You probably know that using pay-per-click (PPC) advertising tools is a decent advertising strategy. Strategists can use PPC tools to update and control many advertising campaigns and campaigns, like paid search ads, at once. They may not be tailored perfectly to ever advertisers’ needs, but PPC tools enable teams to stretch talent and overhead costs across more than one account.
It turns out that trading in these tools for an automated advertising platform might be an even better strategy — one that was created with advertisers in mind.
Think of PPC tools as a hand holding the strings to control many campaigns. An automated advertising platform is on the next level — it’s more like a hand that can control many hands holding many strings. The platform is specifically suited to advertising at scale, with functions that streamline budgeting, portfolio management, campaign management, strategic recommendations and more.
We’ve put together an overview of these two tools to highlight what advertisers gain by making the switch.
What are pay-per-click advertising tools?
Pay-per-click advertising tools are digital dashboards that ad account managers can use to control different PPC ad strategies, like paid search.
Examples of PPC tools include Google Ads Editor and Bing Ads Editor, among a variety of others. These tools let advertisers work across campaigns to make bulk edits and optimizations to ad campaigns.
There’s one big caveat: most PPC tools are “general purpose” advertising tools and cannot take advantage of commonality and patterns found in specific industry verticals. They’re not industry-specific, and must accommodate users who may not have much advertising experience.
Companies that advertise at scale demand more in-depth, all-encompassing tools that automatically optimize, infinitely scale strategy, maximize budget and generate insights for larger advertising strategy at scale. That’s where automated advertising platforms come in.
What are automated advertising platforms?
Automated advertising platforms operate one level above today’s PPC advertising tools. They’re an umbrella that encompasses everything a PPC tool can do (and more) with a specific focus on automated execution.
Automated advertising platforms, specifically RPA-powered platforms, are built on the same core foundations — like Google Ads — as PPC tools.
These platforms blend the functions of a PPC advertising tool with the power of sophisticated developer tools like Google Ads Scripting (for example). It’s a more accessible, yet sophisticated package for seasoned users in the advertising industry.
The main strategic differences
In short, automated advertising platforms reduce labor overhead while enabling better advertising strategy at scale. Here are some key strategic differences:
1: Ease of use and autonomy for serious advertisers
Better accessibility and functionality can have a large impact on the strategic abilities of advertising agencies and in-house teams, big and small.
One function unique to automated advertising platforms? Specials management.
Specials, or ads that run for a limited amount of time for something like a Memorial Day sale, are common for ad managers. With traditional tools, it can be a nightmare to update campaigns quickly to reflect “specials” details. Automated advertising platforms make this functionality faster and more simple — think of the one hand controlling many hands
Good advertising platforms will also grant serious advertisers strategic autonomy. They know that advertisers are experts in their industry and need tools to quickly pattern and understand data, and execute their own strategies.
For example, real estate campaigns might include different fields than the automotive industry. With an automated advertising platform, strategists can dive deep into ad field customization, or incorporate industry needs into campaign structures or administrative functions that support the range of business strategies.
2: Automated pacing and budgeting
PPC tools and advertising are all about optimizing the digital dollar. Pacing — i.e. spending rate — and budget consumption are very important. Some PPC advertising tools help with budget, but these features aren’t free in platforms like Google Ads Editor.
If you are using a PPC tool for budging, most tools are set to daily budgeting instead of a monthly or lifetime budget. This can mean if you under or overspend on day one, this isn’t taken into account on day two.
With an automated platform, budgets are instead seen as longitudinal, which is smarter and more strategic. Funds can flow and be automatically optimized over time, rather than requiring someone to check in on spend every single day; this labor can quickly become costly and impact long-term thinking and strategies.
A typical RPA-powered platform has automatic methods to correct for underspend or overspend. It can also generate alerts and notifications ahead of any hard-to-correct emergencies so strategists can stay ahead of any account fires that might occur.
With less time dedicated to spending emergencies, advertisers gain more time to be creative and clients are happier with optimized budgets as a result.
3. Reduced labor costs and increased agility for any business
With spending optimized, a new business model for advertising is unlocked.
Agencies and in-house teams gain the ability to run an effective, profitable business while still providing best-in-class service because ad budgets and strategies are better managed in an advertising platform. This means smaller businesses can be more competitive, and any organization can streamline manual labor on ad accounts.
Streamlined, reduced or completely eliminated labor means teams are free to strategize around new formats like collaborative advertising, or generate creative campaigns that will truly delight advertising audiences.
Learn more about automated advertising platforms — specifically RPA for advertising — with this guide to savings for your business.
Interested in how Fluency can help your business move on from basic PPC tools to unlock future-ready advertising strategy? Get in touch today.
