In the publishing world, there are many terms related to the marketing side of things that can be a little hard to understand as an author or publisher.

However, they are still crucial to know about so that you know how to construct and direct an effective marketing campaign to promote your book as much as possible when it’s finally published. 

With that being said, PPC is one of the most crucial models within the marketing side of book publishing that can help promote your work to a far larger pool of readers while also allowing you to branch out to other fanbases who may take an interest in what you have written. 

So that you can start using a PPC model when publishing your own work, here is a full breakdown of this advertisement model and if you should consider using it. 

What Does PPC Mean?

PPC stands for pay-per-click and is an advertisement strategy that is considered beneficial for both the advertisers and publishers.

It works by the publishers containing specific keywords in the title or contents of their book, which will attract more visitors to the company that chooses to then advertise the book or product on their website. 

Keywords are used to direct specific ads to users when they type in the same or similar phrases into a search engine.

Many companies will observe and analyze which specific keywords relate to their website the most in order to then invest into using more of those keywords to encourage a higher number of clicks onto their website. 

While the advertisers will therefore benefit from this, the publishers can also use this as a sustainable system of revenue. It also allows far more people to see your product than they would have before while also promoting it in specific communities that may be your intended demographic.

Where Can You Market Books And Other Products Using PPC?

Since PPC ads rely on keywords and phrases, this means that no matter what kind of search engine people use, as long as the keywords match the product then the ad will still appear. 

This means PPC models are the common method of advertisement not only on Google, but also across Amazon and across nearly every social media platform including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, in the form of social ads. 

A lot of the time publishers will aim to advertise their work on sites that are most relevant to their product and where they know an audience will be most interested in purchasing what they have to offer.

For example, LinkedIn is often seen as a great place to implement a PPC advertising model when you’re trying to publish books since most users are part of professional groups, while YouTube is better for advertising towards a younger audience such as students. 

The Different Types Of PPC Models

There are two primary ways a PPC model can be used which will also determine the pay-per-click advertising rates. 

Bid-Based PPC

When using a bid-based model, a group of advertisers will first make a maximum bid indicating how much they are willing to spend on an advertising spot. Typically, advertisers will only spend more if there are certain phrases and keywords within the publication and describing it that fit their site. 

After the bids have been placed, the publisher will then create an auction through the use of automated tools, which will then activate whenever a visitor triggers the ad spot.

In this way, each time a visitor clicks on an advertisement, the publisher will automatically run a real time auction that will determine a variety of factors to decide which advertiser has the highest bid. 

The advertiser who has the higher bid will be able to display the product far more often and will be at the top of what is referred to as the ‘ad rank’.

Flat Rate PPC

Rather than bidding to pay the most like with a bid-based PPC model, advertisers in a flat rate PPC will only agree to pay a fixed amount to the publisher for every ad click.

This amount is usually fixed to the quality and quantity of the keywords, since the publisher will usually have an established rate card for keyword terms based on how much outside competition there is. 

Therefore, if a publisher knows that they have a keyword that is highly sought after, they will usually agree with the advertiser on a higher price since there is a much greater chance that the ad pops up. 

While it can be used to create advertisements on regular search engines, Flat Rate PPC is most often used in comparison engines since these can give both the advertiser and publisher a better idea of their competition and how valuable certain words are going to be in comparison to the other comparison sites that appear. 

How Much Does PPC Cost For Advertisers?

While PPC is an incredibly effective way to promote published work while benefiting both the advertiser and publisher themselves, this does still raise the question of how much an advertiser is willing to pay for PPC’s on average.

In 2021 it was estimated that on average, it would cost an advertiser $1.02 per click to display the advertisement, which is actually fairly low considering it had reached $2.14 in 2016.

The click through rate has also increased from 1.8% in 2019 to 2.1% in 2021 which shows that more people are clicking, while the advertisers pay less.

This has encouraged advertisers over recent years to be much more accepting of the PPC model and to utilise it more on their sites, making it the perfect time to consider using one to market your published works.

Is It Worth Using PPC Advertising?

As a quick and easy, but also efficient marketing strategy, PPC advertising is well worth considering especially since it grants the publisher a good source of revenue which can be used to build towards business goals.

Whether it’s wanting high-level exposure of your work, or generating more money to venture into other advertisement methods in the future, it’s an excellent way to promote a publication in the digital world.

Additionally, PPC advertising is very accessible and an easy way to ensure your publication is immediately picked up in search engines through recognising keywords by partnering with an advertiser.

This would usually take a few months of personal planning and learning, however, PPC provides a quick avenue into promoting your work to the intended demographic. 

On top of all this, PPC advertisement also never takes control away from the publisher and instead, grants them the flexibility to determine how much they are paid for each click and what advertisers they let promote their work. 

PPC advertising can also easily pair with other marketing channels such as SEO, meaning you can expand on its potential in the future to draw as much traffic as possible. 

Summary

Whether you’re a publisher, marketer or anyone who will have to go through the process of advertising a published piece of work, a PPC model is one of the most efficient, effective and easiest ways to get as many eyes on your book as possible, especially now that many advertisers are becoming more inclined to use the model.