WHEN YOU’RE ADVERTISING FINANCIAL SERVICES
IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT GOOGLE AND FACEBOOK
PPC Marketing On Steroids
If you're a fund management, asset management, or wealth management business and you've been wondering what the best PPC networks are, the two that jumped to mind for search and display advertising are most likely Google and Facebook, but there are plenty of other options available for advertising financial services.
This is an expanding market and new platforms are popping up all the time to join those that are established, so this presents new opportunities in the financial industry.
Expertly crafted PPC advertising gives you direct access to investment leads, and drives sales but you might be making a big mistake by limiting the number of advertising networks you use. Less prominent networks still generate tens of millions in sales, and can be particularly competitive when it comes to cost.
| Summary Of The Best PPC Networks |
|---|
| Bing Ads |
| Linkedin Ads |
| Twitter Ads |
| Adroll |
| Quora Advertising |
| Verizon Media |
| Bidvertiser |
We recommend a regular revamp of your PPC marketing, and have listed some of the best PPC network alternatives to Facebook and Google which will get you thinking.
PPC Advertising Networks
Bing Ads
If you are looking for one or more PPC advertising networks that operates in a similar way to Google then Bing Ads might be just up your street. There were 4.54 billion internet users as of 2020 and more than 800 million unique global visitors using the Bing search engine. The Ads platform also gives you access to the Yahoo and AOL networks so it is easy to see why this is already a popular alternative to Google Ads.
Audience - Over 6 Billion searches per month
Ad Formats
- Expanded Text Ads
- Dynamic search Ads
- Product Ads
- Microsoft Audience Ads
- Microsoft Advertising in Bing Smart Search
- App Install Ads
- Responsive search ads
Bidding Options
- Manual
- Enhanced CPC
- Maximise Clicks
- Maximise Conversion
- Target CPA
- Target ROAS
For more information about the bidding strategies click here.
Pros:
- Around 1/3rd of all desktop users worldwide use the Bing search engine
- Compared to Google, costs per clicks are generally cheaper
- You get plenty of Ad formats, device targeting and bidding options down to a granular level
- Unlike Google, Bing offers demographic targeting for search
Cons:
- Although Bing commands a wide reach it's still has much smaller traffic volumes compared to Google
- Effective targeting may be hampered with too small a reach in certain countries
- There is no call only ad option
- Bing offers less ad extention options than Google
LinkedIn Ads
LinkedIn has the obvious advantage of giving you access to highly targeted and active business audiences. The LinkedIn community is a vibrant one and its professional users are there because they value networking and information. Tap into that via LinkedIn’s available Ad formats, and you will find yourself reaping the benefits.
Audience - Over 55 million registered companies and close to 740 million members worldwide
Ad Formats
- Single Image Ads
- Carousel Image Ads
- Video Ads
- Text Ads
- Dynamic Ad
- Sponsored Messaging
For more information about Linkedln Ad formats click here
Bidding Options
- Manual Bidding
- Automatic Bidding
- Maximum CPC - (Cost per click)
- Enhanced CPC
- Maximum CPM - (Cost per impression)
- Maximum CPV - (Cost per video view)
- Maximum CPS - (cost per send)
For more information about the bidding strategies click here.
Pros:
- Great for direct access to millions of business professionals on every company level
- Provides excellent targeting options including age, location, industry, company size, name, job titles etc
- A popular solution for B2B lead generation and brand awareness
- Retargeting options are available to help drive traffic back to your website
- Provides a low barrier to entry in terms of initial ad setup
- Has a number of ad types to choose from
Cons:
- Minimum daily budgets and comparatively higher CPC costs in comparison to some alternatives
- The campaign manager can be a little clunky and harder to setup more complex campaigns
- Lacks some of the more advanced, in-depth, custom reporting features
Twitter Ads
Twitter isn’t everyone’s favourite social platform but Twitter Ads does offer a few clear advantages when it comes to PPC marketing. One of its key attractions is the pay for performance model, where advertisers only pay if their desired action, for example a conversion or app installation occurs. Twitter Ads are highly targetable with impressive options for keyword targeting, and remarketing via engagement with previous Tweets.
Audience - Over 330 million members and 192 million monetizable users
Ad Formats
- Promoted Tweet - (text, image, gif, poll, account)
- Video - (pre-roll, sponsorship, first view, live video)
- Cards - (website card, app card, carousels, direct message card, conversation card, tweet to unlock)
- Brand - (baranded emojis, brand reminders, promoted moments, promoted trends, promoted trend spotlight)
For more information about Twitter Ad formats click here
Bidding Options
- Automatic Bidding
- Maximum Bid
- Targeted Bid
For more information about ad score, bidding strategies, and targeting click here.
Pros:
- You can target your ads using categories, keywords, common interests, and twitter accounts
- Allows for live commenting on Twitter ads so you can respond straight away
- Plenty of options to choose from within the 4 ad formats
- You can setup retargeting campaigns
Cons:
- Fewer payment options are available with credit cards being the primary option
- Although the ad platform is fairly intuitive it can still take a bit of time to learn
- There are less tracking and reporting features than some of the other ad networks
AdRoll
AdRoll utilises retargeting technology to pull back previous visitors to your website. Retargeting is a strategy whereby relevant ads appear as target customers move from site to site. With 37,000+ growing brands, AdRoll works with the major e-commerce platforms, and combines their own data with yours to draw in customers with high likely interest in your brand.
