Advertising – Paid Search Marketing

In an email interview with The Balance, Jackie LaVana, the owner of Boston-based boutique marketing agency 126 North Digital Marketing, said that paid search marketing—the ads you see at the top of a search engine results page, as well as on other ad networks on sites you visit—can capture an audience that is actively looking, or has “intent.”

LaVana advised that businesses just starting up consider including a budget for paid marketing, even if they are planning to incorporate an organic search engine optimization (SEO) strategy into their marketing. The budget required for a paid search campaign can vary based on product or service

“I would determine how much you are willing to pay to acquire a customer or lead and then back into what you should spend based on benchmarks for your industry,” LaVana said. “If you know you want to pay $50 to acquire a user, and you know the conversion, click-through, and cost-per-click rates for your industry, you can back into how much traffic you will need, and also if that’s a realistic expectation of how the channel will perform for you.”

While it is possible to create and maintain paid search marketing on your own—through a Google Ads account, for example—it can be complex, and consultants can help you work through some of the tricks to learn what works and what doesn’t for your audience.

“Even if you ultimately want to manage ads yourself to save money, I would work with an expert in digital marketing to set you on the right track,” LaVana recommended. “They can help you set up a strategy needed to reach the right audience and measure the results effectively.”