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Are you new to internet marketing? Maybe you’ve already tried a few different marketing strategies, only to hit a few snags. That’s not entirely shocking. After all, the world of internet marketing is huge and fast-paced.

There are many options when it comes to internet advertising, but two you should definitely consider: solo ads vs. PPC ads.

This blog post will dive into the differences between solo ads and Pay-Per-Click (PPC), and hopefully make the choice more clear for you.

The basics of solo ads

Solo ads are a type of email promotion that allows you to reach out to an audience with an email message and list from a third party. Solo ads traffic can be used to promote any product, service, or offer to make money online.

Here’s an example of a successful solo ad:

Here’s how solo ads work: you pay someone else (i.e., solo ad provider) to send out an email message on your behalf and deliver it directly into the recipients’ inboxes without any kind of opt-in process or other steps involved. You give them some information about yourself and what you’re promoting, and they send out the message on your behalf. The nuances of who writes what depends on your relationship with the sender. Some solo ads vendors offer copywriting services, and others don’t (this is often preferable anyway, as you get more control over your marketing).

The basics of PPC ads

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising is a form of internet marketing that allows you to pay for each click on your ad. The cost of each click may vary depending on the targeted keyword, with some keywords having a higher Cost Per Click (CPC) than others.

Here’s an example of a PPC ad:

The main advantage of PPC ads is control. You have more control of the targeting (e.g., keywords for Google Ads Search), and you can control the budget (i.e., stop spend as soon as you feel the results aren’t worth it. PPC ads also allow you to track which keywords are most effective for driving traffic to your website, so you can make changes to optimize for better results in the future. PPC ads are an “at-will” service — you can turn them off anytime you like.

Related reading: A Beginner’s Guide to Selling Solo Ads

Solo ads vs. PPC ads

Now that we’ve described the basics of each ad type, you’re probably curious about the differences between them. Here are seven points of comparison you need to know about:

Audience reach

Google Ads Search gives you access to 92% of the internet’s searches – so PPC networks like Google Ads allow you to reach a wider audience than solo ads providers. If you’re just looking to reach a large number of people, then PPC is your best bet.

The main benefit of solo ads isn’t for reach, but for action. You pay per click in solo ads because the list is a vetted email list of people interested in purchasing products in a certain niche or signing up for newsletters in a certain niche.

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Cost

The cost of each campaign will vary depending on the company you choose to work with. With premium solo ad vendors like Udimi, you can expect to shell out about $0.40 to $2.00 per click.

The average price of a solo ad campaign will also vary depending on several factors, such as your niche, audience size, desired conversion rate, sender repution (good solo ad vendors may charge more per click), and simply the sender’s rates.

For example, if you’re running solo ads in the weight loss niche, it may be less expensive than if you were advertising in the business opportunity niche, simply due to the niche. On the other hand, if your niche has fewer people in it who are searching for information online and willing to buy products or services from outside sources, then it might be more expensive than if your target market was larger, because the niche is harder to target.

PPC ads can be cheaper than solo ads since they are sent out through an algorithm that targets people who are more likely to buy from you. However, do drive results affordably, one needs to be educated on how the PPC platform works, and take the time to optimize ads and targeting. This is unlike solo ads, where the key is to find the right sender.

So, which is cheaper? It really depends on your experience. PPC is cheaper to dip your feet into, but may be more costly to drive action and leads. The cheapest solo ads may require a few hundred dollars to even try, but the ROI can be very high with the right vendor.

Time requirement

With solo ads, the initial process is simple: find a vendor, create an order, and send it over. However, once you get into the campaign management phase, things can get complicated quickly. For example, if you want to optimize your campaigns and increase ROI, then you’ll need to know how to analyze data and run experiments in order to make informed decisions that will move the needle.

If you don’t have time to run a solo ad campaign or aren’t comfortable with managing one on your own, then there are plenty of vendors out there who can help you out.

Some of the best solo ad vendors include:

• Udimi
• Traffic Dominator
• TrafficForMe
• TrafficBlade
• UpViral

While they may charge a fee for their services or require a minimum spend per month, they also provide additional benefits such as tracking software and customer service reps who will handle all of your questions or concerns throughout the process. Don’t underestimate support — especially if you aren’t a natural at ads!

