How to Allocate Your PPC Budget for SMEs

*This article was last updated on 18/10/2023

Small or Medium Enterprise (SME) business owners in the US are often pressured toward the digital advertising world. That often means some pressure to lean on Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaigns. However, do you know how much to allocate for your campaigns?

PPC promises immediate visibility, the ability to directly target your audience, and, most importantly, measurable results. But budget allocation can make or break your PPC success. Get it right, and you’re on a path to solid returns and heightened brand visibility. 

Whether you’re dipping your toes into PPC for the first time or seeking to refine an existing campaign, I’ll share some of the experience gained from hundreds of thousands in PPC investments.

Step 1. Understanding Your PPC Budget Goals

Before you allocate a single dollar towards your PPC campaigns, it’s paramount to have a solid understanding of what you aim to achieve. Let’s break down how to align your business goals with your PPC strategy for maximum effectiveness.

Defining Clear Objectives

Brand Awareness: If your primary goal is to get your brand name out there and increase its recognition, your budget allocation will lean towards campaigns that achieve maximum visibility, such as display ads or video ads on platforms like YouTube.

Lead Generation: For businesses that thrive on generating leads – whether gathering email addresses for a newsletter or getting inquiries for a service – your focus might be on campaigns that drive users to sign-up forms or contact pages.

Sales & Conversions: If direct sales, either online or offline, are your primary metric, you’d want to prioritize campaigns that have historically shown high conversion rates. This might also involve allocating the PPC budget towards retargeting campaigns to nudge potential customers over the line.

Matching PPC Goals to Business Targets

Every SME has its unique set of business targets. It could be a monthly sales quota, yearly growth percentage, or even a specific number of new clients. Matching your PPC goals to these targets is essential. 

For instance, if you aim to onboard 100 new clients this month and your PPC campaigns historically convert at 5%, you’d need approximately 2,000 clicks. You can calculate an estimated budget using average CPC (Cost Per Click) figures.

Prioritizing Objectives: As an SME, resources are finite. It’s crucial to prioritize your objectives. For instance, if you’re launching a new product, brand awareness might temporarily eclipse direct sales as the primary goal. Conversely, during a peak sales period, driving conversions might take precedence.

Flexibility and Iteration: The digital landscape and businesses are dynamic. Your objectives today might differ from those in six months. Adopt a flexible approach, be prepared to iterate, and reallocate budgets based on shifting business goals and market trends.

Step 2. Research & Market Analysis

Diving into the Pay-Per-Click waters without conducting thorough research and market analysis can be a costly mistake for SMEs. Knowledge truly is power in the realm of digital advertising. 

By understanding the market landscape, your competitors, and your target audience, you can craft an effective and efficient PPC budget. 

Here’s how to get started:

Competitive Analysis

Tools to Gauge Competitors’ PPC Spend: Utilize tools like SEMrush, SpyFu, or Ahrefs to get an insight into what your competitors are spending on PPC, which keywords they’re targeting, and even view their ad copies.

Identifying Key Competitors in Your Niche: Recognize and list down the primary players in your industry. Understand their marketing strategies and deduce how your offerings differ, ensuring your ad campaigns highlight these unique selling points.

Learning from Competitors’ Strategies: While you shouldn’t directly copy a competitor’s strategy, understanding their strengths and weaknesses can offer valuable insights. They may be neglecting a specific demographic, or they may be overspending on less effective keywords. Use this information to your advantage.

Target Audience Definition

Identifying Demographics and Psychographics: Understand who your ideal customer is. Are they millennials? Business owners? Parents? Delve into their interests, lifestyles, and browsing habits.

Purchasing Behaviors: Recognizing when, how, and why your target audience makes a purchase can heavily influence your ad timing, design, and placement.

How Targeting Affects Budget Allocation: The more specific your target audience, the more refined your ad campaigns can be. This can lead to a higher ROI, as you’re not spending on clicks from those unlikely to convert.

Keyword Research

Tools and Platforms: Leverage tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, or Moz’s Keyword Explorer to unearth valuable keyword insights specific to your industry and location.

Identifying High Intent vs. Broad Keywords: Understand the difference between a user searching “shoes” and “best running shoes for marathons.” While the latter might have a higher CPC, it could also have a higher conversion rate.

Allocating Budget Based on Keyword Value: Not all keywords are created equal. Allocate more of your budget towards those that align closely with your business objectives and show a history of high performance.

I’ve done an extensive article on effective keyword research that you can check out for more information.

Step 3. Setting the Right PPC Budget

How do you determine the right amount to set aside for your Pay-Per-Click campaigns? The key lies in balancing ambition with pragmatism and leveraging the insights you’ve gathered from your research and market analysis. 

Start Small

By initiating your PPC journey with a modest budget, you gain the opportunity to test the waters. This approach allows you to understand the effectiveness of your keywords, ad copy, and targeting without risking significant financial loss.

Use the insights from your initial campaigns to refine your strategy. Which ads had the highest conversion rates? Which keywords yielded the most traffic? With this data, you can confidently adjust your budget allocation for optimized results.

Factor in the CPC

Different industries and regions can have vastly different CPC values. For instance, a click for a financial service might cost significantly more than one for a local bakery. Utilize tools like Google’s Keyword Planner to get an idea of average CPCs for your specific context.

