#so people from various video games are having persona-related problems left and right

[firestorm09890]

put my fuckin guy in the combination persona 4 dungeon twewy plot dnd roleplay thing and it's awesome. mandatory persona 4 glasses made him pull his hair out of his face and it is regrettably very cute. he's trying so hard to keep the party from going off the rails. he's on the verge of sensory meltdown himself. he's a genius whose input is valuable. he's projecting and probably shouldn’t be here. he's so cool. he's visibly uncomfortable being around everyone else. he cast the level 3 spell Fear on a Shark Noise. yeah the one from week 1 day 4 that killed Rhyme. it didn't kill Rhyme this time, heh [puts on my sunglasses

[paulisweeabootrash]

2020 mini-review pack

Di Gi Charat (1999)

Episodes watched: 7

Platform: VRV (Hidive)

Di Gi Charat (pronounced like “carrot”) is a series of fast-paced 4-ish-minute shorts nominally about Dejiko and Rabi-en-Rose, rivals trying to be Earth’s greatest idol.  Who are, respectively, a catgirl and a bunnygirl.  Oh, and also they’re aliens?  That’s... uh... certainly a premise, I guess.  The actual show consists of self-contained gag-filled episodes with no ongoing story, in almost a sitcom kind of way, throwing the characters into situations without context, but with a stable “baseline” situation (unlike, say, Pop Team Epic, where the characters serve more as stock personalities playing different roles in different sketches).  Dejiko is a snarky schemer.  Rabi-en-Rose is a snarky schemer whose main activity seems to be bothering Dejiko at work.  Puchiko is a small and quiet child and behaves accordingly.  And Gema is... something?  I have no clue, honestly, and neither does the fan wiki.  Other recurring characters fill stock roles such as “manager” and “otaku”.  A lot of the humor centers around poking fun at fandom.  It’s a show by, for, and about otaku from an era before our current internet culture, and since I’m a millennial and not from Japan, that makes it unusually hard to evaluate.

W/A/S: 8/2?/5?

Weeb: Chibis.  Catgirls.  Idols.  Kappas.  Kawaii verbal tics.  Akihabara.  Low-detail background characters who look like blobs or thumbs with faces.  Kanji left on-screen but untranslated.  Particular sorts of highly-exaggerated facial expressions we may have become familiar with through emoji, but which still haven’t made their way into American media generally.  This is ludicrously Japanese.

Ass: This really isn't that kind of show.  Although it is certainly designed for adults, as evidenced by the presence of phrases like “naughty doujinshi”.

Shit: The art is fun.  It has style shifts from comic strip to watercolor painting to mainstream 90s anime, and looks better than some of its contemporaries that were, uh, “real” shows.  The opening takes up about a quarter of the total runtime and gets annoying quickly (but that's because it’s clearly designed for being part of a broadcast block, not binge-watching).  Still, unless I’m missing hidden cleverness on account of not having the background knowledge, there’s not much to it.  It’s just okay.

-----

First Astronomical Velocity (band, active 2011-present)

Platform: Spotify, surprisingly

Okay, this one is a bit different, and I’m jettisoning the whole format for it.  Remember how I said the music-centered episodes of SoniAni were actually pretty good, even though the modeling-centered episodes were so offputting I never finished the show?  Well it turns out that First Astronomical Velocity, Sonico’s band, has released several IRL albums.  Physical copies may be a little hard to come by, but official uploads of a lot of their music can be found on Youtube and Spotify.  Do your musical interests include at least two of: string arrangements that would be at home in a particularly sappy movie soundtrack, 90s-00s alternative rock, synthesizer beep-boops, and that constricted cutesy Japanese women’s vocal style (you know the one I mean)?  Then this is for you.  They’re a pretty good... uh... alt-pop-rock band, I guess is what I’d call them.

-----

Interspecies Reviewers (2020)

Episodes watched: the entire 12-episode season

Platform: I plead the 5th.  But it’s getting a video release soon, so it will finally be legitimately available in English!

I started this year with a plot-light fanservicey animal-people show, and now I’m ending the year with... a plot-light fanservicey animal-people show.  But unlike Nekopara, this show had me cracking up, eagerly clicking “next episode”, and not complaining about the premise.  I’m sure a lot of people do have a problem with this show’s premise -- which centers almost entirely on various forms of sex work -- and I understand and respect that they will want to skip this show.

But for the rest of you: Interspecies Reviewers is a wildly-NSFW comedy about a group of fantasy world adventurers who gain fame and fortune reviewing brothels of different species.  I expected excessive nudity and fantasy tropes, but I didn’t expect to also get serious thoughts.  Like showing, in the golem and Magic Metropolis episodes, some of the unsettling problems that are looming IRL as deepfakes and sex robots are in development -- note especially the contrast between consensually and non-consensually basing automata on real people in those episodes.  Or the discussion in the last episode of how much riskier sex would be in a world without magic (i.e., ours).  This is a much smarter and more interesting show than you’d expect, considering that it has so much sexual content that it got dropped by two of the networks airing it and even its US distributor.

W/A/S: 5/10/4

Weeb: Although heavily influenced by the Western fantasy media canon of European mythology and Tolkien and tabletop RPGs, familiarity with the tropes of fantasy anime will help you “get” this too, as will familiarity with the -sigh- character dynamics and censorship practices of hentai.  Especially because it’s a comedy, there are probably also instances where I have completely missed topical references or wordplay that a Japanese person would get, but I can’t think of any specific instances right now of “there was clearly supposed to be a joke but I missed it”.

Ass: Look, this could not possibly have more sexual content without unambiguously becoming porn.  Genitals are (almost) always carefully hidden by viewing angle or conveniently-placed glowing (something lampshaded in one episode as an actual feature of one of the species they review), but otherwise, expect lots of nudity and almost nonstop crude humor.  Do not watch this with children.  Do not watch this with your parents.  Do not watch this with friends you don’t know well enough to know how they’ll react to something like this.

Shit: This show is better-made than it deserves to be.  It’s pretty dumb at points, but it’s fun enough to make up for it.  The art is consistent and pleasant, and the opening and ending themes are extremely fun, but it’s not a serious standout in any of those departments.  Also, I swear the background music is stock music, but I don’t remember what other show(s) I’ve heard it in before.

Stray thought: Crim is a precious and relatable cinnamon roll and I love them.

-----

OreSuki OVA (2020)

Platform: Crunchyroll

So, I know I didn’t cover the whole season in my initial review, but I still want to mention the hour-ish-long finale of this show, which was released straight to streaming.  Short version of the rest of the season: Joro starts to actually fall for Pansy, but a new challenger, Hose, appears.  He is irritatingly attractive and effortless at maintaining the right persona for the situation, leading Joro to describe him as “the main character”.  Hose is the sociopathic manipulator Joro wishes he could be, and Pansy, who has a bad past with him, clearly wants nothing more than for Joro to stand up to him.  But, since this is OreSuki, it’s not going to be handled simply.  No, instead, strap in for a grand finale of Joro and Hose competing in, and trying to manipulate through rules-lawyering, an absolutely ludicrous competition to win the right to date Pansy.  And, on top of it, we also get to finally see how Sun-chan got to be the way he is and what happened at that pivotal baseball game that set off the whole plot.  What has Joro learned from the experiences of the past season?  You’ll see!  And you’ll facepalm about it!

Really, you must watch this if you watched the regular season.

W/A/S: 6/5(!)/4ish

Weeb: Basically the same as I said before.  Gags referencing other Japanese media, anime and otherwise, and it's better if you’re familiar with the high school romcoms and harem comedies Joro thinks in terms of.

Ass (and slight content note): -sigh- Why does the camera need to be there?  Also, Joro, you just committed a little bit of sexual assault for the sake of this contest.  Stop.

Shit: I want to rate this overall better than I did the regular season because I think it’s an excellent finale overall because, even though it ends in a very “let’s leave everything unresolved” way that’s common in media that rely on absurd relationships to propel the plot, it does so in a way that makes sense in character.  I personally think it would’ve been stronger if it had, well, confirmed its title, and at least some of the other “challengers” had lost interest in Joro, but I guess they probably want a Season 2, since they have so much more source material to work from.  There are... oh god 14 light novels?!  That is too many.

-----

Your Name. (2016)

Platform: DVD

Two high schoolers -- small-town girl Mitsuha, from Itomori, and big-city boy Taki, from Tokyo -- find themselves in each other’s bodies for a day.  They both think at first it must be a very vivid dream, but when it happens again, and they start finding clues like notes they don’t remember writing and comments by friends and relatives about their out-of-character behavior, they realize the body swap is real.  This begins a relationship of mutual understanding that nobody else can really understand -- or would even believe (except Mitsuha’s grandmother, who is... familiar with this phenomenon) -- and the plot then pivots to a tense adventure where they use their connection, some crucial information Taki has, the skills of Mitsuha’s friends, and the intervention of Itomori’s patron deity, to save the town from an impending disaster.