PPC ads are an effective way to drive traffic to your website. But they can also be a time-consuming pain. You’ll be spending a lot of time managing your ads, optimizing bids and keywords, monitoring results, and more.

Fortunately, there are tools that can help you save time and make managing your campaigns easier. For example, Google Ads Editor lets you edit and upload new ads from directly within the editor, which saves you from having to log into multiple accounts and copy-paste them over manually.

How targeted is it?

When you’re running PPC ads, you can target by keyword. You can also choose to target people based on their interests, demographics, and other information that’s available. This kind of targeting can be a great way for you to reach people who are interested in your products or services.

This means that if you were selling something like a software tool for dentists, you could make sure that only people searching for “dental software” would see your ad.

Solo ads are also targeted, but not as much as PPC ads are. Solo ads don’t allow you to target specific keywords, and the people who see them usually aren’t looking for anything specific. Again, it’s not your list, so you don’t exactly know the list quality until the email is sent.

When you’re buying solo ads, you’ll get emails from the person selling the ad that includes a list of emails from their subscribers. You can then send your message directly to those subscribers if you wish.

It’s important to remember that these emails won’t be 100% targeted because they aren’t looking for your product or service specifically (although some people may be). Also, keep in mind that people often get multiple messages from various solo ads sellers all at once, so they might see yours buried among many others.

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Solo ads vs. PPC: Who it works best for

PPC ads are a great choice for most businesses, but especially ecommerce. For example, if you have a budget of $100 and want to buy 100 clicks on Google Ads, then you can do so easily by setting your daily budget at $1 per day and targeting keywords like “best iPhone cases” or “buy iPhone cases online.” If you know how to pick the right keywords, you can get quality traffic at a very low cost.

Solo ads are a great option for affiliate marketers who want to send high-quality traffic to their offers or landing pages for quick results, or who want to quickly grow their email list. You can set up the campaign yourself or hire someone who knows how to write compelling ad copy that converts visitors into customers or leads.

D2C online retailers can also use solo ads as they do not have an existing brand name yet and need help in creating one as well as getting more traffic on their sites.

Use cases

PPC ads are great for driving traffic to a website, generating leads, and increasing sales. They’re also relatively affordable when compared to other forms of advertising — especially if you choose effective keywords and target the right people with relevant messaging.

Solo ads are a form of direct response marketing used by internet marketers looking for email subscribers, sales leads, or even customers from their own list of customers.

In a nutshell, solo ads are one-on-one emails sent out by one marketer to another marketer (or group of marketers) asking them to promote their product or service in exchange for a commission (or percentage) of any sales made through that promotion.

Longevity

Solo ads can be used as a temporary solution to get started in the right direction and build momentum for your business.

On the other hand, if you’ve been doing business for some time now and have built up a large list of subscribers or customers over time, then PPC ads could be used to further expand your reach by targeting new audiences who may not have heard about your brand yet.

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Pros and cons of PPC vs. solo ads

To help you really solidify which ad medium you should choose, we thought we’d create a handy table:

	Pros	Cons
PPC ads	A quick way to get your business in front of thousands of customers in minutes. You can use PPC to target specific people and keywords. You get instant traffic. You can start with a small budget and increase it over time. It’s easy to control your budget.	The cost can get very high if you do not use them properly, or if you bid high amounts on keywords that do not convert well.
Solo ads	They’re cheap compared to other forms of advertising. With a good list, you can get leads and sales quick and cheaply. It’s easy to target specific groups of people with solo ads — especially when using niche-specific affiliate networks.	When you are starting out, there will be trial and error as you work to choose the right vendor. The initial investment will likely be higher. If you’re in an industry where there are lots of other marketers using solo ads, then competition will be fierce and prices high.

We say, try them both!

We hope this article has helped you better understand the difference between a solo ad vendor and PPC.  While they are different. if you have the time, there’s no reason to only focus on one channel or another. Both channels can be effective at driving ROI, leads, sales, and building your business.