Why Retailers Should Be Using PPC Advertising

E-commerce is the fastest growing market in the retail industry. During the pandemic, we've seen a significant shift to digital from brick-and-mortar stores, which pushed retailers to improve their digital strategies. With this shift in consumer behavior, and more complex buyer funnels, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a must for any retailer trying to expand its market share and increase its revenue.

Here are five reasons why retailers should embrace paid advertising as part of their marketing strategies:

1. You can measure it. 

One of the key elements in any paid advertising campaign is the ability to measure results. With PPC, retailers can track revenue right back to the campaigns, which will allow them to evaluate how efficient the budget usage is. More importantly, revenue tracking allows retailers to understand the return on investment coming from paid campaigns, and how to continuously grow their paid efforts without dropping performance. Traditional marketing channels lack this level of tracking, which usually means budget usage isn't as efficient.

2. You can focus on your target audience.

 The tracking capabilities within paid campaigns are extremely precise. This means retailers can make sure their ads are being shown only to people with a high intent of purchase. This increases the chances of this potential customer buying their products, and it also means no budget will be wasted on audiences that aren't a good fit for the product or brand.

3. Everybody is doing it. 

PPC spend in the retail industry has significantly increased in the past five years. Chances are that if a retailer isn't currently advertising on paid channels, their competitors are. This means that by not running PPC campaigns, retailers are losing a competitive advantage and the opportunity to capture more customers.

4. It's flexible and easily adaptable.

Having the ability to quickly change campaigns and ads in real time is a competitive advantage for retailers trying to capitalize on new markets. Consumers have changed the way they buy their products, and this often means that marketing strategies must be constantly changing. PPC campaigns allow these changes to be made in real time, which can be a defining factor when trying to capture new customers.

5. It can help you capture a bigger market. 

Embracing e-commerce and paid advertising can help retailers shift from localized brick-and-mortar stores to new regions and new potential markets. Targeting options allow advertisers to focus on specific locations and reach new customers outside of their traditional area of service. This can help exponentially increase revenue while building brand presence in new markets.

To conclude, all retailers should embrace digital marketing channels and opportunities if they want to remain competitive and want to increase their overall revenue. As markets continue to evolve, digital presence will be a key factor in determining competitive advantage.

Francisco Lacayo is vice president of partnerships at White Shark Media, a digital marketing agency with more than 10 years of experience managing pay-per-click campaigns with Google, Microsoft, and Facebook.