Paid Search & Display

Don’t overlook the efficacy of paid search & display in your holistic digital marketing toolkit — whether you’re looking to reach businesses or consumers.

EXPAND YOUR REACH

A cost-effective paid search & display strategy can help you reach a wider audience, target specific keywords, and achieve quicker results than organic search alone.

Digital advertising is a complex undertaking with mutlifaceted programs and ever-changing technology. It’s difficult to know how to target the correct audiences and where to begin to address their needs — resulting in campaigns based on internal assumptions, wasted ad spend, and irrelevant traffic.

But the wide variety of digital ad options at your disposal only tells half the story: You need an effective content strategy and website in place to boost engagement and conversion alongside your digital ad strategy.

Search Ads

AKA “pull” advertising — appear in search engine results pages (SERPs) to people searching by select targeted keywords that relate to your organization and offerings. They include:

Pay-per-click (PPC):

Precisely targeted ads on platforms like Google and Bing based on factors like keywords, location, demographics, interests, and device types.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM):

Targeted search ads that appear on SERPs based on specific keywords to attract users actively searching for related products or services.

Display ads

AKA “push” advertising — appear on various internet sites and social media applications based on a variety of predetermined criteria. Options include:

Display and video ads:

Targeted banner or image ads on websites, apps, and other platforms to push the message to your target audience.

Remarketing or retargeting ads:

Reach across platforms to users who’ve visited your website or interacted with your brand to re-engage them and increase the likelihood of conversions.

Social media display ads:

Effective and sophisticated targeting abilities help you reach specific audience segments whether it’s by age, location, industry, or even job title. Key platforms include Meta (Facebook/Instagram) and LinkedIn (especially for B2B organizations).

Retargeting ads are very effective at re-engaging customers and prospects.

Retargeted users are 70% more likely to convert — with an average click-through rate that is 10x higher than a typical display ad.

— Spiralytics

The Value of Targeting & Personalization

Paid search and display ads give you the ability to create personalized content and messaging, as well as to target audiences more effectively based on their behavior and demographic data — including location-based geotargeting.

For example, for B2B organizations and professional service providers including doctors and lawyers, LinkedIn ads can be particularly effective at targeting companies by type and size, and individuals by role.

To get the most out of your digital strategy, you’ll need to understand your user personas and their journeys to land on the right target markets, channels, and messaging points.

Digital ad spending shows no sign of slowing down – 2021 worldwide ad spending hit $522.5 billion — and is on track to reach $836 billion by 2026.

How we work with your team

We help you break away from internal blind spots to better understand your users through data.

To obtain the strongest insights, we query existing audiences and recruit users or bring subject matter experts to the table as we conduct keyword research  and gather search pattern/behavioral analysis data.

Armed with data, we create a ground-up comprehensive digital strategy or evaluate your existing campaigns to improve their effectiveness.

We collaborate with your internal team and vendors to assess and utilize existing assets and provide a custom solution that can include ad creation (including messaging and design), management, and reporting to match your budget, specific target markets, and overall goals.

Frequently asked questions about Paid Search & Display ads:

Organic search is working for us. Why should we invest in paid ads?

Organic search is an important part of your overall marketing strategy, but paid search & display offers distinct advantages: You can reach a wider audience and typically generate quicker results compared to relying solely on organic rankings.

Is paid search & display effective for B2B organizations?

Some mistakenly believe that paid search and display advertising is more effective for B2C companies. However, these tools — and particularly LinkedIn — can be highly effective for B2B organizations, with the ability to target specific industries, decision-makers, and keywords.

Does anyone actually use Bing anymore?

While Google Ads is the most popular PPC platform, almost half of the U.S. uses Bing, and more than one-third use it exclusively. Bing Ads are especially effective for specific industries or target markets and can provide additional reach and exposure to a different user base, often at a lower cost per click than Google Ads.

Does ES provide creative/ad development?

Yes, we can provide direction or implementation in addition to the upfront strategy, implementation, and ongoing management for static and video ads.

How do you measure and report on campaign effectiveness?

We monitor and reassess campaigns on an ongoing basis by measuring results against established KPI benchmarks, and provide regular reporting, dashboard development, and recommendations for ongoing campaign refinement [link to Analytics & Website Optimization]. If budget allows, we recommend A/B testing for optimal results.