And that’s all I’ll say about that, because I really do think this is something you should go into blind.  My only remaining comments are that (1) the red string of fate is critically important imagery, and is particularly interesting to me here because, if I took a particular scene correctly, Mitsuha made her own red string of fate from sheer necessity, which is a very different twist on that trope, and (2) I am now curious about the history of the body-swapping phenomenon in-universe.

W/A/S: 4?/2/2

Weeb: As mentioned above, symbolism of the Red String of Fate shows up throughout the movie, as do the occasional distinctly Japanese quirk like a wildly out-of-place vending machine or a café with dogs, and but for the most part it’s a cross-cultural story of understanding and dealing with someone else’s life, and of forming a connection other people don’t -- can’t -- truly understand, and to some extent of divides between urban and rural and modern and traditional that I think could play out in any country with just the local symbolism tweaked.  The significance and content of Shinto beliefs and practices depicted, particularly kuchikamizake, are made pretty explicit, so although foreign to the vast majority of the non-Japanese audience, I feel like this movie also has nearly no barrier to entry for people not familiar with the cultural context, so I don’t want to rate it very high on this scale.

Ass: Look.  It involves teenagers switching bodies.  What do you think they do?  Especially Taki?  But it’s played for laughs, not titillation.

Shit: This movie is beautiful and punched me in the feels and was very satisfying.  The closest I have to a complaint about any aspect of it is that the musical breaks that I guess are supposed to mark acts of the movie almost make it feel like binge-watching a short series instead of watching a single self-contained movie.

[hoes-simpin-imagines]

Hello! Can I have a Danganronpa V3, Haikyuu!! and Persona 5 matchup? I'm bi, 5'1 and a HALF (the half is important), INFP Taurus. A huge gaming addict but with a very busy daily schedule since I'm the oldest, so I usually forget to sleep or eat to compensate for gaming time. I also like to draw and play melodica (horribly). I have a hard time speaking in public, often having to send texts even though the person is right next to me. Thank you so much for accepting and have a good day!

“Then I’ll take the Haikyuu and Persona 5 ask!! Thank you so much and sorry again ( ；∀；)”

No worries hon, it’s all good!!! thanks so much for requesting c: and aww sdjsjdks you’re such a cinnamon roll btw;;

your Haikyuu matchup is…

【Kenma Kozume】

(my fAVORITE boy ever how indeed very lucky of you TwT)

Despite Kenma normally coming off as a little aloof and asocial, as he’s hardly ever really concerned about the the affairs of other people or interacting with others, you two would probably click together in almost an instant! This is due to the many characteristics you two share - Both of you being quite introverted and gaming addicts. If anything, Kenma would much rather prefer someone who’s similar to him in a sense, as he already has to put up with his noisy and energetic teammates on a daily basis. Don’t worry, Kenma’s also pretty much a total noob when it comes to speaking with others in public. (He had to have Kuroo assist him with every failed attempt he’s made to try and approach you alone at first. Poor kitty would chicken out just as soon as he believed he had garnered up enough courage to make a move). 

✧headcanons✦

The two of you first encountered each other at the local GameStop that was nearby the school. A new video game was to be released in stores that day, and Kenma was pretty psyched for it. He had planned to get himself a copy right after practice that evening, and doing so, left without Kuroo. As he skimmed through the aisles, his fingers brushing against the spines of the various packaging, he quickly noticed the game he was looking for and reached out to grab it. However, his wrist instead made contact with yours. 

He was a bit startled when his catlike eyes had found you as he staggered back in his direction awkwardly, averting his gaze and muttering an apology. He decided he just let you have it as he can either come back tomorrow or buy and download the game digitally. However, he didn’t expect you to apologize so incessantly over it, urging that he take the last copy instead, while each time he would reassure you that it was completely fine with him if you just take it. It got a bit awkward for him, and it was clear he was flustered by how visibly flushed his cheeks were. Eventually he complied, reluctantly taking the copy. While doing so, he noticed Kuroo watching the interaction unfold and swiftly went the other direction before you could question. 

Of course, as soon as Kuroo caught up with him outside Kenma definitely expected he would be bothered and interrogated by him. “Who was it you were just talking to? Was it someone cute? With the look you were giving earlier, I could tell you thought so.” “Shut up, Kuroo.” 

Eventually, Kenma would see you there quite often. He thought you wouldn’t recognize him, well, at least he hoped you didn’t. He’d avoid you like the plague, not that he wanted it to look like had anything against you though. His childhood friend read into his motives fairly quickly, and he would urge him to just go for it, not tolerating the excuses he would make.

When he did finally manage to approach you though, he never expected that it was that easy to converse with you on the topic of gaming as a conversation starter, as the discussion between you two had seemed to flow naturally. Kenma completely overestimated the situation that time. 

Anyways, I doubt it would be much of a problem if you require sending texts to converse with Kenma even if he’s literally right next to you. He’s alright with keeping at it virtually. When in a social situation that seems to be nerve-wracking, Kenma would just send you some gaming related memes saved in his camera roll to console or evoke a chuckle out of you. It may weird his teammates out as they watch the two of you communicate that way, but he doesn’t really care. He also may sound a bit more outgoing than usual through text.

He enjoys watching you draw, and he may sometimes ask you to draw some of his favorite characters/mains, or even a custom player character he designed. He’d set them as his avatars on every social media platform, obviously crediting you. 

Kenma obviously enjoys playing games with you. You two would duo in League of Legends, making a formidable Xayah and Rakan. (aww :3) Since Kenma’s a Youtuber, he would stream a few of the gameplays together with your permission of course. It isn’t compulsory to talk if you’re too shy, but whenever you’re ready, he’d definitely be glad to introduce you to his growing fanbase!

Date nights would normally consist of you two inviting yourselves at either one of your guys�� houses, and ordering a box or two of pizza at the door along with it. You two would usually be up gaming the entire night, and completely losing track of time. On the first night together at Kenma’s house, Kuroo invited himself in the next morning, seeing the two of you lay snuggled together on the couch and sleeping peacefully, both controllers thrown to the side and a half-finished open box of pizza on the floor.

~ Mod Suba 🌌

and for Persona 5, your matchup is…

【Futaba Sakura/Oracle/Navi】

You two just have so much in common!! She’s also an avid fan of video games and all things tech related, which is what initially drew her to you. It took all of her courage to awkwardly confess her feelings to you, but now that you two are in a relationship, you cant even keep track of how many all nighters you both had pulled together. Since you’re the eldest sibling, and I’d assume much more responsible than her, you’re usually the one who ends up taking care of her whenever she stays up for 12 hours straight playing online games. Despite her rough past and her shy disposition, she finds it very easy to confide in you due to how much you two have in common!

✧headcanons✦

You guys manage to save up a bit of money, and with Sojiro’s permission managed to go to an anime/gaming convention in your area! Let’s just say, it was the best date ever. She ended up spending a lot of money though, and had to borrow a lot of money from you toward the end of the con. You both totally did the thing where you follow a cosplayer while playing their theme song on the melodica.

On rough days, she likes to pull you into her room and cover you both under her blanket. She will never express it verbally, but she almost always wants cuddles from you. She will subtly hint at this, by either snuggling up to you or awkwardly forcing your arm around her. She likes to sit in between your legs and lean against your chest. When you assume this cuddling position, she will sometimes text you despite the fact that you are right there! It’s a cute gesture though, and she usually sends you memes and gifs during these moments.

On her first day of highschool, she’ll definitely be on the phone with you the entire time. Being in a school environment for the first time in a while really made her nervous. During a time like this, your presence and reassurance was vital to her! Luckily, she got the hang of school life after a few weeks, and she has you to thank for that!

Since you’re both fairly short, you both struggle to get high things on shelves. Sometimes you both clean LeBlanc together, and come across a high shelf that you cant reach. She tries to get on your shoulders to reach the shelves, and when that doesnt work, Akira or Sojiro usually steps in to take care of it.

She will hypocritically scold you for skipping meals while you’re gaming. She usually ends up playing said game with you while she scolds you, which makes her tirade a lot less threatening. But that aside, she really worries about your health a lot. If she notices you’re not eating properly, she’ll force either Sojiro or Akira to make you curry and coffee. And she makes you eat it too. You’re not leaving until you’ve licked the plate clean.

~Mod Onion 👻

[tentacle-explosion]

I need to share the details of a traumatic experience I’ve been dealing with for a while now, because I know that I will never get justice and I’m hoping that talking about it publicly will (a) help me feel like I’ve gotten it out, and (b) maybe be relatable/therapeutic to others as well.

I’m going to put the full story under a read more and tag it with trigger warnings, but FYI the following contains graphic talk of sexual assault, emotional abuse, and mention of suicidal ideation.

