Paid Search Advertising – Search Ads Campaigns 2025
- Last update: 30/01/2025
Table of contents:
You have launched the site and waiting for traffic to come. If you don’t do anything, it may take time.
A search Ads campaign is often the first step and a great way to drive traffic to your website.
Perhaps you run Google Ads (formerly AdWords) campaign and would like to check if it is well-optimized. We can audit your Google Ads account and evaluate the following:
- account settings,
- conversion tracking,
- campaign settings,
- targeting settings,
- keywords,
- ads and ad extensions
- audience settings.
We will find the best opportunities to level up. Contact us for a free consultation.
What is Paid Search (PPC)?
Paid Search is a type of online marketing in which businesses display text-based ads in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). These ads are typically displayed above or below organic search results. Search Ads are usually marked as “Sponsored” or “Ad.” Advertisers pay for each click on their ad (pay-per-click PPC). Paid Search advertising aims to drive traffic to a website or landing page.
The two leading platforms that offer paid search advertising are:
- Bing – Microsoft Ads,
- and Google Ads – formerly AdWords.
Paid Search is a form of online marketing, or more specifically, search engine marketing. Platforms like Google and Bing allow advertisers to display ads in search results in exchange for a fee.
How much do Search Ads cost?
As mentioned, advertisers pay for each click on their ad (PPC). Search Ads typically cost around $2 per click. However, the amount that advertisers pay for each lick can vary depending on several factors, such as:
- the competitiveness of the keyword being targeted,
- the number of searches for a given term,
- the targeted location of the ad,
- the quality of the ad itself,
- the ad relevance,
- and the user landing page experience.
So, if there is:
- a low volume of searches for the keywords you are targeting,
- and many competitors target the keywords,
you will need to set a higher bid to compete for clicks.
Also, ads that target a specific city or region will cost more than ads that target a broader area.
A well-written ad is more likely to result in a click. As a consequence, it will cost less per click. Furthermore, ads relevant to the user’s search query are more likely to be clicked.
Once a user clicks on your ad, they should be taken to a landing page relevant to their query. The page should provide them with the information they are looking for. A poor landing page results in a higher bounce rate.
You need to make sure your landing pages are fine and relevant.
To pay less for bids:
- you may need to invest more time in creating quality ads,
- make sure your ads are relevant to your keywords,
and make sure your ads and keywords are relevant to your website.
How much should I spend on Paid Search campaign?
There is no one answer. Large e-commerce can easily spend tens of thousands of US$ a month on Google and/or Bing. However, businesses should be ready to invest at least one thousand US$ a month in Google or Bing. That’s the minimum to be visible in a paid search campaign.
On the one hand, you should consider:
- all the factors that can influence cost-per-click (CPC), like demand for your keywords,
- and volume of searches, which determines the capacity.
On the other hand, the ROI.
Here is good news. Paid search marketing activity can be easily tracked. By deploying the right tags, you can see how users convert and how paid search works. So how much do you pay for each acquisition? Knowing the conversion costs, you can easily decide how much you want to spend on PPC in Google or Bing.
Advantages of Paid Search Advertising
Paid search is a form of digital marketing where advertisers can pay to have their ads displayed on a search engine’s results page. Paid search is a great way to drive traffic to your website and generate leads and sales. Here are some benefits of paid search.
Search Ads Targeting
Targeting by Keywords
Keyword targeting is the most significant benefit of Search Ads. Paid Search Ads get in front of potential customers looking for something specific. It works like a direction sign on a highway you are traveling on, waiting for the exit sign to the town you are headed to.
Using paid search advertising, you can reach people actively searching for products or services like yours.
Targeting Specific Locations
Google Ads (formerly AdWords) allow you to set a campaign for a specific location, country, and language, including cities and smaller towns. This allows for running both global and local campaigns.
Demographic Targeting
You may also target people of different age groups or narrow the reach of your campaigns to men or women.
Audience Targeting
You may show ads to people with certain interests. Display it for those who have visited your website. Or NOT to show ads to a specific group, such as those who have already made a purchase on your website.
Paid Search Ads Give Immediate Results
It is a form of advertising that is only displayed to people who are already interested in a product or service. It is because of the keywords on which the ads are activated. Such people are usually already at the end of the customer journey.
Due to this type of targeting, we are reaching the right people at the right time. This means that Paid Search advertising gives you immediate results.
Low entry threshold
There is no minimum amount the system accepts for a search ads campaign. However, you have to win the bid for your text ad to be displayed. Technically, the minimum amount is low; it can be as low as a few USD per day.
Control of Spending
Paid Search marketing platforms are flexible. You can adjust your budget according to your needs.
Return on Investment (ROI)
The advantage of SEA is that you can target searchers most likely to convert. This can be achieved through the use of relevant keywords and ad copy. Paid search is an effective way to drive traffic to your website and generate leads and sales. You can also track the performance of your ad campaigns and make changes accordingly to improve results.
You can easily calculate ROI by dividing the profit from sales by the conversion cost. This is a metric for determining the efficiency of Google or Bing search ads.
