When was the last time you stopped and considered the advert you just saw online? Do you know where it comes from or how it goes there? If you aren’t a marketing professional, you probably aren’t aware that online advertising is a vital part of any successful business. 

Marketers today will be aware of the ever-changing landscape they find themselves in. With new social media platforms (see also ‘What Is The Best Social Media Platform For Authors?‘), new technologies, and tools being developed all the time, it’s hard to keep up. 

There are so many new acronyms and abbreviations we need to understand today to be aware of what is happening on the internet like SEPS, PPC, and KPI (see also ‘7 Amazing PPC Tools To Increase Your Ad Performance & Presence‘). you’ve probably seen or heard these floating around somewhere but aren’t sure what they mean. 

In this article, we are going to explain how pay-per-click (PPC) automation tools work, why they are needed, and how to implement them yourself. 

What Does PPC Stand For?

‘PPC’ refers to pay-per-click which is a form of marketing where the advertiser pays for each click their ad receives. For example, if you have an advert at the top of a search engine results page and an internet user clicks on it, the company has to pay for that click. 

These adverts aren’t just words, they can be images, videos, or any other form of media. When scrolling through social media, you’ve probably come across PPC adverts in your home feed. The most common form of PPC is search engine advertising (see also ‘How To Use Google Analytics To Improve PPC Strategy‘). 

PPC Automation

As the name suggests, PPC automation is the automated process of programs running ad campaigns and designing strategies. These tools can automate aspects such as research and bidding so you don’t have to. 

One of the main benefits of an automated tool is the time saved. As areas like bid management and ad creation can be done for you, whilst still improving your results, your time can be better spent elsewhere. 

When your ads are automated, you can scale the process easily and run more campaigns without having to spend extra time creating them. These processes can run and maintain the campaigns simultaneously with minimal management from staff. 

Another key benefit of using automated tools is the amount of data that is collected from previous and current campaigns. This enhanced data can be used to make more informed decisions and ultimately improve performance. 

The other key benefits of using PPC automation include: 

• Access to different tools 
• Optimized performance and improved return on ad spend (ROAS)
• Optimize your ad copy
• Increases website traffic which can lead to sales

Types Of PPC Automation

1. Automation application: these provide data bridges to connect different apps that you want to move data to and from during your campaigns. Examples of this include customer relationship management systems (CRM) or advertising platforms such as Google.
2. Advert management platform: these platforms allow you to manage and set up PPC automation without much specialized training. They often come with useful built-in automation tools. 

How To Implement PPC Automation

Here is our easy-to-follow guide on how to implement PPC automation into your marketing practices: 

Find The Automation Tool For You

There are hundreds of different automation tools available, finding the one right for your needs depends on what they are. Clearly defining your goals will help you to choose the right tool to use. Ask yourself what you want to get out of the process. 

Google Ads is a great place to start, their automated products create ads that adapt and change to show relevant messages to your target audience and help to meet your return on investment (ROI) goals. This is done through machine learning. 

Setting Out Your Objectives

Choose your objectives based on your current business goals. If you’re a new business this could be to generate more traffic to your website, whereas more established businesses might be focused on lead generation. 

The built-in tools that come with your automation platform or application will be able to help you with this. 

Automate Your Bidding Strategies

There are different bid management strategies; the automated process used by Google Ads is considered to be entry-level. There are three different options available: target CPA bidding, target ROAS, and enhanced CPC, all of these help to increase conversion. 

If this seems too complicated, outside professionals and other automated services can be used. 

Set Up Smart Campaigns 

Smart Campaigns are another tool available from Google to help small businesses create effective automated ad campaigns. Once you’ve created an ad, the ad is displayed in target locations based on when users search for similar keywords. 

There are three types of smart campaigns that perform different functions. A smart shopping campaign, for example, triggers the ad to appear when users search for your target words and phrases. 

Google understands there is an opportunity to show a relevant product from your website. This will be displayed in the Google Shopping tab at the top of the page. 

Automate Your Ad Copy

Larger businesses may want to automate their ad copy as it can be a time-consuming process. Google Dynamic Search Ads is one tool to use, this generates headlines and ad copy based on the content already on your site. 

Testing different ad copy to see what produces better results takes a lot of time and energy, and generating multiple forms of ad copy takes moments with an automated process and can majorly improve your campaign. 

Gather Data

Allow your campaign time to gather data as this will be very useful in the future. We recommend leaving your campaign for a month to gather sufficient amounts of data.

Many automated tools will have PPC reports that will keep you updated on the efforts of the campaign. The level of customization will depend on the tool itself. 

The Bottom Line

Pay-per-click automation tools are a great way to improve your online advertising and generate more business. Save these tips for later to properly utilize and implement the strategies into your marketing methods.