I was married for 11 years, from August 2005 to December 2016. It was never a healthy relationship, even in the five years before we got married... But it was at its worst in the first few years (when we were both teenagers and full of unresolved childhood trauma), and then the last couple of years. In those last couple of years our relationship rapidly disintegrated after I had my brain surgery, for a number of reasons that, from his perspective (as he put it), boiled down to me changing into someone he didn’t recognize. From my perspective, it was that I grew and he didn’t keep up.

(Tl;dr I’d been in constant, debilitating pain before the surgery due to a birth defect, and it made me constantly cranky. I took it out on the people around me. Post-brain surgery, with the pain relieved, my entire attitude changed for the better. He didn’t seem to like this. Considering that his entire persona is based around being a caregiver, and that he also told me that he “didn’t want a relationship where (he) was wanted but not needed,” I think that the fact that I no longer relied on his help when I was disabled with pain/could care for myself also played a huge role in our marriage falling apart.)

During those years he became increasingly emotionally abusive, in ways too numerous to relive/recount, but the highlights include: frequent rants about how I’m incapable of empathy (and therefore “broken”) because I wanted us to verbally communicate our feelings rather than attempting (and failing) to read each other’s minds; telling friends in front of me that he wished he’d stayed with a previous girlfriend because his life would be so much better than being with me; responding to my last-ditch attempt to not commit suicide out of depression by telling him about it (so that he could help me find a therapist, and all suicide resources I looked at said to tell a loved one for that purpose) by looking at me with utter disdain and telling me that I was fucked up and to never tell him something like that again; and gaslighting me daily about various things he said or did to the point that I was convinced I’d gone insane... Among other things.

Now, for the entirety of our relationship, we’d had a shitty/practically non-existent sex life. He claimed various excuses, but ultimately I always knew that it was a combination of his sexual hang-ups (such as telling me once that “only bad people have sex”) and not being attracted to me at all. It made me extremely bitter because he’d never just own up to the truth, and it was commonplace for me to make self-deprecating comments about it to try to cope.

One day in the last months of our marriage, I made one of those comments, and instead of his usual eye-rolling, he grabbed me by the arm and dragged me into the bedroom, saying that he’d have sex with me for once.

I went along with it at first, mostly out of curiosity. But the foreplay played out the way it always did - clinical, like aliens probing me - and I wasn’t feeling it at all. I told him that I didn’t want to continue. His response was just to shush me and start to put his dick in. When I said, “No, I’m not even ‘ready’ yet, stop,” he said, “No, you wanted to have sex, so we’re gonna have sex!” and shoved himself in dry. It hurt physically of course, but more than that, I knew what he was really saying - “I’m going to punish you for having a sex drive so you’ll stop complaining” - and that hurt so much worse.

I disassociated for the rest of it. It wasn’t the first time I’d been sexually assaulted, but it was the first time it happened as an adult with someone I should’ve been able to trust.

Eventually he decided it was enough and left to clean up. I’m pretty sure I cried. He never came back into the room. I think he just went into our “office” to play a video game.

A day or two later, I told one of my best friends about it. I think I turned it into a bit of a joke to try to cope. But my friend said, “Jesus fucking Christ, [ex’s name],” and looked at me in horror, and it became very real. 

After that I locked it away in the same hidden part of my memories where I keep my childhood sexual abuse. I had to keep living with him in some semblance of peace, so I couldn’t deal with it. It just had to stay locked up until I was safe.

Then came our divorce, and I moved out on my own, and we tried being friends. It was tenuous, and something kept telling me, “You’re going to hate him soon.” I didn’t know why.

Except then came the #metoo movement, and every single time I read another story of a woman exposing her abuser/rapist, I felt a pain in my chest. I cried and didn’t know why. I was angry and didn’t know why. Until one day, my ex posted a Facebook status about how the women in the movement should be trusted and respected, and I lost it. It all came back to me and I. Was. Furious.

I didn’t confront him immediately. We were already on thin ice with each other because he interpreted nearly everything I said and did as a personal attack (out of guilt? I don’t know), but when he eventually asked me if I had a problem with him, I vented it. I didn’t call it what it was. I didn’t call it anything, actually. I just asked if he remembered the last time we had sex, and he said no. I said that I did remember, and retold it from my perspective.

His response?

“I hope you know that I didn’t mean to rape you.”

There was no salvaging a friendship after that. I don’t know if there would’ve been if he’d owned up to what he did, but that’s what I wanted. I wanted an admission and an apology and, I don’t know, maybe a public declaration of guilt. Maybe a lifetime of cash donations to women’s shelters or something. Anything that showed that he held himself accountable and was going to change and never do anything like that to another woman again.

But I’ll never get that.

I have nightmares on a regular basis about him inviting himself back into my life like nothing happened. I have panic attacks when I hear loud car engines like his. I cry at least once a week because of the low self-esteem I now have from hearing so many admonishments about what a terrible person I am, so broken and crazy and incapable of feeling correctly. I’m afraid to get into another romantic relationship, even almost two years after the divorce, because I’m terrified that it’s just in my nature to pick another partner like him and I’ll go through all that stuff again and again and again.

And I know that some people insist that it’s not rape if you’re married. Or that it’s not rape if you consented earlier but then revoke that consent. But it was rape. He’s the one who put that label on it, and he was right, that’s exactly what he did to me. He emotionally abused me and then he raped me to top it off.

So that’s my story. I don’t know if I’ll feel any better now that I’ve told it, but there it is.

[aion-rsa]

Spider-Man: Far From Home Mid-Credits Scene Explained

https://ift.tt/2YukpQP

The first Spider-Man: Far From Home mid credit scene is one of the most momentous in Marvel MCU history!

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This article contains nothing but Spider-Man: Far From Home spoilers. We have a spoiler free review right here.

Spider-Man: Far From Home is the breath of fresh air we need after all the fallout of Avengers: Endgame. Characters have died or gone into retirement. Countless people have endured loss on a scale unheard of, only to have it undone in a way that is far from convenient. It’s the perfect setup because after all that Thanos stuff, we really, really need a vacation.

Far From Home paints itself as an uplifting adventure where everything comes up Parker in the end (mostly). He’s in a relationship with someone who knows his secret, the bad guy is defeated, the authority figures show him respect, and life goes on. The last thing we see is Spider-Man swinging around with MJ, which is on-brand because “Spider-Man swings around” is the way most of his movies end.

Then...the initial credits end and we pick up back where we left off. In under two minutes of footage, we get three very, very major revelations. Let’s go through them.

Mysterio the Martyr

Quentin Beck’s grand scheme was to pull the old Thunderbolts gambit (that really is going to take the wind out of the sails if Marvel ever tries to make a Thunderbolts movie). Anyway, as Mysterio, he pretends to be a superhero, fakes some villains to thwart, earns the trust of the public, and works towards earning more powerful resources to use at his leisure. He’s defeated by Spider-Man with the assist of Nick Fury, Maria Hill, and Spidey's amazing friends.

Mysterio dies from the ricochet of a drone’s bullet, but sure doesn’t act defeated. We even see his top henchman download some information and leave the scene. It’s mentioned that he tends to have contingency plans, but after his fake-out attempt to shoot Spider-Man at point blan range fails, we’re left to think that he’s out of tricks.

And so, during the mid-credits, a news report shows footage of Mysterio pleading to a camera that Spider-Man is coming to kill him and is using a bunch of drones made by Stark Industries. This is mixed with footage of Spider-Man commanding EDITH (the current version of JARVIS) to "execute" the drones. Seeing Spidey on video yelling, “Yes, execute them all!” sure does not work well in his favor.

read more: Spider-Man Villains Who Could Join the MCU

It’s there that we see the biggest loose end that Spidey never got around to wrapping up: people never stopped thinking Mysterio was a hero and only a very select few know the truth. Now Spider-Man is considered a psychopath. He always had a public relations problem.

Much like Batman in The Dark Knight, Spider-Man ends his sophomore movie by being wanted for the murder of a secretly psychotic “hero” and is now going to end up public enemy #1.

JK Simmons is J. Jonah Jameson

The news story is broken by The Daily Bugle, in this world an online news vlog similar to the kind of reactionary nonsense peddled by sites like InfoWars. It's also very similar to how J. Jonah Jameson has been using the internet to promote his views in both the recent comics and in the PlayStation 4 Spider-Man game. We get our first look at Jameson in the MCU and – holy crap – it’s JK Simmons reprising his role!