Control of Communication
Unlike in the case of SEO, you can control the text message displayed to a potential client.
Challenges of Search Engine Marketing
The advantage of text ads is that you can specifically target searchers who are most likely to convert. That is, through the use of relevant keywords and ad copy. However, search ads come with a few disadvantages.
Paid Search is limited to the volume of searches
The volume of searches limits paid search advertising (PPC). If few people are searching for specific keywords, you may only get a little traffic from the paid search ads.
Users initiate the search. If the product or service is unknown and not popular – the number of searches for related keywords might be low.
Text Ads
Additionally, text ads can be less effective than other forms of advertising, such as banner ads or video ads. These, other forms of ads, can be more visually appealing, easier to notice and more engaging.
Monitoring
Finally, paid search advertising requires ongoing effort to be successful. This can be time-consuming and expensive.
Paid Search vs. Organic Search
That’s a crucial distinction. Optimization for Organic Search refers to operations in which the page is ranked higher in the natural search results. Businesses optimize the content of the website and the links directed to it. This allows for achieving a higher position in the search listing. Unlike the optimization for Organic Search, Paid Search works quickly and enables precise measurement of results. In the case of Paid Search, we pay directly for a higher position in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). Listing is also marked as “Sponsored” or “Ad.”
Search Engine Advertising (SEA) is the process of using paid advertising to generate clicks to your website. The goal is to increase visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs). In contrast, organic search (SEO) relies on unpaid methods to generate traffic from SERPs.
The main advantage of organic search is that results tend to be more trusted by users. This is because they are not influenced by advertising.
Paid search, on the other hand, can give you an immediate boost in traffic. You can get more clicks from paid search ads than you would from organic results. This is because people are more likely to click the ad when they see it at the top of the search results.
However, this comes at a cost – you have to pay for each click you get from a paid ad.
So, which is better – paid search or organic search? It depends on your goals. Paid search may be the better option if you want to get more traffic quickly. However, the organic search may be a better investment if you want to build trust with your audience and get long-term traffic growth.
Paid Search, unlike optimisation for Organic Search, delivers quick results and allows for precise measurement of outcomes. With Paid Search, you pay directly for a higher ranking on the search engine results page (SERP).
Search Engine Marketing vs. Display Marketing
Search Engine Marketing activities are typically referred to as pull ads. Users themselves search for keywords related to a product or service. With the help of Paid Search Ads, they are redirected to the website relevant to the advertiser’s intention.
Display advertising or video advertising should be classified as push ads. The audience of such ads is “pushed” in a certain direction. The goal is to influence a potential audience and trigger a specific action.
Search Ads responds to current inquiries and needs. The intentions of the users trigger the advertisement. Push advertising shapes these needs and builds brand awareness. When a specific need arises, a given brand is already known to the consumer.
The potential of Search Ads is limited to the volume of searches for given products or services. However, the unit costs of acquisition are usually low. The potential of Display advertising may be much broader. Nonetheless, the unit costs of reaching the right customers could be relatively higher. The advertising effectiveness will be higher in the Search Ads and lower in the Display Ads.
When recommending marketing activities, we often refer to the customer journey. It is a process seen from the customer’s perspective. Branding Ads, such as Displays or videos, will usually be at the beginning of the journey. While Search Ads at the end of it. At the end of the journey, we would like customers to convert to clients.
Furthermore, the difference between search and display ads is that search ads are text-based. Display ads tend to be more visual. Display ads also tend to be more expensive than search ads since they require more creative work to produce. Both Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Display Marketing can be effective ways to reach your target audience. The key is to choose the right approach for your specific needs.
If you’re unsure which type of advertising is right for you, consider working with a digital marketing agency. The agency can help you create a customized plan.
Search Ads Campaigns vs. Ads on Google Display Network
In addition to search ads, you can run other campaigns on the Google Ads platform. One of them is display advertising. Display campaigns are placed on relevant websites within the Google Display Network (GDN).
Search Advertising and Display Advertising are different services offered by Google. The first refers to the search engine and text ads displayed to related keywords. The second, advertising on the Google Display Network (GDN), refers to image advertising. The ads are displayed on sites of the advertising network owned by Google.
Search Ads Campaigns vs. Ads on Microsoft Audience Network
Like the Google Ads platform, Microsoft offers the Microsoft Audience Network. The network is dedicated to display, and in some countries, also to video.
Like in the case of the Google platform, search and display are different services. Search refers to the text ads triggered by related keywords. In the Microsoft Audience Network, it refers to image advertising displayed on many sites of the network.
Search Marketing: SEA, SEO, and SEM
SEM stands for Search Engine Marketing
Search Engine Marketing is a form of online marketing. Essentially, it is a process of driving traffic to your website through search results. The process involves the promotion of the website by increasing its visibility in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).
The goal is to be visible. This can be achieved by:
- SEA – PPC,
- or SEO.
So, the SEM includes both the SEA and SEO.
