Pay per click (PPC) advertising increasing traffic to your website by paying advertisers a fee for every time a user clicks on your ads. This basically equates to buying steadier traffic as opposed to naturally earning clicks. PPC is incredibly popular on search engines because marketers can ensure they are among the top search results with their target keywords and are paying only for successful advertising that yields visits to their websites.
Google and Bing are the top search engines, and PPC is prevalent on both. While there are clear advantages to both, there are distinct drawbacks as well. We’ve outlined a few of the key differences for you to evaluate while forming your PPC marketing strategies.
The Question of Cost
PPC is meant to yield a high return on investment (ROI), in that you pay only for advertising when your ad is clicked. Google AdWords is typically more expensive but has a much higher search volume than Bing in most markets. Bing Ads has a much lower cost-per-click and though a more cost-efficient choice, Google’s broader reach may be worth the extra cost.
In terms of ROI, it may be beneficial to pony up the extra cost for Google AdWords, since it holds more than 70% of the entire search share of all search engines, but Bing Ads allows advertisements on both its Bing Search Network and Bing Content Network. Another fact to consider is that while Bing is a smaller market, it partners with Yahoo, so when you pay for advertising on Bing, your ads also appear on Yahoo searches.
Customization for Search and Targeting
Google AdWords has very thorough customization tools for marketers, including the option to add a business address and contact info, a feature that is noticeably absent from Bing Ads. Google also rewards high-quality site content, so a polished site will rank much higher in search results and generate more traffic. Bing may have a smaller overall share of searches, but it offers clear advantages for small business PPC.
Fewer searches generally mean less competition. Bing’s lower cost allows marketers a greater ROI for more precise ad placements among fewer competitors. A Seattle PPC campaign through Bing means that you won’t have to worry as much about competitors that are probably scrambling for better search rankings amongst the competition on the broader scope of Google AdWords, and a carefully constructed PPC campaign focused on geo-targeting means you’re advertising to your local market.
Extensions and Local Search Options
Bing may be the more attractive choice for smaller businesses. Local PPC services allow small businesses essentially to make up for lower search engine rankings by cornering a localized search market. While Bing has a small overall share of search engine uses, that also means less competition, and SMB PPC services will be less costly and typically yield a higher ROI for local searches.
If you wanted to get the most from your Tacoma PPC campaign, Bing offers marketers an increased opportunity for higher ad position compared to Google AdWords. As the more affordable option, you may be entering a smaller share of overall search results, but it’s much easier to gain greater market share and is more budget-friendly for small businesses.
Which Engine Wins?
On Google, you’ll pay more to reach a broader audience, but that larger target market comes with the added struggles of more competition and higher overall cost. Your website will need to be high quality and offer valuable content to rank highly on Google. Bing offers a more affordable PPC option but to a much smaller audience. This may be attractive to a local business on a tight budget and offers the opportunity to corner more of the local market in searches.
Overall, there is no clear winner between Google AdWords and Bing Ads. Depending on your marketing strategy, both engines offer fantastic SMB PPC services with different advantages. Depending on your marketing budget and target location, either engine has benefits and drawbacks. Consider what you need to get out of your PPC campaign and evaluate what both options have to offer. Contact us today to learn more about our local business PPC services today! Google & Bing PPC Certified Specialist!