When it comes to online marketing, pay-per-click advertising (PPC) is pretty much one of the most powerful tools you can use. And as technology becomes more and more mature, it is becoming easier and easier to reach your target group through many online searches or advertisements on social platforms.
Unfortunately, even with all the options and capabilities we have now, finding the right marketing method to drive your business isn’t always easy because there are so many choices. For example, even on a single platform like Google Ads, you can choose from manual ads, automated text ads, click-to-call ads, banner ads, video ads, and more. Then, there are not only Google, but also FB, Twitter (China has Baidu, Weibo, WeChat, Toutiao…) and countless additional platforms, which can really give marketers a headache.
While the variety of marketing opportunities available to marketers can be dizzying, most of them can be summarized into one of two categories: paid search and paid social. Of course there are certainly other advertising formats such as display advertising, but since paid search and paid social are the driving force of PPC, we will focus on these two.
If you focus on search and paid, and look at your PPC advertising options both ways, it’s easy to see the pros and cons of each method, and where they fit into your marketing strategy. By comparing these two marketing methods, we can learn how marketers can make better marketing decisions.
What is the difference between paid search and paid social?
Before we dive into the pros and cons of paid search and paid social platforms, let’s talk about how these marketing channels work.
Paid search advertising
Paid search advertising platforms display ads in response to search queries. Google Ads is the most well-known paid search platform, but most search engines (Bing, Yahoo, Baidu, Sogou, etc.) offer paid search advertising options.
Paid search is great because it’s intent advertising. Users see your ad because they are actively looking for a solution to a problem. These users are typically ready (or almost ready) to buy, which is great news for you and your company.
For example, if someone searches for “wedding flowers” online, there’s a good chance they have a wedding coming up and are looking for a good place to buy the flowers they want. If your business happens to be selling wedding flowers, you want them to find your business. Running paid search ads on search terms is one of the best ways to do this.
When it comes to getting in front of people with high purchase intent, it’s hard to beat paid search. You don’t need to convince people that they have a problem that needs to be solved, you just need to convince them that your solution is right for them.
Paid social advertising
In contrast, paid social ads appear when people are on social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and even WeChat. Unlike paid search, your users are not actively looking for solutions to their problems. In fact, they may not even realize they have a problem to solve.
On the surface, paid social advertising looks a lot like many classic advertising formats, such as radio ads, billboards, or TV ads. Instead of sitting at home and waiting for customers to come to you, you highlight a need and offer your product or business as a solution. The goal of this kind of advertising is that people will resonate with your message and decide to buy from you, but it can be an uphill battle.
Luckily, unlike radio or TV ads, you can actually track the performance of your paid social ads. This makes it easier to determine how people respond and adapt to your message or goal.
If your paid social ads go out, there’s a good chance you’re bringing in business from a bunch of people, many of whom may have never bought anything from you.
For example, you see a brand or product on social media. You have never heard of it before, let alone considered buying it, but after seeing its advertisement, you decide to give it a try, and finally you buy it.
With paid social media advertising, you can reach as many users as you want. So, if you want to increase awareness of your product, service, or business among your user base, you have to go beyond paid social advertising.
What are the benefits to your business?
In an ideal world, you would be able to do your marketing on every platform anytime, anywhere. But this is obviously not practical. Time and financial constraints make it difficult to take advantage of every advertising opportunity.
With that in mind, let’s look at these two marketing channels and ask a question: Are you focused on paid search or paid social?
The right answer for your business depends on what you want to market, who you want to market to, and what your marketing goals are. Three different scenarios determine what the appropriate marketing channel should be.
When you need fast results
When your goal is to drive sales and you need to find leads or products, paid search is definitely the way to go. Your audience may not be large, but you’re targeting a market that can buy, so running paid search ads is a great way to reach people who are already at the bottom of your marketing funnel.
In most cases, paid search is not a long-term game. People see your ad and they either click or abandon it. If they click, they either convert or they don’t. Retargeting can help you capture some lost leads, but most of the time, people who click on your paid search ads are very close to making a purchase.