Audience - Access 200+ leading ad networks and exchanges across the web, and over 2 billion monthly active users across social media
Ad Formats
- Image Ads
- Native Ads
- Video Ads
- Rich Media Ads
- Third Party Ads
- Facebook & Instagram Image Ads
- Facebook & Instagram Video Ads
- Facebook & Instagram Carousel Ads
For more information about Adroll Ad formats click here
Bidding Options
- CPA - (Cost per action)
- CPC - (Cost per click)
- CPM - (Cost per 1000 impressions)
For more information about the bidding strategies, tips to increase reach and optimise for specific goals click here.
Pros:
- Easy control over tight budget requirements
- Intuitive Ad management makes campaigns setups fairly straightforward
- Dynamic retargeting is much easier to setup than Google's offering
- Flexible segmentation of audiences through behavior, location, and population type.
Cons:
- The service may not suit local businesses with a very small catchment area
- Less coverage in non-English speaking countries
- Reporting and analytics are less extensive than some other ad networks
Quora Advertising
Quora is an interesting option for PPC because of its question and answer format. It is a knowledge-based platform frequented by industry experts and other professionals whose level of expertise attracts people with a genuine interest in specific solutions. This gives Quora Ads access to a highly targeted and already seeking audience.
Audience - Over 300 million users per month
Ad Formats
- Image Ads
- Text Ads
- Promote An Answer Ads
For more information about image ads - click here.
For more information about text ads - click here.
For more information about promote an answer ads - click here.
Bidding Options
- CPC - (Cost per click)
- CPM - (Cost per 1000 impressions)
- Conversion Optimised Bidding
For more information about optimising your Quora Ad campaigns click here.
Pros:
- There is no minimum budget spending requirements
- CPC costs are generally lower outside the US and varies by country
- Further cost savings can be made if you're only targeting mobile users
- With a very extensive question database your ad can often be directly targeted to the searches needs
- There's a greater chance of the ad being seeing in organic search due to the contextual nature of the platform
Cons:
- The searcher's intent is generally informational so conversions will vary depending on the product or service you're promoting
- There's a lack of scalability with successful campaigns purely through increased budget spending unlike other ad networks
- Lacking some of the more extensive reporting features found on other ad networks
Verizon Media
If you are interested in accessing a range of platforms, this might be just the right alternative PPC network for you. Verizon Media have been around for a while and now owns some of the worlds biggest leading brands including AOL and Yahoo, giving you access to an audience of approximately 900 million users. If you are looking for high quality traffic alongside access to video and social networks, you may well find it here.
Audience - Over 900 million users across several platforms
Ad Formats
- Native Ads
- Search Ads
- Mail Ads
- Image Ads
- Native Video Ads
- App Install Ads
- User Personalised Ads
For more information about the Ad Formats - click here.
Bidding Options
- Manual
- Enhanced CPC
- Target CPA
- Maximise Conversions
For more information about the bidding strategies click here.
Pros:
- Email Receipt Regargeting for targeting consumers based on sales receptis
- Native advertising options across various large networks
- Ability to import campaigns from other platforms
Cons:
- Less options to target very specific audiences than some other ad networks
- Lacking some reporting and analytics features found on other platforms
Bidvertiser
When it comes to finding the optimal match between advertisers and publishers, Bidvertiser claim to be the specialists. Their platform runs on in-house machine learning technology. One major advantage of Bidvertiser to the advertiser is the ability to bid to place adverts on specific websites. This allows you to bring up conversion rates by honing in on a closely targeted market segment.
Audience - More than 13 billion impressions worldwide per month
Ad Formats
- Native Ads
- Push Notifications
- Direct Navigation
- Pop Under
- XML
Bidding Options
- CPC - (Cost per click)
- CPA - (Cost per action)
- CPM - (Cost per 1000 impressions)
For more information about the bidding strategies, payment options and more click here.
Pros:
- Competitive CPC pricing compared to some Ad networks
- Several payment options to fund your account including crypto currency
- Extensive targeting features including Geo targeting, OS, device, browser, carrier, ISP, IAB categories targeting, and contextual targeting.
- You can control each source of traffic with the bid overide feature and blacklist subids which are providing poor conversions.
Cons:
- Using the wrong category when setting up campaigns can lead to less targeted traffic and lower conversions
- There is a 100% fill rate for publishers so all websites receive Ads but they may not necessarily match the content of the source website
- With there being a number of lower quality websites in the network, excluding those source IDs is more of a requirement to ensure best results
Try Different PPC Advertising Networks
PPC campaigns have many advantages over inbound marketing. These include increased scalability and faster results. If you have tried advertising financial services using Google Ads or Facebook Ads and found they just aren’t giving you the results you’re looking for, then consider trying some of the alternative PPC advertising networks listed above, or seek expert advice from our PPC team about your campaigns.
Successful PPC advertising for a financial services business requires a blended approach that includes, amongst other elements, landing page optimisation, a defined sales funnel and brand personality, all of which we can help you with.
Expert PPC Advice
Even if you just focus on one PPC advertising network, running a successful account takes time as well as expertise. Once campaigns have been set up, they will only maintain maximum efficiency through a regularly routine of analysis, maintenance and adjustment.
If you want to reach that PPC advertising nirvana of top results for low spend, it may well be time to call in the experts. Contact us today to get proven ROI with your paid advertising campaign.
If you’d like to take advantage of our FREE Google Ads Audit – Click here.
Shane McEvoy is a seasoned SEO and inbound marketing expert with nearly 30 years of experience in advertising. He established Flycast Media, a specialist B2B digital agency, and is a published author of two well-received guides while contributing to several industry publications - read his complete profile here.
