PPC advertising campaigns: types, structure, and what works
The main PPC campaign types are Search (text ads on Google for active intent), Display (banner ads for awareness and remarketing), Shopping (product ads for e-commerce), Performance Max (automated across Google's network), and social campaigns on Meta, TikTok, and LinkedIn.
A guide to PPC advertising campaigns for South African businesses: campaign types, how to structure them, what they cost, and how to build campaigns that convert.
TL;DR: Quick Answer
Basic South African brochure sites: R8,000-R20,000. Custom business websites with SEO and copywriting: R20,000-R50,000. E-commerce: R40,000-R150,000+. The five cost drivers that create the biggest price variation are: scope and number of pages, custom vs template design, professional copywriting, integrations (payment gateways, booking systems, CRM), and on-page SEO included at build stage. Always add 15-25% for hosting, maintenance and content updates in year one.
Key takeaways
- Very cheap quotes (under R5,000) almost always exclude copywriting, SEO, custom design and post-launch support
- Professional copywriting can represent 20-35% of a total website project cost, and is worth it for search visibility
- On-page SEO built into the website at launch costs a fraction of what it costs to retrofit after the site is live
- Hosting, SSL, domain and maintenance add R3,000-R10,000 per year on top of build cost
- E-commerce adds significant cost due to payment gateway integrations, product data, security requirements and checkout UX
- Timeline and client responsiveness directly affect cost: slow feedback rounds extend agency hours
What are the main PPC campaign types?
Each campaign type does a distinct job, and choosing the right ones for your goals is the first decision. Mixing them without purpose wastes budget.
| Campaign type | What it does | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Search | Text ads for keyword searches | Capturing active buyer intent |
| Display | Banner ads across websites | Awareness and remarketing |
| Shopping | Product ads with images and price | E-commerce and retail |
| Performance Max | Automated across all Google channels | Broad reach with conversion goals |
| Social (Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn) | Targeted ads by audience | Reach, engagement, B2B |
For a deeper platform comparison, see our guide to PPC platforms and channels.
How should a PPC campaign be structured?
Good structure is what separates a profitable account from a wasteful one. The hierarchy runs from campaigns (by goal or product line), to ad groups (tightly themed clusters of keywords), to the ads and keywords themselves.
The principle is tight relevance: each ad group should target a small, closely related set of keywords, with ad copy and a landing page that match them exactly. Loose, sprawling ad groups dilute relevance, lower Quality Score, and raise your cost per click. Disciplined structure is the cheapest performance gain available.
Which campaign type should you start with?
Most South African businesses should start with Search. It targets people who are actively looking for what you offer, which makes it the most direct route to leads and the easiest to measure.
Once Search is profitable and you understand your cost per lead, expand deliberately: remarketing to re-engage visitors, Shopping if you sell products, social for broader reach. Adding campaign types before Search works simply spreads a limited budget thinner across less-targeted traffic.
Why does conversion tracking matter so much?
Without conversion tracking, you cannot tell which campaigns, ad groups, or keywords actually produce leads. You are left optimising on clicks, which tells you nothing about revenue, and the platforms cannot optimise toward outcomes they cannot see.
Proper tracking of calls, form submissions, and sales is the foundation of every profitable PPC account. It lets you cut what does not work, scale what does, and feed the platforms' automated bidding the data it needs. Any campaign run without it is guesswork.
What do PPC campaigns cost to run?
Running PPC campaigns has two costs: ad spend to the platforms and management to build and optimise the campaigns. Spend depends on your sector's cost per click and goals; management starts from about R6,000 a month.
For full pricing and how the two costs split, see our Google Ads pricing page and PPC guide.
Frequently asked questions
What are the main types of PPC campaigns?
The main types are Search (text ads for active intent), Display (banners for awareness and remarketing), Shopping (product ads for e-commerce), Performance Max (automated across Google's network), and social campaigns on Meta, TikTok, and LinkedIn. Most businesses start with Search.
How should a PPC campaign be structured?
Structure runs from campaigns to tightly themed ad groups to ads and keywords. Each ad group should target a small, closely related keyword set with matching ad copy and landing page. Tight relevance raises Quality Score and lowers cost per click.
Which PPC campaign should I start with?
Most businesses should start with Search, which targets people actively looking for what you offer and is easiest to measure. Once it is profitable and you know your cost per lead, expand to remarketing, Shopping, or social deliberately rather than all at once.
Why is conversion tracking important?
Without it you cannot tell which campaigns and keywords produce leads, so you optimise on clicks rather than revenue, and the platforms cannot bid toward outcomes. Tracking calls, forms, and sales is the foundation of every profitable PPC account.
How much do PPC campaigns cost to run?
There are two costs: ad spend paid to the platforms, set by your sector's cost per click and goals, and management to build and optimise campaigns, from about R6,000 a month. Most businesses spend R5,000 to R20,000 a month on ad spend.