing Out 1

No matter what your level of experience with paid ads is, you can start today and utilise ad platforms to reach a wider audience online and promote your business. But without expertise in paid ads, you may find you are targeting the wrong people, paying more than you budgeted, and perhaps still not get the qualified leads you want. Behind successful paid ads campaigns, there is creative and technical knowledge, and understanding of marketing strategy. 

These are the six key reasons why small businesses without paid ads or poor paid ads don’t reach their potential online:

1. They’re not using the right keywords
2. They’re not bidding on the right keywords
3. They have poor ad copy
4. They have a poor website design or user experience
5. They’re not using retargeting 
6. They don’t have a solid overall marketing strategy

If you can avoid these pitfalls, you’ll be well on your way to success with your paid advertising campaigns! Let’s take a closer look at each one.

1. They’re Not Using The Right Keywords

One of the most important aspects of any effective pay-per-click campaign is keyword research. You need to target the right keywords in order to attract the right kind of leads – those that are actually interested in what you have to offer and are more likely to convert into customers or clients. Without proper keyword research, you’ll be wasting your time and money on ads that no one will ever see!

2. They’re not bidding on the right keywords

In addition to targeting the right keywords, you also need to make sure you’re bidding on them correctly. If you’re not familiar with how pay-per-click bidding works, it’s essentially an auction where you compete against other advertisers for placement on the search engine results page (SERP). The higher your bid, the more likely it is that your ad will be displayed when someone searches for one of your targeted keywords – but that doesn’t mean you should just go with the highest possible bid! You also need to consider your quality score, which is a measure of how relevant and useful your ad is considered to be by Google (or whichever search engine you’re using). A higher quality score means a lower cost-per-click (CPC), so it’s important to focus on creating high-quality ads as well as bidding strategically.

3. They have poor ad copy

An effective pay-per-click ad is more than just a few sentences cobbled together – it needs to be well-written, persuasive, and relevant to the keyword it’s targeting. Your ad copy is what’s going to convince searchers to click through to your website, so it needs to be compelling! If you’re not sure how to write effective PPC ad copy, there are plenty of resources out there to help you learn (including this blog post).

4. They have a poor website design or user experience

Once someone clicks on your ad, they’ll be taken to your website – so it needs to be up to scratch! A poorly designed website or bad user experience will quickly turn searchers away, resulting in a high rate of ‘bounce backs’ (people who leave your site almost immediately after arriving). Make sure your website is easy to navigate and contains relevant, targeted content that furthers whatever goal you’re hoping to achieve with your PPC campaign – whether that’s selling products/services or generating leads.

5. They’re not using retargeting

Retargeting (also known as remarketing) is a powerful tool that allows you to keep your brand front and centre for people who have already visited your website but didn’t convert into customers or clients. With retargeting methods,  you can show them targeted ads featuring products/services they viewed on your site or lead capture forms they didn’t fill out – essentially giving them another chance at conversion. If you’re not using retargeting as part of your PPC campaigns, you’re missing out on a great opportunity!

6. They don’t have a solid overall marketing strategy

Finally, it’s important to remember that paid advertising should never exist in a vacuum – it should always be part of a larger marketing strategy that includes other elements like SEO, content marketing, social media marketing, etc. 

Working all of these channels together in a joined-up campaign will help amplify your message and reach more people than any one channel could do on its own – but only if they’re working together cohesively as part of an overarching strategy. 

If you’re not sure how all these pieces fit together, we can help! Just contact us today for a free consultation.

In a nutshell…

Paid advertising can be an extremely effective way to reach more people online and promote your small business – but only if it’s done correctly! Avoid these six common errors and set yourself up for success. If you need our expertise in paid ads, whether you’re a beginner looking at trying ads for the first time, or already running ads but not getting the conversion rates you need, we can help you maximise your paid ads!

As always, if you have any questions, or if I can be of help in any way, drop me an email on eve@fantheflames.co.uk. And if you’d like to get some expert help or talk more about how I can help your business grow, feel free to book in for a quick virtual coffee with me HERE.

Best,
Eve Scragg
Fan The Flames Marketing & Design
https://fantheflames.co.uk
Eve Scragg Founder Fan the Flames Marketing and Design
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How LinkedIn Ads outperform Facebook and Google ads for many businesses

How LinkedIn Ads outperform Facebook and Google ads for many businesses

LI article cover

As a small business owner, you know that every penny of your marketing budget counts. You want to make sure that your hard-earned money is being spent in the most effective way possible so that you can see a good return on your investment (ROI).

In the world of online marketing, or more specifically paid ads, there are three big players that we’re looking at today: Facebook, Google, and LinkedIn. All three offer businesses the ability to place ads on their platforms and reach a wide audience of potential customers. But which one is the best? Which one will give you the best shot at growing your business, even if you have limited funds?

