Paid Search Still Dominates

Before you can talk about why paid search is still dominating the digital marketing space, you need to first understand what paid searches are and why you need to have it. Paid searches are advertisements that are listed in search engine pages or social media pages. Whoever put the ad only pays for the ad being listed when a client or customer clicks on the advertisement. If this sounds familiar to you it may be because paid searches are also known by other names such as pay-per-click, search engine marketing, sponsored listings, search engine advertising, etc. Paid search should not be confused with banner ads, which a client pays for to be displayed on web pages, just as you would pay for an ad in a magazine.

Google Remains on Top

Considering that most people are purchasing goods by using the Internet, it is not surprising that businesses are using cyberspace to put their ads in front of potential customers. In fact, the top online retailers are becoming more and more popular for search engine advertising. In fact, websites such as Amazon are becoming increasingly popular for paid searches, and they are in fact slated to surpass Google. However, at the present time, Google is still easily the king of paid searches or pay-per-click ad campaigns. This did not just magically happen and there are some good reasons for this. The following list shows the main ones.

• Google is the online leader in searches by tallying 63,000 searches per second on any given day of the year
• Google is by far the most trusted publisher of advertisements. According to a poll conducted by an independent third party, respondents rated Google a four out of five, on the trust index
• As a direct result of the trust google enjoys, nearly 85% of respondents said they plan on using Google’s new responsive search advertisements

The Different Types of Paid Searches

Just when you thought things were pretty straight forward regarding the effectiveness of paid searches, it turns out there is more to the story. Paid searches can be done in different formats. The top ones are Google Ads, Instagram Stories, and carousel ads, respectively. The next thing to think about is ranking. That's correct, just as webpages get priority in page rankings, paid search ads also get ranked. This ranking is called Ad Rank, factors that affect Ad rank include:

• Bid prices
• Quality of the ad (Keywords and relevance to the search)
• Any extensions the ad uses
• Context of the search
• The Landing Page of the Ad

You Can't Afford to Not Use Paid Searches

The fact is, paid searches enjoy a second place, in terms of what companies are spending on advertising, and it is only growing. Google may dominate the paid search world, but others are catching up. If you feel you need more help in understanding and taking advantage of this trend, contact us today, and get more info on what paid searches can do for you.

Lynne Motkoski, Digital Marketing Strategist

Specialty: Digital Marketing Strategies
Education: MA Communications & Technology, BComm [U Alberta]
Author: The Online Marketing Handbook for Busy Entrepreneurs

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Lynne is known for her strategic approach to marketing communications, technologies, and lead generation. She has a passion for education, keeping up with current marketing trends and practices, and helping clients keep ahead of their competition.