According to CNBC, Google is the biggest player with an estimated 29% of the market. Facebook comes in second with 24%.
With the average time spent on a smartphone per day standing at 5 hours, PPC advertising is a must-have tool in your marketing arsenal.
We discuss the best alternatives to Google AdWords.
4 Alternative PPC Advertising Channels to Google You Can’t Ignore
1. Bing Ads
At just 3% of the global search market, Bing from Microsoft is small but cannot be wished away.
Bing users are mostly based in the US and use Xbox. The search engine enjoys a 38% market share in the US among console users.
Bing is also used by Yahoo. Factor that in while making your decision.
Bing Ads are not only shown to search users and users of Xbox but Outlook as well.
Cost:
Advertising on Bing is far cheaper than advertising on Google. Though exact facts and figures can’t be pinpointed as ad costs change constantly on the web, Bing is at least 50% cheaper for most keywords and often costs a quarter. Average CPC starts from about $1.5.
Advantages:
- Fewer advertisers favor Bing. Your ad can get noticed quicker as a result.
- Reaching out to a third of the US console market is a big deal, especially when done at a third of the cost.
- Microsoft, like Apple, serves a better demographic. More disposable income in hand means more purchases.
2. Facebook Ads
It is a social media app that has turned into an advertising behemoth.
Facebook has 2.9 billion active users and 1.9 billion of them use it daily. Those are a lot of eyeballs.
An average user spends almost 2.5 hours a day on Facebook.
Though Facebook has been through some controversies in the past few years, it remains a force to reckon with.
Facebook Ads are shown to Facebook and Instagram users.
Cost:
On average, Facebook charges $7 for showing the ad to a thousand users. The average CPC (cost per click) is $1.2.
Advantages:
- Facebook does not always run ads of the highest bidder. They also factor in ad quality and relevance. When browsing Facebook, you must have noticed that you are more likely to click on their ads than that generated by Google.
- Facebook is far better at demographic targeting than any other provider. It is because most users voluntarily divulge a lot about themselves by providing birthdays, educational backgrounds, and relationship status. Google or Bing does not have access to that kind of personal data.
- Facebook ad placement is not solely triggered by keywords. It also depends on user behavior. Overall, the algorithm understands the best time to show the ads and constantly adjust its behavior to produce the maximum number of click-throughs.
3. Instagram Ads
You can use Facebook Ads for Instagram or operate a separate account for the latter.
The ads will appear in the feed and stories. With a billion active users, Instagram has an enormous reach.
Cost:
It is tough to know the exact cost as Instagram varies its rates widely across the world. However, it is certainly not much more expensive than Facebook.
This makes Instagram one of the cheapest PPC platforms out there.
Advantages:
- Three fourth of Instagram users are millennials. Appealing to those under 35 is essential since they are less likely to be weighed down by mortgage and other fixed expenses.
- Instagram offers excellent ad engagement with a tenfold increase in click-through rates compared to Google.
4. LinkedIn Ads
LinkedIn is a social media platform for professionals.
It has a highly focused clientele of engineers and corporate managers.
The size is far smaller, as it has a user base of approximately 600 million of whom half are active, but the income of an average LinkedIn user is higher.
Of course, it is a mistake to advertise a patisserie or boutique on LinkedIn. The audience is more receptive to advertisement about courses, software, and similar high-value products that augment their skill set.
Cost:
The cost per click is quite high at $5.6. This is nearly as high as Google’s highest paid keywords.
For those with a smaller budget, LinkedIn offers pay-per-view and pay per send (mail).
Advantages:
- The possibility of targeting top earners is exciting. It is better to show an ad to a few who can afford your products and services than many who are just window shopping.
- Like Facebook, LinkedIn too has access to rich information that it uses to target ads. LinkedIn not only knows the user’s age and work experience, but also what events and people they are interested in and even possible career changes.
- For those interested in B2B sales, in-mail advertising is effective and highly affordable.
5. Others
There are several more PPC avenues to explore.
Reddit, Taboola, Outbrain, Pinterest and Twitter are some of the names that come to mind.
They do not have a significant reach and can’t offer high ROI. If you wish, set apart a small budget for using these platforms, but they can’t certainly be the spearhead of your digital advertising thrust.
PPC Advertising is the most popular form of advertising on the web. The model has been around since 2000 when Google launched AdWords.The model has been widely adopted by Facebook, Instagram and Microsoft. With help of the right PPC expert you can reach out to thousands of possible leads with a very humble budget.
Why is PPC Advertising Important?
The digital advertising industry is enormous.
In 2020, over 350 billion dollars was spent on digital advertising globally. An estimated $137 billion of this amount was spent in the US alone. Though PPC is not the only form of internet advertising, it is certainly the most dominant.
To Sum It All Up
It is essential that your PPC ad campaign identifies the core client base and advertises to them using the correct PPC channel to ensure good returns.
There are at least four large PPC platforms that are an excellent alternative to Google.
If you are running an advertising campaign, you need to pay attention to their users. While Google is desirable, it is also expensive and a new startup might not be able to afford the choicest keywords there.