To give the simplest example, suppose your toilet is clogged and water is overflowing. At this time, do you have to wait until the plumber who best meets your requirements happens to cross the road in front of your house? Of course not! You need help right away.
Even if you don’t end up choosing the service offered by the first plumbing service ad you click on, you’re likely to have a plumber come by within the hour. The so-called conversion is just a matter of which company you choose.
The good news is that most paid search platforms are well designed to facilitate quick decision-making. After all, that’s the whole point of paid search advertising: getting in front of a high-engagement audience and convincing them to convert before that intent fades.
In contrast, because paid social ads are initiated by advertisers rather than users, they have much lower intent and tend to take longer to see results. That’s not to say you can’t get great returns from paid social advertising, but it doesn’t always happen right away.
When you need to reduce costs
We all know you have to spend money before you can make money, but some of us always have more money to spend than others. For others, if money is tight, it’s natural to want to look for cheaper advertising options.
However, this is where things get complicated.
If you look at it purely from a cost-per-click (CPC) perspective, paid social is much easier than paid search. Typically, the lower the number of clicks, the more likely you are to pay a higher cost for it. And, as we just discussed, clicks aren’t necessarily less expensive than paid search.
For example, a law firm’s cost per click on Google is about $6.75 (or more, depending on the keyword and location). In comparison, the CPC on Facebook is only $1.32.
So, if you only care about cost per click (CPC), then paid social advertising is certainly the most cost-effective. However, that’s not all you should consider.
Think about it, such a paid search may cost you 30 US dollars per click. You already think this is a lot and feel distressed, but there is nothing you can do if only one tenth of the clicks are eventually converted into your paying customers. Then your actual conversion cost is $300/person.
Paid social ads, on the other hand, may only cost you $1.00 per click, which feels better compared to the previous $30 cost, but only one out of every 300 clicks will result in an actual purchase due to higher click volume in the funnel. conversion, so in the end, your actual conversion cost is still $300/person.
So which one is cheaper? Paid search or paid social?
Obviously, the above scenario is oversimplified, but the reality is that cheaper CPCs don’t necessarily make paid social ads a cheaper marketing channel. Without actual advertising effectiveness verification, the overall profitability of a certain marketing channel is actually difficult to predict, so you have to choose the right channel based on your marketing goals, not just the one that seems to be the cheapest.
When you try to build awareness
As important as sales and profitability are, the people who are searching online at any given time are relevant to your business. In order to get beyond that, you have to start building brand recognition.
This is where paid social advertising really shines.
If people don’t realize that what you’re selling is something they need, paid social can be a great way to build awareness of that need. Or, if you are trying to build loyalty and let users become loyal followers of your brand, so that they can come to you directly to buy whenever they have needs, instead of searching online first, then paid social media is a way to help you The best way to build brand recognition.
In either case, you’re trying to target targets that are higher than what paid search can achieve. With paid social advertising, you can tell a product or brand story with images, reviews, or video content to get people excited about your business, products, and vision.
For example, it is very likely that you have never thought about losing weight by drinking soup, because you have no such knowledge, and of course, you have no idea who is making such brands and products. But suddenly, an advertisement appears, and you are impressed. It is very likely that you will consider this new way to lose weight.
So, whether you want to sell something people have never heard of, want to fill out your sales funnel, or just want to build a loyal following online, paid social advertising is the best when it comes to building awareness. choose.
What’s in it for you?
So, should you advertise on paid search or paid social platforms? Obviously, both marketing channels are highly desirable, but most businesses find that emphasizing one specific channel is better for their business.
The right channel for your business depends largely on the product or service you are marketing, your business model, the audience you want to reach, and what your marketing goals are. That’s why it’s so important to understand how each marketing channel works, its strengths and weaknesses, and what it can do for your business.
At this point, it’s obvious which marketing channels you should emphasize. Of course, you still need to test and figure things out, but choosing the right marketing channel is the first step to successful PPC advertising