Simmons played the part of Jameson in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy and is considered by many to be the best piece of casting in all of them. He owns every scene he’s in and helps make all three films worth watching due to his confident, long-winded, motor mouth persona.

read more: Spider-Man Villains and the Power of the Everyman

It’s been said that when the X-Men are eventually and inevitably integrated into the MCU, the only casting that will remain the same is Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool. After all, Ryan Reynolds is Deadpool in the mind of the public, and you don’t recast that unless you absolutely have to. You can even consider bringing back Simmons to play Jameson here as setting the precedent for Reynolds' return as Wade Wilson. I don’t care if it’s been nearly 20 years since his first crack at the character. Don’t mess with perfection, buddy.

Everyone Knows Peter Parker is Spider-Man

Throwing gasoline onto the fire, the news report continues with more footage of Mysterio’s desperate video rant. He tells the world that Spider-Man’s real name is Peter Parker and Peter’s picture is broadcast on screens all over the world. The last thing we see is Spider-Man clutching his own head in horror and rightfully so.

Outside of Daredevil on Netflix, Spider-Man has been the only MCU hero to really go all-in on the double identity gimmick. It’s something that Tony Stark spit in the face of at the end of the very first Iron Man movie and now his protégé is getting the same treatment in a very, very different way. “I am Iron Man,” is a moment of defiance while, “Spider-Man’s real name is Peter Parker,” is that of damnation.

Through various comics, both in and outside of canon, Jameson has discovered the truth about Spider-Man’s identity. A lot of the time, he’s angry at himself for being a failure of a newsman. Sometimes he’s ashamed to discover that all this time, he's been antagonizing someone that he actually cares about. This time, there’s no need for any of that because he has no personal connection to Peter. Peter has never worked as his photographer and he never will. Jameson only sees him as a menace who needs to be wiped out to avenge the death of Mysterio, the greatest superhero ever.

Actually, this mid-credits scene feels an awful lot like "What If Gwen Stacy Had Lived?," a story from the first volume of What If? which had Spider-Man rescue Gwen from the Green Goblin, then fail to kill the Goblin later on. Peter is able to help Norman Osborn conquer his demons and get the mental help he so desperately needs. Then, on Peter and Gwen’s wedding day, Jameson busts in with the cops, demanding Peter be arrested.

Turns out that in-between escaping death and that final battle with Spider-Man, Green Goblin sent proof of Spider-Man's secret identity to various journalists as an insurance policy. Spider-Man ends up a fugitive and Robbie Robertson punches Jameson in the gut for being a gigantic asshole.

read more: Complete Schedule of Upcoming Marvel MCU Movies

So where do we go from here? It's likely that Spider-Man is going to be on the run. His normal life is over mere hours after conquering his double life.

But the real thing to wonder is this: who will follow-up on this? This is Mysterio’s last laugh, but that’s all it is. The final middle finger from a dead man. You don't make a new installment out of that. He has his followers, sure, but are they going to create the next threat for Spider-Man?

Oh, man. What if those guys put together the Thunderbolts to bring Spider-Man in? Vulture could absolutely fit the Beetle/MACH role if they do it.

Gavin Jasper writes for Den of Geek and had a failed theory that Mysterio was going to be revealed as Space Stone Loki from Endgame. Ah, well. Read more of his articles here and follow him on Twitter @Gavin4L

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Gavin Jasper

Jul 2, 2019

Marvel

Spider-Man

Spider-Man: Far From Home

from Books https://ift.tt/2RPc6MW

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PPC 101: How Does Pay-Per-Click Work and Why Do You Need It?

PPC (pay-per-click) is one of the busiest business highways of the internet.

It plays a vital role in any winsome digital marketing strategy, applicable across the entire buyer journey. And if you’re already wondering “wait, how does pay per click work at all”, fret not.

Simply put, you essentially buy visibility with almost immediate effect.

This visibility, albeit not organic, can be nothing short of a game-changer. According to Wordstream, 64% of people click on ads when looking for products and services online. This figure speaks volumes about the efficiency of PPC.

The only problem is there’s a lot of ground to cover, from defining a budget and timeline to finding the audience. The good news is others have been where you are now and left a trail of proven methods.

We’ve compiled a comprehensive guide on this prominent strategy and what it can do for you. So, let’s examine what’s happening under the hood.

How Does Pay Per Click Work?

In a nutshell, PPC is a form of online advertising, similar to pay-per-impression or pay-per-view.

Its defining trait is the intended interaction brands seek to initiate: a click (on an ad).  As such, PPC is just one facet of modern marketing. If nothing else, there are other noteworthy strategies with an amazing track record.

Achieving higher organic ranking is a prime illustration, an objective associated with a heap of benefits. Apart from advantages, however, one also has to mind the drawbacks. It takes a lot of hands-on experience and time to actually bring in traffic with SEO tactics.

And this is precisely where PPC comes into play.

It’s geared toward specialized and time-sensitive campaigns. You could, for instance, conquer a new geographic market and directly chip away at the competition. This is possible to accomplish in a fraction of the time it takes to execute alternative online strategies.

What is more, getting to the forefront of search or social media has profound implications. Believe it or not, whopping 98% of users choose a business featured on the first page of results. This is just one example of how PPC adds value to organizations.

Supporting Pillar of Online Presence

But, it’s important to underline PPC isn’t overly effective as a sole approach.

It best works in a well-established context of advanced analytics, business goals, and other online tactics, such as SEO.

This is to say it’s great for supplementing these activities and filling in the gaps.  In concrete terms, you could start building awareness of your new offerings with ads right away. Then, it makes sense to get into SEO in order to take your digital strategy to new heights.

This integrative approach levels the playing field somewhat. It empowers you to gain a foothold in the sector already occupied by other players.

Therefore, you should be careful not to go all-in just chasing short-term avail.

Effects of strategies like content marketing and SEO accumulate over time and make a huge difference in the long run.

Google’s Pay-to-Play Proposition

PPC encompasses various platforms and mediums.

The two main types of ads we can distinguish from are Google Ads and Social Media Ads.

In the case of former, you pay the search engine giant to list ads to your side or offerings. These ads have a prominent place in search engine result pages (SERP), appearing every time a related query occurs. When a user clicks on the ad, you need to pay the agreed-upon Cost per Click (CPC).

Notice there are several types of Google Ads:

Search Ads: displayed above or beside search results

Local Search Ads: a subset of Search Ads with a local focus

Display Ads: text messages and banners that exist across the digital ecosystem

Pre-Roll Ads: a form of video advertising on platforms like YouTube

Remarketing: targets people who have visited your site or another piece of digital real estate

In general, Google Ads are a major pathway to online prominence for one reason. They have an unparalleled reach, spanning around 98% of the web.

Social Advertising

When it comes to social ads, they have a more limited scope.

On the other hand, the main thing they have going for them is a superior level of audience refinement.  Also, we should emphasize social ads vary in format quite a bit.

Single images and videos are quite common across popular networks. It seems people are much more attracted to ads with visual flair than text-only counterparts.

A real behemoth in this advertising landscape is Facebook, which has the largest base of monthly active users. Facebook also owns Instagram, so there’s smooth integration between the two platforms. You can hardly go wrong firing on all cylinders there.

However, this isn’t to say Facebook is a one-size-fits-all solution. If you’re in a B2B sector, you’re better off investing in PPC on LinkedIn. There are some other less-obvious choices with niche appeal as well.

A Numbers Game

The key priority in the early, planning stage is to set up a sound budget.

Here, there are no hard rules except one: you only pay for the clicks you receive. When the budget runs dry, your ads can no longer be displayed. This is rather self-explanatory, but designing the budget is all but.

One useful tip is to always scope out budgets of your competitors. This puts things in perspective and helps you navigate the financial waters. Besides, keyword price in some cases (Google Ads) fluctuates based on demand for them.

There’s one often-misunderstood financial aspect of PPC we have to address here.

Namely, having a budget in place is no guarantee that your ads will appear on people’s screens. Ad placement hinges on an automated auction process. The winner pays the exact amount needed to outrank the next advertiser on the list.

Hence, like it or not, you cannot simply pay to ensure your ads come on top. Most networks want to award highest-quality ads not the highest bidder per se. This is why they have parameters like Quality Score.

Venturing Off the Beaten Path

Note that there are some caveats linked to specific types of ads.

For instance, Display Ads allow you to opt for the CPC model, but also cost-per-thousand-impression (CPM) and cost-per-acquisition (CPA).

A Boost Post feature on Facebook is an interesting example as well. It enables you to essentially turn a post into an ad for the audience you select.

Similarly, LinkedIn boasts Sponsored Content. It pops up in news feed, provided that you cover CPC or CPM costs and outpace the competition. One great advantage of this tactic is heightened audience engagement.

The takeaway is to be smart about choosing the platform for deploying ads. Seek to utilize their user-friendly features and pre-set options. At the same time, don’t forgo customization because you would do yourself a big disservice.

Google Adwords, for example, runs campaigns the full extent of the Google Network. The reach is undoubtedly a great selling point, but it comes at a price. Google Display Network, in particular, can deplete constrained budgets quickly.