SEA stands for Search Engine Advertising
SEA works by bidding on keywords that users of search engines enter when looking for certain products or services, with the goal of directing traffic to the advertiser’s website. Search Engine Advertising refers to paid search results (PPC). Paid Ads appear when you search for something on a search engine.
That’s what this article is about.
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization refers to organic search results on search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Optimization refers to the practice of optimizing a website to rank higher on search engine results. SEO can be done on-page, through the content and structure of the site itself, or off-page, through link building and other activities. The goal of optimization is to rank higher in the unpaid section of a search engine results page.
A higher position on the Google or Bing search list results page leads to more clicks and increased website traffic.
Why Work with a Media Agency?
At WowMedia&Metrics, we support various clients with media planning and buying. If you need assistance with implementing your PPC campaign or any other media-related campaign – contact us.
Working with an agency can give you the following benefits:
- the agency has experience in implementing various paid search strategies because it works for many clients,
- the agency can lower your conversion cost in the PPC campaign,
- the agency can unlock potential by approaching the challenges differently,
- the agency has standard operating procedures, permitting faster work implementation and efficient execution,
- and the agency has analytics tools, the costs of which you would have to cover yourself.
FAQ
Paid Search is a form of online advertising where advertisers pay to have their ads displayed in search results on platforms such as Google and Bing.
Paid ads are marked with a label such as ‘Ad’ in search engines and appear because advertisers pay for them, whereas organic results appear naturally based on search algorithms.
Advertisers are charged per click on their ad, with rates determined through an auction system. Costs can vary depending on competition and the ad’s Quality Score.
Key metrics include reach, GRP, cost per reach, impressions, clicks, conversions, and ROI. Analysing these indicators helps assess the campaign’s performance and draw future insights.
It is an index measuring the quality of an ad, keywords, and landing page, which can impact the cost per click. A higher score means a lower cost.
There is no minimum amount, but campaign effectiveness can depend on the market cost per click for specific phrases. Budgets can range from a few pounds per day to hundreds of thousands per month, depending on the business size.
Keyword targeting ensures ads are shown to users exactly when they are searching for a specific product or service, increasing campaign effectiveness.
Ads can be targeted based on specific locations, demographics, audiences, and user interactions with the website.
Paid Search provides quick results, a low entry threshold, budget control, ease of ROI calculation, and control over the message content.
Unlike organic search (SEO), Paid Search gives advertisers greater control over the message content, allowing for more precise tailoring of the message to the target audience.
A Glossary of Paid Search
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Google Ads Audit | The process of analysing and evaluating settings, keywords, ads, and targeting strategies within a Google Ads account to identify optimisation opportunities. |
| Bing | (Microsoft Bing) a search engine owned and managed by Microsoft, a direct competitor to Google in search networks. According to Bing, in countries like the USA and the UK, its market share ranges from 20% to 40% in search networks, while in Poland it holds about 5% (Google approximately 90%). |
| CPC | (Cost per Click) the cost per click, often associated with a billing model where the publisher or service charges based on the number of ad clicks. |
| CPM | (Cost per Mille) the cost of one thousand impressions on a webpage. The Latin word "mille" means 1,000. |
| Display Marketing | A type of online advertising that uses graphical elements such as banners, videos, and other visual media. |
| Google Ads | (formerly Google AdWords) Google's advertising platform that enables the creation of campaigns in search networks, the Google Display Network, and video ads on YouTube, among others. |
| Conversion | A user action that achieves the advertiser's goal, such as purchasing a product or signing up for a newsletter. |
| Organic Search | Search results obtained without paid promotion, relying on SEO (Search Engine Optimization). |
| Paid Search | A type of online advertising where advertisers pay for clicks on their ads displayed in search results. |
| PPC | (Pay per Click) a billing model where the publisher or service charges based on the number of clicks on the ad. |
| Quality Score | The quality rating of an ad, keywords, and landing page in Google Ads, influencing the cost and effectiveness of a campaign. |
| Search Network Advertising | Text ads displayed in search results, triggered by specific keywords. |
| Remarketing | A type of online advertising targeting users who have previously visited the advertiser's website. |
| SEA | (Search Engine Advertising) marketing activities involving paid promotion in search results on platforms such as Google or Bing. |
| SEM | (Search Engine Marketing) marketing activities promoting websites in search engines, which may include SEO (Search Engine Optimization) or paid search advertising (SEA). |
| SEO | (Search Engine Optimization) techniques and actions to optimise a website and its content, as well as off-site efforts (like linking and promotion) aimed at improving its ranking in organic search results. |
| SERP | (Search Engine Results Pages) the page displaying search results, including both organic listings and paid ads. |
| Conversion Tracking | The process of monitoring and analysing user actions after clicking an ad that lead to a conversion. |
| Demographic Targeting | Segmenting and directing ads to specific demographic groups, such as by age or gender. |
| Audience Targeting | Customising ads for specific groups of users based on their behaviours and interests. |
| Keyword Targeting | Choosing specific keywords that trigger ads in Paid Search campaigns. |
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