Paid Search Agency

Wildcat Digital is an award-winning paid search agency based in the heart of Sheffield. Feature at the top of search results and punch above your weight online with our team of PPC experts.

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What is Google Paid Search?

Paid search is a type of digital advertising akin to an auction. Companies bid on relevant search terms with the aim of their content placing higher on search results pages. Most commonly, these work on a pay-per-click (PPC) basis, although there are other payment models (e.g. cost-per-mille, or cost-per-acquisition).

Paid search works by allowing advertisers to bid on specific keywords or phrases that they want their ads to appear for. When a user searches for these terms, their ads may appear among the top results on that search result page. Each time a user clicks on these ads, the advertiser is charged a fee. 

Why Do You Need a Paid Search Agency?

It can sometimes become a little more complex than simply bidding on keywords and expecting your website to appear. Search engines like Google use complex algorithms to determine which ad to show and in which order. As such, it is essential that paid search campaigns are properly set up, optimised and regularly monitored for the best results and lower costs. 

Whilst nothing is stopping you from doing this yourself, it can be very time-consuming to keep on top of ads management. A paid search agency like Wildcat Digital can manage the whole process for you and also offers:

  • Industry knowledge
  • Expert knowledge of PPC tools
  • Long-term planning and strategy

Our Paid Search Services

At Wildcat Digital, we can support clients with a range of paid search services, including:

Ad Copywriting

It’s not enough to just bid on keywords. You also have to have optimised copy to attach to your bid. This might be the copy on the ad itself, but can also include landing pages for the ad. Our PPC experts can help you create compelling ad copy that grabs your audience’s attention and gets clicks.

Campaign Building

When setting up a PPC campaign, it isn’t as simple as choosing and bidding on relevant keywords. Your campaign has to be set up correctly in order to achieve your goals. Poor PPC management can be costly, but our PPC team is here to help. Let us structure your campaigns for success.

Keywords and Targeting

Choosing the right keywords for the right ads and web pages is crucial for success in paid search. Our PPC experts review the available keywords against their cost-per-click and a range of other factors before selecting those with the best chance of success.

Conversions

Conversions can be any action that is relevant to your business and has an impact on your bottom line. They begin when a customer clicks on your ad and continues through the sales funnel. Utilising an agency to measure analytics and optimise ads is highly recommended as this process can be complicated and costly.

Tracking

Our PPC team sets up comprehensive tracking at the start of each campaign to set benchmarks and track progress over time. You’ll clearly be able to see traffic metrics such as impressions, clicks, click-through rate and cost per click. We’ll also provide information about conversions, conversion rate and cost per conversion.

What Our Clients Think

We have worked with Wildcat since our day one. They have helped us so much with designing and sharping how our business looks through our website. Highly recommend!

Home Crowd Properties

We have worked with Wildcat for a few years now and the service they provide is second to none. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend Wildcat Digital to anyone.

Garry Turley
Hi-Point Access

Will and the team are incredible at what they do, trustworthy and diligent. SEO and Digital support done well is hard to find.

Tom Bell
DrinkWell

I could not recommend them highly enough. The whole team go above and beyond and have helped deliver significant value to our brand.

Paul Adams
Knutsford Vets

Wildcat are a professional team who worked hard to understand our sector and goals.

Katie Bell
Katie Bell Physiotherapy

Our Work

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Achieving a 500% growth in organic sales

Your Sexual Health
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Waving the Flag for Superior Search

Flagmakers
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FAQs

Why am I Not Appearing for [x] Term?

There are a wide range of reasons why your ads might not be showing. Typically, it will depend on how you structured your campaign, your budget, or the scheduling that is causing the problem. But, there are a range of external factors beyond your control that may also have an impact.

Some of the key reasons why your ad isn’t appearing include:

  • Your bid is too low – you are competing for ad space with a number of other companies for the same keywords. Your problem might be that you were outbid.
  • Your targeting is off – have you correctly identified and set the right demographic/location parameters?
  • You are you – when you operate an ads account, it should be set up to reach your customers. Depending on your campaign set up, it’s possible that you are not viewed as a high priority customer.

How Long Does it Take For PPC to Work?

PPC campaigns will begin to show impressions to users as soon as they are pushed live. The ads typically go through a “learning phase” which lasts a couple of weeks, where the platform will capture data through machine learning and will then begin to optimise accordingly. At Wildcat Digital, we’ll be continuously updating, optimising and experimenting with your campaign so it performs as well as possible, as quickly as possible, within your set budget.

How Long Will it Take to Get Results With PPC?

Getting results from your paid search advertising can vary based on several factors including your budget, industry, competition and how well the campaign is being managed. One of the advantages of paid search advertising is that it is possible to start seeing results relatively quickly compared to organic search strategies. 

Campaigns usually go live immediately and can bring traffic to your website on the same day as they are activated. 

The timeframe can vary but, typically, after a month or two of optimising and testing search campaigns, your campaigns will start to see more significant results. The first few weeks will be a refinement phase for monitoring and adjusting the relevant data. 

The speed at which you see results can also depend on:

  • Budget: A larger budget allows for more clicks and data, potentially speeding up the optimisation process.
  • Competition: In highly competitive industries or for competitive keywords it might take longer and require a higher budget to see significant results.
  • Quality of the Campaign: The structure of your campaign, the relevance of your keywords, the quality of your ad copy, and the effectiveness of your landing page all influence how quickly you’ll see results.
  • Market and Audience: The size and behaviour of your target market or audience can also impact how quickly you see results. Niche markets might see quicker results due to less competition, while broader markets may take longer.