Opting out of it could be a great decision, which lets you continue fueling campaigns. The lesson is to remain in full control of your campaigns.

Hitting the Bull’s Eye

Getting the ads in front of internet users is just the first step on a long journey.

The tricky part is getting people to click on them and harnessing the full potential of PPC campaigns. What you have to do in order to make it happen is to target with laser-like precision.

The first thing to do is to establish clear goals for your PPC campaigns. They usually involve a shorter time-frame and narrow intent. Some common objectives are obtaining a certain number of impressions, page visits, and ad clicks, as well as generating leads and conversions.

Upon getting your priorities straight, you must also decide which audience to target.

Advertisers tend to calibrate their campaigns according to multifarious criteria: geo-location, topics, interests, demographics, native language, etc. In the case of remarketing, they narrow the focus down to people who’ve expressed interest in their brand, products, or services.

As for B2B companies, they may want to keep an eye on job titles, skills, brands, etc. The list of possibilities goes on.

The Key to Success

Furthermore, it’s always a good idea to identify commonalities between audience members.

The same goes for assembling and assessing buyer personas— semi-fictional profiles of your ideal customers. The higher the relevance of ads is the better reception they’re going to find.

Moreover, you want to leverage the option to group ads together. This move can pay dividends provided you also segment the audience smartly.

Once that is sorted out, start writing killer ad copy that speaks the language that resonates with the audience.

Then, proceed to select the right keywords that will trigger ad deployment. In other words, stick to phrases your potential customers are likely to browse.

Keywords should be two things: high-volume and industry-specific. But, know things are ever set in stone. You’ll have to grow and revamp your list over time to stay abreast of shifting requirements.

Oh, and take advantage of amazing keyword research tools in the league of Keyword Planner. There are also premium packages for businesses willing to allocate some funds.

Ways of Capitalizing on PPC

While crafting ad campaigns, never lose sight of the user experience (UX).

Avoid putting people off by selling too aggressively or pitching the wrong products/services. Success hinges on your ability to solve problems and cater to real wants and needs.

Bear in mind it’s also necessary to think about what happens after the click. You can steer use behavior toward favorable outcomes with a direct call-to-action (CTA). If you want to drive traffic to your landing pages, make sure they are well-optimized for conversions and filled with compelling content.

Speaking of which, you should find a way to balance the conversion process with visibility. These two aspects shape the impact of your PPC activities and bring us back to complementary strategies in the league of SEO.

Tracking for Good Measure

In this day and age, “set and forget” mentality doesn’t take you very far.

You’re much better off engaging in ongoing optimization, measurement, and management. These processes are easier to see through when your campaigns are thoughtfully structured ahead of time. But, it goes without saying you must possess sufficient organizational bandwidth to keep up.

Most notably, you need to figure out how to track your activities based on key performance indicators (KPIs). They allow you to uncover both inefficiencies and efficiencies.

So, use them to closely monitor the activity and traffic stemming from your PPC ads. Discover top-performing ads, as well as those that are falling shy of set goals.  Put together a list of ads in need of rework and optimization.

You might have to pause or cancel some expensive ads in order to conserve resources.

As you can see, PPC is a demanding, time-consuming endeavor. There are so many moving parts that need to fall together in a seamless fashion.

On a brighter note, you can always go down the outsourcing path.

You basically let professionals do the heavy lifting and you focus on what you do the best. Done right, this approach maximizes the return on investment (ROI) and propels you toward your goals.

It’s a clear win-win!

PPC Your Way to Online Greatness

PPC is gaining traction left and right and spending is on the rise across industries.

But, you shouldn’t rush jumping on the bandwagon before testing the waters first. This tactic is fairly easy to implement, but difficult to master.

Deployment, in particular, is a complex process that calls for the good management and constant optimization. Simply casting the widest possible net doesn’t cut it, especially in terms of cost-effectiveness.

So, understand how does pay per click work and how it fits the big picture, your overall digital marketing strategy. Assess the level of competition and validate your own ideas.

Determine a budget, choose the advertising platform, and aim at a specific target audience. Cherry-pick your keywords and polish the copy. Measure the factors that play into your success and optimize accordingly.

Get in touch with us if you require help implementing SEO into your marketing stack. It’s time to kick your game into overdrive and reach customers it matters the most.

from Riserr Marketing https://riserr.com/ppc-101-how-does-pay-per-click-work-and-why-do-you-need-it/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ppc-101-how-does-pay-per-click-work-and-why-do-you-need-it from Riserr https://riserr1.tumblr.com/post/190165141616

[thelmasirby32]

PPC 101: How Does Pay-Per-Click Work and Why Do You Need It?

PPC (pay-per-click) is one of the busiest business highways of the internet.

It plays a vital role in any winsome digital marketing strategy, applicable across the entire buyer journey. And if you’re already wondering “wait, how does pay per click work at all”, fret not.

Simply put, you essentially buy visibility with almost immediate effect.

This visibility, albeit not organic, can be nothing short of a game-changer. According to Wordstream, 64% of people click on ads when looking for products and services online. This figure speaks volumes about the efficiency of PPC.

The only problem is there’s a lot of ground to cover, from defining a budget and timeline to finding the audience. The good news is others have been where you are now and left a trail of proven methods.

We’ve compiled a comprehensive guide on this prominent strategy and what it can do for you. So, let’s examine what’s happening under the hood.

How Does Pay Per Click Work?

In a nutshell, PPC is a form of online advertising, similar to pay-per-impression or pay-per-view.

Its defining trait is the intended interaction brands seek to initiate: a click (on an ad).  As such, PPC is just one facet of modern marketing. If nothing else, there are other noteworthy strategies with an amazing track record.

Achieving higher organic ranking is a prime illustration, an objective associated with a heap of benefits. Apart from advantages, however, one also has to mind the drawbacks. It takes a lot of hands-on experience and time to actually bring in traffic with SEO tactics.

And this is precisely where PPC comes into play.

It’s geared toward specialized and time-sensitive campaigns. You could, for instance, conquer a new geographic market and directly chip away at the competition. This is possible to accomplish in a fraction of the time it takes to execute alternative online strategies.

What is more, getting to the forefront of search or social media has profound implications. Believe it or not, whopping 98% of users choose a business featured on the first page of results. This is just one example of how PPC adds value to organizations.

Supporting Pillar of Online Presence

But, it’s important to underline PPC isn’t overly effective as a sole approach.

It best works in a well-established context of advanced analytics, business goals, and other online tactics, such as SEO.

This is to say it’s great for supplementing these activities and filling in the gaps.  In concrete terms, you could start building awareness of your new offerings with ads right away. Then, it makes sense to get into SEO in order to take your digital strategy to new heights.

This integrative approach levels the playing field somewhat. It empowers you to gain a foothold in the sector already occupied by other players.

Therefore, you should be careful not to go all-in just chasing short-term avail.

Effects of strategies like content marketing and SEO accumulate over time and make a huge difference in the long run.

Google’s Pay-to-Play Proposition

PPC encompasses various platforms and mediums.

The two main types of ads we can distinguish from are Google Ads and Social Media Ads.

In the case of former, you pay the search engine giant to list ads to your side or offerings. These ads have a prominent place in search engine result pages (SERP), appearing every time a related query occurs. When a user clicks on the ad, you need to pay the agreed-upon Cost per Click (CPC).

Notice there are several types of Google Ads:

Search Ads: displayed above or beside search results

Local Search Ads: a subset of Search Ads with a local focus

Display Ads: text messages and banners that exist across the digital ecosystem

Pre-Roll Ads: a form of video advertising on platforms like YouTube

Remarketing: targets people who have visited your site or another piece of digital real estate

In general, Google Ads are a major pathway to online prominence for one reason. They have an unparalleled reach, spanning around 98% of the web.

Social Advertising

When it comes to social ads, they have a more limited scope.

On the other hand, the main thing they have going for them is a superior level of audience refinement.  Also, we should emphasize social ads vary in format quite a bit.

Single images and videos are quite common across popular networks. It seems people are much more attracted to ads with visual flair than text-only counterparts.

A real behemoth in this advertising landscape is Facebook, which has the largest base of monthly active users. Facebook also owns Instagram, so there’s smooth integration between the two platforms. You can hardly go wrong firing on all cylinders there.

However, this isn’t to say Facebook is a one-size-fits-all solution. If you’re in a B2B sector, you’re better off investing in PPC on LinkedIn. There are some other less-obvious choices with niche appeal as well.

A Numbers Game

The key priority in the early, planning stage is to set up a sound budget.

Here, there are no hard rules except one: you only pay for the clicks you receive. When the budget runs dry, your ads can no longer be displayed. This is rather self-explanatory, but designing the budget is all but.

