Chicago SEM & PPC Agency
World-wide, people run roughly 14 to 16 billion searches every day, and close to 60% of all web traffic now comes from a mobile device — meaning most of those searches happen on a phone, where only the top of the page ever gets seen. The results page itself has changed shape too: Local Services Ads and AI-generated answers now sit above the listings prospects used to scroll to. Do you have a strategy to reach and engage that audience?
Digital Destination plans and manages search engine marketing and pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns for businesses across Chicago, the surrounding suburbs and the entire United States — on Google Search, Microsoft Bing and Google Local Services Ads.
Where Your Ads Appear on the Results Page
The search results page has changed. For service businesses, the first thing many prospects see is a block of Local Services Ads (LSA) — Google Screened listings that sit above everything else, charge per lead rather than per click, and require license and background verification before a business can appear.
Standard pay-per-click (PPC) search ads run directly below that block, marked “Sponsored.” Beneath those are the map results and the organic listings, and a second group of search ads often closes out the page. Each area is won a different way, and the right mix depends on your category, your market and what a lead is worth to you. The diagram on this page shows how a typical results page breaks down.
Getting Your PPC Campaign Started
As part of our consultation process, we identify the number of searches taking place for your product or service within your trade area, to help determine the appropriate budget and macro approach. We utilize proprietary analytic and planning tools as well as extensive industry experience to arrive at a strategy that will maximize your results. Often times our recommendations will include 100’s or 1000’s of keywords to ensure we have covered all the possible ways prospects may search for you. The use of so many keywords allows us to take advantage of long-tail searches which often times are significantly less expensive than more obvious keywords. The synchronization between the keywords used, text copy and landing page destinations ensures a good quality score, which lowers your cost per click and stretches your budget.
On-going PPC Account Management
Once your program is live, our process involves sophisticated optimization technology with a dedicated campaign manager to drive down acquisition costs. Hundreds of different ads are rotated in and out to drive the best performance. Each ad is measured for click-through-rates (CTR) and client conversions. Additionally, search query reports are evaluated to identify exactly where each click is coming from. While this is a time consuming process, it explains why we have one of the highest client retention rates in the industry.
We believe so much in our process that we conduct monthly consultation calls with you to review our performance, as well as any changes in strategy for the upcoming month. In addition to the monthly consultation calls, you have 24/7 access to a performance dashboard where you can review your results at any time. This performance transparency helps ensure we’re aligned and moving forward together.
Google Analytics
We install Google Analytics for every client. This analysis provides a deeper understanding of the sources of traffic and consumer experience and interactions on our clients’ sites. A Google Analytics review is provided in every monthly performance report and reviewed during each month meeting.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much should a Chicago business budget for PPC?
It depends on what a customer is worth to you and how competitive your category is. During the consultation we size the actual search volume in your trade area and work backwards from the cost per click and your close rate, so the number is built from your market rather than a package price. Competitive Chicago categories such as legal, home services and medical cost more per click than most, and we will tell you up front if a budget is too small to compete.
How quickly does paid search produce leads?
Faster than any other channel. Ads can be live within days of approval and start generating clicks immediately. What takes longer is optimization — we need several weeks of real search query data to cut waste and bring the cost per acquisition down, and performance usually improves for the first few months as that data accumulates.
What is the difference between SEM and SEO?
SEM is paid: you bid for placement and pay when someone clicks. SEO is earned: you improve your site and content so Google ranks you organically, with no cost per click. Paid gets you visible today; organic compounds over time. Most businesses that do well run both, because they occupy different parts of the same results page.
Do you manage Microsoft Advertising as well as Google?
Yes. Microsoft Advertising reaches Bing, Yahoo and DuckDuckGo, and in many business-to-business and older demographics the cost per click is meaningfully lower than Google. We evaluate whether it is worth a share of your budget rather than running it by default.
How does PPC fit with Local Services Ads?
They sit in different places on the page and charge differently. Local Services Ads run above everything and charge per lead; standard search ads run below them and charge per click. For service businesses the right answer is usually both, with budget split according to what each produces.