How Much Should I Spend on Google Ads?

The right budget for your paid search ads can depend on several factors which include your business goals, the competition in your industry and the average cost-per-click (CPC) for keywords relevant to your business. 

We’ve found a minimum of £1000 per month is a good framework for small businesses to get started with paid search advertising. 

For example, with a £1000 budget for the month: 

If your goal is to generate 20 new customers per month, and you know your website converts 2% of visitors into customers, you’ll need 1000 visitors. If the average CPC in your industry is £1, you would need a budget of £1000 per month to meet your goal.

What is the Difference Between Different Campaign Types?

Google offers various campaign types, each designed to help advertisers meet their specific business objectives across the paid advertising network. Here’s a breakdown of the different Google Ads campaign types:

  • Search: Search campaigns in Google Ads display text ads on Google search results when users search for keywords related to what is being offered. You select relevant keywords, and your ads can appear above or below organic search results, targeting users based on specific search queries.
  • Performance Max: Performance Max is a Google Ads campaign type that uses machine learning and your audience designations to optimise ads across Google’s platforms (Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, Maps) for your conversion goals, like sales or leads, from one campaign.
  • Display: Display campaigns in Google Ads use banner ads to reach users on the Google Display Network’s websites and apps, ideal for brand awareness and retargeting.
  • Shopping: Google Ads Shopping campaigns use business feeds to display product listings including images, prices, and your store name on Google Shopping and search result pages, aiming to increase retail sales and attract traffic to online or physical stores.
  • Video: Video campaigns in Google Ads enable you to show video ads on YouTube and across Google’s video partner sites. These campaigns are effective for increasing brand awareness, engaging viewers, and driving conversions through video content.
  • App: App campaigns in Google Ads help promote your mobile app across Google’s properties, including Search, Play Store, YouTube, and the Display Network, aiming to boost app downloads and engagement by automatically optimising your ads for the best performance.
  • Smart: Smart campaigns in Google Ads automate ad setup and optimisation for small businesses, focusing on driving calls, visits, or conversions with minimal manual effort.
  • Demand Gen: Demand gen campaigns aim to boost awareness and interest in a product or service, nurturing potential customers from initial discovery to purchase through targeted content and marketing efforts, focusing on long-term brand engagement.

Which Ads Campaign Should I Choose?

Choosing the right campaign in Google Ads depends on the goals of your business. Your campaign type should match your objective whether it’s sales, awareness, app downloads or leads. Testing different campaign strategies and adjusting based on performance is key to having a successful campaign.

Here’s a general baseline for the use of different campaigns to choose from:

  • Search Campaigns: Best for driving sales or leads from active searches.
  • Display Campaigns: Ideal for increasing brand awareness or retargeting.
  • Shopping Campaigns: Suitable for promoting products to boost e-commerce or store traffic.
  • Video Campaigns: Use for engaging users on YouTube and partner sites.
  • App Campaigns: Optimal for promoting mobile app downloads and engagement.
  • Performance Max: Leverages AI across Google’s platforms for any conversion goal.
  • Smart Campaigns: Automated, simple campaigns for small businesses or beginners. Sacrifices optimization opportunities for ease of use.

Why is My Performance Not as Good as it Was

Performance in your campaigns can decline for several reasons, there are factors to look out for when this starts to happen. Some common reasons this happens to consider: 

  • Market Changes: Shifts in market demand, consumer behaviour, or increased competition can impact your performance. Seasonal trends can also affect how users interact with your ads.
  • Budget Constraints: If your budget hasn’t been aligned with competition or if you’ve hit your budget cap early in the day, your ads might not show as often as before.
  • Bid Strategy Adjustments: Changes in your bid strategy or adjustments by competitors could make your bids less competitive.
  • Ad Quality and Relevance: A decline in ad quality score, due to less relevant ads or landing pages, can result in lower performance.
  • Audience Targeting Changes: Modifications in your targeting settings, or not updating them to reflect current audience behaviours, could decrease effectiveness.
  • Ad Fatigue: Your target audience might become less responsive if they see the same ads too frequently.
  • Platform or Algorithm Updates: Changes in the advertising platform’s algorithms can affect how your ads are served and their overall performance.
  • External Factors: Economic conditions, global events, or changes in consumer confidence can all influence campaign performance.

Review your campaigns regularly and compare from the previous week to see how your metrics are changing in performance over time. If you notice week by week there is a decline in performance it would be good to look at these factors and make updates to keep your campaigns performing at an optimal level. Sometimes, even small adjustments can lead to noticeable changes in performance.

What Do I Need to Get Started With Paid Search?

To get started with paid search advertising, you’ll need a Google account and a conversion-optimised website or landing page. After this, understanding your target audience is crucial for tailoring your campaigns. 

  • Set clear goals, decide on a budget for your paid advertising strategy, and conduct keyword research to target your ads effectively. 
  • Prepare engaging ad copy and visuals, and ensure you set up conversion tracking to measure the success of your business. 
  • Familiarise yourself with Google Ads policies to avoid compliance issues. Success in Google Ads requires ongoing learning and adaptation to platform updates and campaign performance insights. 

With these essentials, you’re ready to get started and launch your search ads campaigns.