One useful tip is to always scope out budgets of your competitors. This puts things in perspective and helps you navigate the financial waters. Besides, keyword price in some cases (Google Ads) fluctuates based on demand for them.

There’s one often-misunderstood financial aspect of PPC we have to address here.

Namely, having a budget in place is no guarantee that your ads will appear on people’s screens. Ad placement hinges on an automated auction process. The winner pays the exact amount needed to outrank the next advertiser on the list.

Hence, like it or not, you cannot simply pay to ensure your ads come on top. Most networks want to award highest-quality ads not the highest bidder per se. This is why they have parameters like Quality Score.

Venturing Off the Beaten Path

Note that there are some caveats linked to specific types of ads.

For instance, Display Ads allow you to opt for the CPC model, but also cost-per-thousand-impression (CPM) and cost-per-acquisition (CPA).

A Boost Post feature on Facebook is an interesting example as well. It enables you to essentially turn a post into an ad for the audience you select.

Similarly, LinkedIn boasts Sponsored Content. It pops up in news feed, provided that you cover CPC or CPM costs and outpace the competition. One great advantage of this tactic is heightened audience engagement.

The takeaway is to be smart about choosing the platform for deploying ads. Seek to utilize their user-friendly features and pre-set options. At the same time, don’t forgo customization because you would do yourself a big disservice.

Google Adwords, for example, runs campaigns the full extent of the Google Network. The reach is undoubtedly a great selling point, but it comes at a price. Google Display Network, in particular, can deplete constrained budgets quickly.

Opting out of it could be a great decision, which lets you continue fueling campaigns. The lesson is to remain in full control of your campaigns.

Hitting the Bull’s Eye

Getting the ads in front of internet users is just the first step on a long journey.

The tricky part is getting people to click on them and harnessing the full potential of PPC campaigns. What you have to do in order to make it happen is to target with laser-like precision.

The first thing to do is to establish clear goals for your PPC campaigns. They usually involve a shorter time-frame and narrow intent. Some common objectives are obtaining a certain number of impressions, page visits, and ad clicks, as well as generating leads and conversions.

Upon getting your priorities straight, you must also decide which audience to target.

Advertisers tend to calibrate their campaigns according to multifarious criteria: geo-location, topics, interests, demographics, native language, etc. In the case of remarketing, they narrow the focus down to people who’ve expressed interest in their brand, products, or services.

As for B2B companies, they may want to keep an eye on job titles, skills, brands, etc. The list of possibilities goes on.

The Key to Success

Furthermore, it’s always a good idea to identify commonalities between audience members.

The same goes for assembling and assessing buyer personas— semi-fictional profiles of your ideal customers. The higher the relevance of ads is the better reception they’re going to find.

Moreover, you want to leverage the option to group ads together. This move can pay dividends provided you also segment the audience smartly.

Once that is sorted out, start writing killer ad copy that speaks the language that resonates with the audience.

Then, proceed to select the right keywords that will trigger ad deployment. In other words, stick to phrases your potential customers are likely to browse.

Keywords should be two things: high-volume and industry-specific. But, know things are ever set in stone. You’ll have to grow and revamp your list over time to stay abreast of shifting requirements.

Oh, and take advantage of amazing keyword research tools in the league of Keyword Planner. There are also premium packages for businesses willing to allocate some funds.

Ways of Capitalizing on PPC

While crafting ad campaigns, never lose sight of the user experience (UX).

Avoid putting people off by selling too aggressively or pitching the wrong products/services. Success hinges on your ability to solve problems and cater to real wants and needs.

Bear in mind it’s also necessary to think about what happens after the click. You can steer use behavior toward favorable outcomes with a direct call-to-action (CTA). If you want to drive traffic to your landing pages, make sure they are well-optimized for conversions and filled with compelling content.

Speaking of which, you should find a way to balance the conversion process with visibility. These two aspects shape the impact of your PPC activities and bring us back to complementary strategies in the league of SEO.

Tracking for Good Measure

In this day and age, “set and forget” mentality doesn’t take you very far.

You’re much better off engaging in ongoing optimization, measurement, and management. These processes are easier to see through when your campaigns are thoughtfully structured ahead of time. But, it goes without saying you must possess sufficient organizational bandwidth to keep up.

Most notably, you need to figure out how to track your activities based on key performance indicators (KPIs). They allow you to uncover both inefficiencies and efficiencies.

So, use them to closely monitor the activity and traffic stemming from your PPC ads. Discover top-performing ads, as well as those that are falling shy of set goals.  Put together a list of ads in need of rework and optimization.

You might have to pause or cancel some expensive ads in order to conserve resources.

As you can see, PPC is a demanding, time-consuming endeavor. There are so many moving parts that need to fall together in a seamless fashion.

On a brighter note, you can always go down the outsourcing path.

You basically let professionals do the heavy lifting and you focus on what you do the best. Done right, this approach maximizes the return on investment (ROI) and propels you toward your goals.

It’s a clear win-win!

PPC Your Way to Online Greatness

PPC is gaining traction left and right and spending is on the rise across industries.

But, you shouldn’t rush jumping on the bandwagon before testing the waters first. This tactic is fairly easy to implement, but difficult to master.

Deployment, in particular, is a complex process that calls for the good management and constant optimization. Simply casting the widest possible net doesn’t cut it, especially in terms of cost-effectiveness.

So, understand how does pay per click work and how it fits the big picture, your overall digital marketing strategy. Assess the level of competition and validate your own ideas.

Determine a budget, choose the advertising platform, and aim at a specific target audience. Cherry-pick your keywords and polish the copy. Measure the factors that play into your success and optimize accordingly.

Get in touch with us if you require help implementing SEO into your marketing stack. It’s time to kick your game into overdrive and reach customers it matters the most.

Source: https://riserr.com/ppc-101-how-does-pay-per-click-work-and-why-do-you-need-it/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ppc-101-how-does-pay-per-click-work-and-why-do-you-need-it

from Riserr https://riserr.wordpress.com/2020/01/09/ppc-101-how-does-pay-per-click-work-and-why-do-you-need-it/

[riserr1]

PPC 101: How Does Pay-Per-Click Work and Why Do You Need It?

PPC (pay-per-click) is one of the busiest business highways of the internet.

It plays a vital role in any winsome digital marketing strategy, applicable across the entire buyer journey. And if you’re already wondering “wait, how does pay per click work at all”, fret not.

Simply put, you essentially buy visibility with almost immediate effect.

This visibility, albeit not organic, can be nothing short of a game-changer. According to Wordstream, 64% of people click on ads when looking for products and services online. This figure speaks volumes about the efficiency of PPC.

The only problem is there’s a lot of ground to cover, from defining a budget and timeline to finding the audience. The good news is others have been where you are now and left a trail of proven methods.

We’ve compiled a comprehensive guide on this prominent strategy and what it can do for you. So, let’s examine what’s happening under the hood.

How Does Pay Per Click Work?

In a nutshell, PPC is a form of online advertising, similar to pay-per-impression or pay-per-view.

Its defining trait is the intended interaction brands seek to initiate: a click (on an ad).  As such, PPC is just one facet of modern marketing. If nothing else, there are other noteworthy strategies with an amazing track record.

Achieving higher organic ranking is a prime illustration, an objective associated with a heap of benefits. Apart from advantages, however, one also has to mind the drawbacks. It takes a lot of hands-on experience and time to actually bring in traffic with SEO tactics.

And this is precisely where PPC comes into play.

It’s geared toward specialized and time-sensitive campaigns. You could, for instance, conquer a new geographic market and directly chip away at the competition. This is possible to accomplish in a fraction of the time it takes to execute alternative online strategies.

What is more, getting to the forefront of search or social media has profound implications. Believe it or not, whopping 98% of users choose a business featured on the first page of results. This is just one example of how PPC adds value to organizations.

Supporting Pillar of Online Presence

But, it’s important to underline PPC isn’t overly effective as a sole approach.

It best works in a well-established context of advanced analytics, business goals, and other online tactics, such as SEO.

This is to say it’s great for supplementing these activities and filling in the gaps.  In concrete terms, you could start building awareness of your new offerings with ads right away. Then, it makes sense to get into SEO in order to take your digital strategy to new heights.

This integrative approach levels the playing field somewhat. It empowers you to gain a foothold in the sector already occupied by other players.

Therefore, you should be careful not to go all-in just chasing short-term avail.

Effects of strategies like content marketing and SEO accumulate over time and make a huge difference in the long run.

Google’s Pay-to-Play Proposition

PPC encompasses various platforms and mediums.

The two main types of ads we can distinguish from are Google Ads and Social Media Ads.

In the case of former, you pay the search engine giant to list ads to your side or offerings. These ads have a prominent place in search engine result pages (SERP), appearing every time a related query occurs. When a user clicks on the ad, you need to pay the agreed-upon Cost per Click (CPC).