The answer may surprise you. While most have traditionally gravitated towards Facebook ads for their first PPC campaigns, LinkedIn actually tends to be the most effective for many B2B businesses with small budgets. When utilised correctly, they tend to outperform Facebook and Google ads in several key ways and can give you a better return on your investment. But not all businesses are well-suited to LinkedIn advertising.

In this blog post, we’ll break down when LinkedIn ads are the best option, and why, for many, LinkedIn ads outperform those from other platforms.

Better Quality Leads

When you run an ad on LinkedIn, you can be confident that you are reaching people who are actually in your target market. This is because, when it comes to businesses and career-related info, LinkedIn has much more accurate targeting options than other platforms. You can target people by their job title, company size, sector, location, and more. This ensures that your ad reaches the right people and that you are getting quality leads.

Higher Engagement Rates

Engagement rates refer to the number of times people interact with your ad divided by the number of times it is shown. LinkedIn has traditionally had higher engagement rates than both Facebook and Google in general, but this gap has only grown in recent years. This means that people are more likely to see and interact with your ad on LinkedIn than on any other platform, despite LinkedIn’s higher CPC.

Better ROI

Ultimately, what matters most to businesses is ROI. And LinkedIn delivers when it comes to ROI for B2B businesses. A study by G2 Crowd found that LinkedIn generates an average ROI of 278%, which is much higher than the ROI of both Facebook and Google ads. Not only that, but the cost per lead on LinkedIn is 62% lower than the cost per lead on Google. This means that you can get more leads for your money when you advertise on LinkedIn. 

That said, LinkedIn ads aren’t right for every business. If you sell products or services that are primarily targeted at consumers (B2C), you’ll probably get better results from an ad campaign on Facebook or Google. These platforms have a wider reach than LinkedIn and will allow you to target your ads more broadly. 

Conclusion

If you’re a B2B business looking for a platform that will give you quality leads and a high ROI, then LinkedIn should be your go-to choice. With its business focus, accurate targeting options, and high engagement rates, LinkedIn offers everything you need to succeed with your small business advertising goals!

If you’d like to see how LinkedIn ads can transform your business, but aren’t sure where to start, send us a message or email eve@fantheflames.co.uk, and we’d love to help! And if you’d like to get some expert help or talk more about how I can help your business grow, feel free to book in for a quick virtual coffee with me HERE.

Best,
Eve Scragg
Fan The Flames Marketing & Design
https://fantheflames.co.uk
Eve Scragg Founder Fan the Flames Marketing and Design
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What does PPC mean?

What does PPC mean?

PPC stands for “pay-per-click”, a model of online advertising where advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked. It’s one of the most common forms of online advertising, and it’s used by businesses of all sizes to promote their products and services.

Essentially, it means that you are buying traffic to your website, link, or other target, and you bid to get that traffic against other advertisers.

PPC is also known as Cost-Per-Click (CPC) advertising, because advertisers only pay when someone clicks on their ad. This makes it an extremely effective way to reach potential customers, because you’re only paying for ads that are actually generating traffic and leads. And since you can control how much you spend on PPC ads, it’s a very affordable way to advertise your business online.

Often, however, the term is used to denote paid ads of other types, where the bidding strategy isn’t simply buying traffic. Other conversion targets that you might aim for with paid ads include getting a potential client to send your business a message, register for a lead magnet, or sign up for a webinar. In these cases, you might optimise the ads not to charge per click, but for other conversion events.

What are the most common types of PPC advertising?

There are a few different types of PPC advertising. The most common are:

1. Search engine advertising (Google Ads, Bing Ads) 

2. Social media advertising (Facebook/Instagram Ads, LinkedIn Ads) 

3. Display advertising (banners, skyscrapers, pop-ups) 

4. Contextual advertising (text ads placed alongside relevant editorial content) 

5. Mobile advertising

Why should you use paid ads for your business?

There are many reasons why you should use paid ads for your business. Paid ads can help you reach a new audience, grow your brand awareness, and boost your sales.

Paid advertising is an effective way to reach more people who might be interested in your product or services. By targeting your paid ads to specific people based that are likely to be your perfect clients, based on their interests and demographics, you can ensure that your message reaches the right people. As a result, you can see a significant increase in sales and ROI, and generate a stead stream of leads for your business.

Additionally, using paid ads can help grow your brand awareness. When potential customers see your ad multiple times, they’re more likely to remember who you are and what you offer. This increased brand awareness can lead to more customers doing business with you, and accelerate your growth far more quickly than organic marketing strategies alone.

Want to find out more, or get some expert help with your Google ads, Facebook/Instagram ads, LinkedIn ads, or SEO?
 
  • Send us a WhatsApp message on 07747740760 or email eve@fantheflames.co.uk and we’d be happy to help!

  • And if you’d like to get some expert help or talk more about how I can help your business grow, feel free to book in for a quick virtual coffee with me HERE.

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