Pro Tip: If you’re operating in a highly competitive market, you might need to bid higher to ensure your ads are visible. However, always ensure that the potential ROI justifies the increased spend.

Consider Seasonal Variations

If you run an e-commerce store, the holiday season might be your prime time for sales. Similarly, if you’re launching a new product or offering a limited-time discount, you’ll want to allocate more budget during these periods.

For those who’ve run PPC campaigns in the past, review the data to understand seasonal trends. Did you notice a spike in traffic during certain months? Did specific promotions lead to higher conversions? Use these insights to inform future budget allocations.

Keep a Contingency Reserve

While PPC offers a high degree of control, there are always uncertainties, from sudden market shifts to unexpected competitor strategies. Setting aside a contingency budget allows you to pivot and capitalize on new opportunities or address challenges quickly.

Step 4. Choose Where to Distribute Your PPC Budget

With various advertising platforms available, each catering to distinct audiences and offering unique features, the question for SMEs becomes: “Where should I invest my PPC budget for the best ROI?” 

The answer is multi-faceted and hinges on understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each platform to your business goals. Here’s how you can strategically distribute your budget across various platforms:

Google Ads: The Market Leader

As the dominant search engine, Google offers vast reach. If you aim for broad visibility, Google should be a primary consideration, especially for high-intent search queries.

Given its popularity, specific industries might face high competition and CPC on Google Ads. It’s essential to balance the potential reach with cost-effectiveness. Utilize tools like Keyword Planner to gauge potential expenses.

Bing Ads: Google’s Underestimated Counterpart

While Bing captures a smaller market share than Google, it often has lower competition, translating to potentially lower CPCs. This can be an excellent avenue for SMEs looking for cost-effective PPC opportunities.

Bing tends to attract an older demographic. If this aligns with your target audience, allocating a portion of your budget here could be advantageous.

Social Media Platforms: Targeted and Engaging

Facebook and Instagram ads are ideal for businesses targeting consumers directly. These platforms offer robust demographic targeting and visually engaging ad formats. They’re incredibly potent for brands with visually appealing products or stories to tell.

If you’re a B2B enterprise, LinkedIn can be a goldmine. With precise targeting based on profession, industry, and even job titles, it’s a platform where high-quality leads can often justify higher CPCs.

Depending on your target audience and the nature of your business, these platforms can offer unique advertising opportunities. They might not be suitable for every SME but can be game-changers for the right niches.

Niche Platforms & Ad Networks

There might be PPC opportunities on niche platforms specific to your industry. For instance, a home decor business might find value in advertising on Houzz.

Using platforms like Google Display Network or Outbrain, SMEs can place visual ads across many websites, targeting users based on interests, browsing habits, and more.

Step 5. Tracking and Measuring Your PPC Budget ROI

Data is your compass. It guides your decisions, helps refine your strategies, and ensures you maximize every dollar spent. Understanding how to effectively track and measure the Return on Investment (ROI) of your PPC campaigns is crucial.

At its core, ROI is a measure of the profitability of an investment. In the context of PPC, it helps ascertain how effectively your ad spend generates desired results, be it sales, leads, or other metrics.

Setting Up Effective Tracking Mechanisms

Conversion Tracking: Implement tracking pixels or codes on your website. Platforms like Google Ads and Facebook Ads offer easy-to-use tools to track conversions from your ads.

Analytics Integration: Utilize platforms like Google Analytics to dive deeper into user behavior post-click. This can help identify the quality of traffic and the overall user journey.

Call Tracking: If phone calls are a significant conversion metric for your business, consider using call tracking solutions to trace calls back to specific ads or keywords.

Key ROI Metrics to Monitor

Cost Per Conversion: Not to be mistaken for Cost Per Click, Cost Per Conversion tells you how much you pay for each successful conversion. It’s crucial to understand the cost-effectiveness of your campaigns.

Conversion Rate (CVR): The percentage of clicks that result in a conversion. A low CVR might indicate issues with your landing page or ad relevance.

Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of ad impressions that result in a click. A key metric for assessing ad relevance and effectiveness.

Average Order Value (AOV): For eCommerce businesses, understanding the average spend per conversion can help assess campaign profitability.

Regular Reporting and Analysis

Platforms like Google Data Studio can help create comprehensive dashboards visually representing your KPIs and campaign performance. Dedicate time to deep-dive into your metrics, understand trends, and identify areas for improvement.

Use the insights from your ROI analysis to refine your campaigns. If certain ads or keywords are underperforming, consider reallocating the budget or tweaking strategies.

Final Thoughts: Why Plan Your PPC Budget?

For an SME, every dollar counts. Your decisions on where and how much to invest can profoundly impact the trajectory of your business. But why is budgeting so pivotal in PPC, and how can it dictate the success or failure of your campaign?

Your budget serves as the fuel for your PPC campaigns. Only with adequate funding can your products or services get the needed exposure. Conversely, blindly pouring money into PPC without a strategic plan can result in wasteful spending without the desired results. 

Balancing your budget means walking a tightrope between affordability and efficacy.

By accurately budgeting for PPC, you ensure that your limited marketing dollars are invested in avenues with the potential for the highest ROI. This means getting the most out of each click and maximizing conversions and revenue.