Notice there are several types of Google Ads:

Search Ads: displayed above or beside search results

Local Search Ads: a subset of Search Ads with a local focus

Display Ads: text messages and banners that exist across the digital ecosystem

Pre-Roll Ads: a form of video advertising on platforms like YouTube

Remarketing: targets people who have visited your site or another piece of digital real estate

In general, Google Ads are a major pathway to online prominence for one reason. They have an unparalleled reach, spanning around 98% of the web.

Social Advertising

When it comes to social ads, they have a more limited scope.

On the other hand, the main thing they have going for them is a superior level of audience refinement.  Also, we should emphasize social ads vary in format quite a bit.

Single images and videos are quite common across popular networks. It seems people are much more attracted to ads with visual flair than text-only counterparts.

A real behemoth in this advertising landscape is Facebook, which has the largest base of monthly active users. Facebook also owns Instagram, so there’s smooth integration between the two platforms. You can hardly go wrong firing on all cylinders there.

However, this isn’t to say Facebook is a one-size-fits-all solution. If you’re in a B2B sector, you’re better off investing in PPC on LinkedIn. There are some other less-obvious choices with niche appeal as well.

A Numbers Game

The key priority in the early, planning stage is to set up a sound budget.

Here, there are no hard rules except one: you only pay for the clicks you receive. When the budget runs dry, your ads can no longer be displayed. This is rather self-explanatory, but designing the budget is all but.

One useful tip is to always scope out budgets of your competitors. This puts things in perspective and helps you navigate the financial waters. Besides, keyword price in some cases (Google Ads) fluctuates based on demand for them.

There’s one often-misunderstood financial aspect of PPC we have to address here.

Namely, having a budget in place is no guarantee that your ads will appear on people’s screens. Ad placement hinges on an automated auction process. The winner pays the exact amount needed to outrank the next advertiser on the list.

Hence, like it or not, you cannot simply pay to ensure your ads come on top. Most networks want to award highest-quality ads not the highest bidder per se. This is why they have parameters like Quality Score.

Venturing Off the Beaten Path

Note that there are some caveats linked to specific types of ads.

For instance, Display Ads allow you to opt for the CPC model, but also cost-per-thousand-impression (CPM) and cost-per-acquisition (CPA).

A Boost Post feature on Facebook is an interesting example as well. It enables you to essentially turn a post into an ad for the audience you select.

Similarly, LinkedIn boasts Sponsored Content. It pops up in news feed, provided that you cover CPC or CPM costs and outpace the competition. One great advantage of this tactic is heightened audience engagement.

The takeaway is to be smart about choosing the platform for deploying ads. Seek to utilize their user-friendly features and pre-set options. At the same time, don’t forgo customization because you would do yourself a big disservice.

Google Adwords, for example, runs campaigns the full extent of the Google Network. The reach is undoubtedly a great selling point, but it comes at a price. Google Display Network, in particular, can deplete constrained budgets quickly.

Opting out of it could be a great decision, which lets you continue fueling campaigns. The lesson is to remain in full control of your campaigns.

Hitting the Bull’s Eye

Getting the ads in front of internet users is just the first step on a long journey.

The tricky part is getting people to click on them and harnessing the full potential of PPC campaigns. What you have to do in order to make it happen is to target with laser-like precision.

The first thing to do is to establish clear goals for your PPC campaigns. They usually involve a shorter time-frame and narrow intent. Some common objectives are obtaining a certain number of impressions, page visits, and ad clicks, as well as generating leads and conversions.

Upon getting your priorities straight, you must also decide which audience to target.

Advertisers tend to calibrate their campaigns according to multifarious criteria: geo-location, topics, interests, demographics, native language, etc. In the case of remarketing, they narrow the focus down to people who’ve expressed interest in their brand, products, or services.

As for B2B companies, they may want to keep an eye on job titles, skills, brands, etc. The list of possibilities goes on.

The Key to Success

Furthermore, it’s always a good idea to identify commonalities between audience members.

The same goes for assembling and assessing buyer personas— semi-fictional profiles of your ideal customers. The higher the relevance of ads is the better reception they’re going to find.

Moreover, you want to leverage the option to group ads together. This move can pay dividends provided you also segment the audience smartly.

Once that is sorted out, start writing killer ad copy that speaks the language that resonates with the audience.

Then, proceed to select the right keywords that will trigger ad deployment. In other words, stick to phrases your potential customers are likely to browse.

Keywords should be two things: high-volume and industry-specific. But, know things are ever set in stone. You’ll have to grow and revamp your list over time to stay abreast of shifting requirements.

Oh, and take advantage of amazing keyword research tools in the league of Keyword Planner. There are also premium packages for businesses willing to allocate some funds.

Ways of Capitalizing on PPC

While crafting ad campaigns, never lose sight of the user experience (UX).

Avoid putting people off by selling too aggressively or pitching the wrong products/services. Success hinges on your ability to solve problems and cater to real wants and needs.

Bear in mind it’s also necessary to think about what happens after the click. You can steer use behavior toward favorable outcomes with a direct call-to-action (CTA). If you want to drive traffic to your landing pages, make sure they are well-optimized for conversions and filled with compelling content.

Speaking of which, you should find a way to balance the conversion process with visibility. These two aspects shape the impact of your PPC activities and bring us back to complementary strategies in the league of SEO.

Tracking for Good Measure

In this day and age, “set and forget” mentality doesn’t take you very far.

You’re much better off engaging in ongoing optimization, measurement, and management. These processes are easier to see through when your campaigns are thoughtfully structured ahead of time. But, it goes without saying you must possess sufficient organizational bandwidth to keep up.

Most notably, you need to figure out how to track your activities based on key performance indicators (KPIs). They allow you to uncover both inefficiencies and efficiencies.

So, use them to closely monitor the activity and traffic stemming from your PPC ads. Discover top-performing ads, as well as those that are falling shy of set goals.  Put together a list of ads in need of rework and optimization.

You might have to pause or cancel some expensive ads in order to conserve resources.

As you can see, PPC is a demanding, time-consuming endeavor. There are so many moving parts that need to fall together in a seamless fashion.

On a brighter note, you can always go down the outsourcing path.

You basically let professionals do the heavy lifting and you focus on what you do the best. Done right, this approach maximizes the return on investment (ROI) and propels you toward your goals.

It’s a clear win-win!

PPC Your Way to Online Greatness

PPC is gaining traction left and right and spending is on the rise across industries.

But, you shouldn’t rush jumping on the bandwagon before testing the waters first. This tactic is fairly easy to implement, but difficult to master.

Deployment, in particular, is a complex process that calls for the good management and constant optimization. Simply casting the widest possible net doesn’t cut it, especially in terms of cost-effectiveness.

So, understand how does pay per click work and how it fits the big picture, your overall digital marketing strategy. Assess the level of competition and validate your own ideas.

Determine a budget, choose the advertising platform, and aim at a specific target audience. Cherry-pick your keywords and polish the copy. Measure the factors that play into your success and optimize accordingly.

Get in touch with us if you require help implementing SEO into your marketing stack. It’s time to kick your game into overdrive and reach customers it matters the most.

from Riserr Marketing https://riserr.com/ppc-101-how-does-pay-per-click-work-and-why-do-you-need-it/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ppc-101-how-does-pay-per-click-work-and-why-do-you-need-it

[williamlwolf89]

PPC 101: How Does Pay-Per-Click Work and Why Do You Need It?

PPC (pay-per-click) is one of the busiest business highways of the internet.

It plays a vital role in any winsome digital marketing strategy, applicable across the entire buyer journey. And if you’re already wondering “wait, how does pay per click work at all”, fret not.

Simply put, you essentially buy visibility with almost immediate effect.

This visibility, albeit not organic, can be nothing short of a game-changer. According to Wordstream, 64% of people click on ads when looking for products and services online. This figure speaks volumes about the efficiency of PPC.

The only problem is there’s a lot of ground to cover, from defining a budget and timeline to finding the audience. The good news is others have been where you are now and left a trail of proven methods.

We’ve compiled a comprehensive guide on this prominent strategy and what it can do for you. So, let’s examine what’s happening under the hood.

How Does Pay Per Click Work?

In a nutshell, PPC is a form of online advertising, similar to pay-per-impression or pay-per-view.

Its defining trait is the intended interaction brands seek to initiate: a click (on an ad).  As such, PPC is just one facet of modern marketing. If nothing else, there are other noteworthy strategies with an amazing track record.

Achieving higher organic ranking is a prime illustration, an objective associated with a heap of benefits. Apart from advantages, however, one also has to mind the drawbacks. It takes a lot of hands-on experience and time to actually bring in traffic with SEO tactics.

And this is precisely where PPC comes into play.

