How PPC Advertising Bolsters Your Content Marketing Strategy

Many marketers may contemplate using pay-per-click (PPC) advertising or content marketing, but they often fail to see the value in merging both to create a foolproof content marketing strategy. Let’s dive in and explore how you can utilize PPC in your overall content marketing strategy.

What’s the Difference Between Content Marketing and PPC?

According to the Content Marketing Institute, content marketing can be defined as a strategic marketing approach centered around both creating and sharing relevant and consistent content to attract a target audience and ultimately drive leads. PPC advertising is a paid model of advertising where advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked.

Building out a content marketing strategy for your business takes serious time and commitment, which is why some marketers take the easy route and start PPC right away. It takes time to build a library of optimized content and for search engines to recognize the value of your content, but once it starts building momentum, it doesn’t stop!

Additionally, investing in your content marketing is more cost-effective in the long run and can earn you better leads due to the specialized content being created. On the other hand, PPC advertising can bring in immediate results. Compared to leads that are brought in through your content marketing strategy and are in a specific stage of the buyer’s journey, PPC leads may be interested in you, but not necessarily what your ad is for.

What’s the Benefit of Merging Both?

Opting to merge your PPC advertising strategy with your overall content marketing strategy can generate a stronger ROI more quickly than just settling for one strategy. Using PPC to kick off your strategy can begin to bring in leads while search engines catch up and begin to rank your content. Furthermore, once you align your PPC goals, you can create ads that drive your specific audience to the content you’re promoting.

PPC advertising can also play a role in remarketing. If part of your content marketing strategy involves content upgrades to impress search engines or people you failed to close the loop with, consider using PPC.

For example, someone viewed your services page and clicked on a downloadable case study but abandoned the form. You see that the landing page for the case study wasn’t appealing, but you’ve now revamped it to draw more interest. Take this chance to re-engage users with your content and promote the refreshed case study to users who have viewed your services page before.

How Do I Get Started?

Getting started with a hybrid PPC content marketing strategy is more simple than you think. Here are five things you should do to get started:

1. Know Your Audience

Knowing your audience and who you are targeting should be the first thing that comes to mind when creating content for your content marketing strategy and even contemplating starting PPC advertising. Remember to keep in mind key demographics, interests, etc. when creating your content pieces and ad copy.

2. Research Keywords

Relevant keywords will place a role in both your content and the ad you are creating that promotes that content. Research ahead of time to determine which keywords will drive the right traffic to your ads and/or content.

3. Create Relevant Content

The first step to getting started with a PPC/content hybrid strategy is to create relevant content. PPC advertising requires the promotion of a piece of content, so take your time creating valuable pieces that your audience can relate to and learn from.

4. Step Up Your Landing Pages

Before promoting your content through PPC, you need to be sure your landing page is built to grasp and maintain the viewer's attention. This may mean eliminating other distractions, like outside links and navigation. You should also keep the design of your page in mind and make it simple, yet appealing. Be sure to include a headline, image, relevant form, copy and CTA that resonates with your intended audience.

5. Put Thought Into Your Ad Copy

Some marketers think coming up with ad copy is a piece of cake. A sentence or two can’t be that hard to come up with, right? Wrong. A lot more goes into creating ad copy than some think. As mentioned earlier, you must remember who you are gearing the ad towards and what keywords will be relevant. That being said, it’s important to create ads that will help you find quality leads.

Your content marketing strategy shows your audience who you are and showcases your expertise. Content is an important contributor to your business’s growth, so when you combine PPC with your strategy, there’s no telling how far you’ll go!