Why You Shouldn’t Cut Your PPC Spend, Even In Tough Economic Periods

When times are economically tough, businesses naturally look for ways to cut their spending and find efficiencies in their operation. For marketing managers, this may mean looking at areas of marketing spend and delivery that can be trimmed back for a period of time.

Although it may be possible to temporarily pause certain marketing activities without hugely damaging your gains, there is one area that should never be trimmed in the name of saving money and that’s PPC or paid spend marketing.

Why you should never cut your PPC spend

The cost of living crisis has seen inflation rocket to 10% and economists suggest a recession is just around the corner. Businesses are looking to cut corners, and PPC may look like a possible target for spending reduction – but it’s a false economy.

Yes, PPC and paid advertising is expensive, but it’s also extremely effective. When you invest in a PPC paid advertising campaign, you gain a rapid influx of qualified traffic to your website. This is crucial because a well-delivered PPC campaign will have a high degree of conversion. Simply put, get your PPC right and you will pay relatively little to bring pre qualified traffic to your landing pages, with a far higher likelihood of converting.

PPC is fast, effective and powerful – when it is done right. It is often far more targeted than other marketing channels which may build up brand awareness and engagement over time, but without those immediate sales.

Business goals still exist

The economy may be struggling and everyone may be looking to save money, but business goals aren’t going anywhere. Those KPIs will still exist, even if your budget is being interrogated. Your goals still need to be met if you are to reach your own performance goals – and show your excellent delivery record!

PPC has a high success rate in marketing because it offers tangible and measurable results. ROI is the most important value here. We can calculate ROI with PPC for a particular campaign or time period and show its value, quickly, easily and without any misinterpretation. That means that you can easily see how a PPC campaign is supporting your business.

PPC did not work in the past?

Perhaps PPC campaigns haven’t worked as well for you in the past as you’d hoped. The fact is, it’s often difficult to set up a sufficiently optimised campaign that offers you real results. This requires cutting-edge expertise and extremely detailed targeting. It’s often worth bringing in specialist external support to deliver this degree of expertise and to ensure you get the results you need.

Yes, you can reduce spending but your competitors are unlikely to, and by taking your eye off the ball and vital marketing spending off the table, you are very likely to lose momentum with your progress and see competitors snatch up your prospects and customers. Ongoing paid marketing also gives customers reassurance that your brand is trusted, strong and viable – something that supports your reputation.

The takeaway

Times are tough and we’re all looking for ways to tighten our belts. But reducing paid advertising is likely to have unintended consequences in terms of lost conversions and sales, a diminished brand presence and competitors taking your space.

If you’re not seeing the results that you need, a better approach may be to revisit your campaigns, optimise your parameters and revisit your overall PPC goals. We’re here to help you to get the most from your paid advertising and to see the results that you need – even in the most challenging economic circumstances. Get in touch today to find out more.