It’s geared toward specialized and time-sensitive campaigns. You could, for instance, conquer a new geographic market and directly chip away at the competition. This is possible to accomplish in a fraction of the time it takes to execute alternative online strategies.

What is more, getting to the forefront of search or social media has profound implications. Believe it or not, whopping 98% of users choose a business featured on the first page of results. This is just one example of how PPC adds value to organizations.

Supporting Pillar of Online Presence

But, it’s important to underline PPC isn’t overly effective as a sole approach.

It best works in a well-established context of advanced analytics, business goals, and other online tactics, such as SEO.

This is to say it’s great for supplementing these activities and filling in the gaps.  In concrete terms, you could start building awareness of your new offerings with ads right away. Then, it makes sense to get into SEO in order to take your digital strategy to new heights.

This integrative approach levels the playing field somewhat. It empowers you to gain a foothold in the sector already occupied by other players.

Therefore, you should be careful not to go all-in just chasing short-term avail.

Effects of strategies like content marketing and SEO accumulate over time and make a huge difference in the long run.

Google’s Pay-to-Play Proposition

PPC encompasses various platforms and mediums.

The two main types of ads we can distinguish from are Google Ads and Social Media Ads.

In the case of former, you pay the search engine giant to list ads to your side or offerings. These ads have a prominent place in search engine result pages (SERP), appearing every time a related query occurs. When a user clicks on the ad, you need to pay the agreed-upon Cost per Click (CPC).

Notice there are several types of Google Ads:

Search Ads: displayed above or beside search results

Local Search Ads: a subset of Search Ads with a local focus

Display Ads: text messages and banners that exist across the digital ecosystem

Pre-Roll Ads: a form of video advertising on platforms like YouTube

Remarketing: targets people who have visited your site or another piece of digital real estate

In general, Google Ads are a major pathway to online prominence for one reason. They have an unparalleled reach, spanning around 98% of the web.

Social Advertising

When it comes to social ads, they have a more limited scope.

On the other hand, the main thing they have going for them is a superior level of audience refinement.  Also, we should emphasize social ads vary in format quite a bit.

Single images and videos are quite common across popular networks. It seems people are much more attracted to ads with visual flair than text-only counterparts.

A real behemoth in this advertising landscape is Facebook, which has the largest base of monthly active users. Facebook also owns Instagram, so there’s smooth integration between the two platforms. You can hardly go wrong firing on all cylinders there.

However, this isn’t to say Facebook is a one-size-fits-all solution. If you’re in a B2B sector, you’re better off investing in PPC on LinkedIn. There are some other less-obvious choices with niche appeal as well.

A Numbers Game

The key priority in the early, planning stage is to set up a sound budget.

Here, there are no hard rules except one: you only pay for the clicks you receive. When the budget runs dry, your ads can no longer be displayed. This is rather self-explanatory, but designing the budget is all but.

One useful tip is to always scope out budgets of your competitors. This puts things in perspective and helps you navigate the financial waters. Besides, keyword price in some cases (Google Ads) fluctuates based on demand for them.

There’s one often-misunderstood financial aspect of PPC we have to address here.

Namely, having a budget in place is no guarantee that your ads will appear on people’s screens. Ad placement hinges on an automated auction process. The winner pays the exact amount needed to outrank the next advertiser on the list.

Hence, like it or not, you cannot simply pay to ensure your ads come on top. Most networks want to award highest-quality ads not the highest bidder per se. This is why they have parameters like Quality Score.

Venturing Off the Beaten Path

Note that there are some caveats linked to specific types of ads.

For instance, Display Ads allow you to opt for the CPC model, but also cost-per-thousand-impression (CPM) and cost-per-acquisition (CPA).

A Boost Post feature on Facebook is an interesting example as well. It enables you to essentially turn a post into an ad for the audience you select.

Similarly, LinkedIn boasts Sponsored Content. It pops up in news feed, provided that you cover CPC or CPM costs and outpace the competition. One great advantage of this tactic is heightened audience engagement.

The takeaway is to be smart about choosing the platform for deploying ads. Seek to utilize their user-friendly features and pre-set options. At the same time, don’t forgo customization because you would do yourself a big disservice.

Google Adwords, for example, runs campaigns the full extent of the Google Network. The reach is undoubtedly a great selling point, but it comes at a price. Google Display Network, in particular, can deplete constrained budgets quickly.

Opting out of it could be a great decision, which lets you continue fueling campaigns. The lesson is to remain in full control of your campaigns.

Hitting the Bull’s Eye

Getting the ads in front of internet users is just the first step on a long journey.

The tricky part is getting people to click on them and harnessing the full potential of PPC campaigns. What you have to do in order to make it happen is to target with laser-like precision.

The first thing to do is to establish clear goals for your PPC campaigns. They usually involve a shorter time-frame and narrow intent. Some common objectives are obtaining a certain number of impressions, page visits, and ad clicks, as well as generating leads and conversions.

Upon getting your priorities straight, you must also decide which audience to target.

Advertisers tend to calibrate their campaigns according to multifarious criteria: geo-location, topics, interests, demographics, native language, etc. In the case of remarketing, they narrow the focus down to people who’ve expressed interest in their brand, products, or services.

As for B2B companies, they may want to keep an eye on job titles, skills, brands, etc. The list of possibilities goes on.

The Key to Success

Furthermore, it’s always a good idea to identify commonalities between audience members.

The same goes for assembling and assessing buyer personas— semi-fictional profiles of your ideal customers. The higher the relevance of ads is the better reception they’re going to find.

Moreover, you want to leverage the option to group ads together. This move can pay dividends provided you also segment the audience smartly.

Once that is sorted out, start writing killer ad copy that speaks the language that resonates with the audience.

Then, proceed to select the right keywords that will trigger ad deployment. In other words, stick to phrases your potential customers are likely to browse.

Keywords should be two things: high-volume and industry-specific. But, know things are ever set in stone. You’ll have to grow and revamp your list over time to stay abreast of shifting requirements.

Oh, and take advantage of amazing keyword research tools in the league of Keyword Planner. There are also premium packages for businesses willing to allocate some funds.

Ways of Capitalizing on PPC

While crafting ad campaigns, never lose sight of the user experience (UX).

Avoid putting people off by selling too aggressively or pitching the wrong products/services. Success hinges on your ability to solve problems and cater to real wants and needs.

Bear in mind it’s also necessary to think about what happens after the click. You can steer use behavior toward favorable outcomes with a direct call-to-action (CTA). If you want to drive traffic to your landing pages, make sure they are well-optimized for conversions and filled with compelling content.

Speaking of which, you should find a way to balance the conversion process with visibility. These two aspects shape the impact of your PPC activities and bring us back to complementary strategies in the league of SEO.

Tracking for Good Measure

In this day and age, “set and forget” mentality doesn’t take you very far.

You’re much better off engaging in ongoing optimization, measurement, and management. These processes are easier to see through when your campaigns are thoughtfully structured ahead of time. But, it goes without saying you must possess sufficient organizational bandwidth to keep up.

Most notably, you need to figure out how to track your activities based on key performance indicators (KPIs). They allow you to uncover both inefficiencies and efficiencies.

So, use them to closely monitor the activity and traffic stemming from your PPC ads. Discover top-performing ads, as well as those that are falling shy of set goals.  Put together a list of ads in need of rework and optimization.

You might have to pause or cancel some expensive ads in order to conserve resources.

As you can see, PPC is a demanding, time-consuming endeavor. There are so many moving parts that need to fall together in a seamless fashion.

On a brighter note, you can always go down the outsourcing path.

You basically let professionals do the heavy lifting and you focus on what you do the best. Done right, this approach maximizes the return on investment (ROI) and propels you toward your goals.

It’s a clear win-win!

PPC Your Way to Online Greatness

PPC is gaining traction left and right and spending is on the rise across industries.

But, you shouldn’t rush jumping on the bandwagon before testing the waters first. This tactic is fairly easy to implement, but difficult to master.

Deployment, in particular, is a complex process that calls for the good management and constant optimization. Simply casting the widest possible net doesn’t cut it, especially in terms of cost-effectiveness.

So, understand how does pay per click work and how it fits the big picture, your overall digital marketing strategy. Assess the level of competition and validate your own ideas.

Determine a budget, choose the advertising platform, and aim at a specific target audience. Cherry-pick your keywords and polish the copy. Measure the factors that play into your success and optimize accordingly.

Get in touch with us if you require help implementing SEO into your marketing stack. It’s time to kick your game into overdrive and reach customers it matters the most.

from https://riserr.com/ppc-101-how-does-pay-per-click-work-and-why-do-you-need-it/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ppc-101-how-does-pay-per-click-work-and-why-do-you-need-it

from Riserr - Blog https://riserr.weebly.com/blog/ppc-101-how-does-pay-per-click-work-and-why-do-you-need-it