What are the best platforms for pay per click ads in South Africa?

The best pay per click platform for your business (or the one you select and test) should be based on audience research. You should choose a PPC platform based on your ideal customers, where they spend their time online and what they are looking for.

It's good that you're thinking of PPC advertising platforms to advertise you're business - they have by far the biggest reach of any platform, channel or advertising network in South Africa.

The top PPC platforms in South Africa (in no particular order)

1. Google Ads

Google is the most popular search engine and has a market share of 93% in South Africa. With 51 million total internet users in South Africa, 93% of that would equal 47 million - you'll be able to reach almost anyone in SA through Google Ads.

Since Google's platform is an ecosystem - you'll be able to reach customers across Search, YouTube, Gmail, Discovery & Display. Their ad platform is suitable for almost any type of business whether you're in ecommerce, sell to other businesses (B2B) or sell directly to consumers (B2C).

There's no other marketing platform in South Africa (not even TV or Radio) that can bring the same amount of reach as the Google Ads platform and it's not even close.

With Google Ads you can have measurable advertising against your most important business goals: leads, sales, return on ad-spend & many more.

2. Meta Ads (Facebook, Instagram & Whatsapp)

Facebook has enjoyed phenomenal growth in SA and has 35 million users.

While advertising on Facebook is mostly associated with reaching consumers - B2B advertisers can also test this channel just out of the sheer reach and amount of users available on Meta.

3. Reddit Ads

You didn't think this would make the list did you? On a serious note, Reddit can be a hidden gem due to its deep community discussions and rise to the top comment system where substance beats gamified attention algorithms.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/reddit-users-by-country

If your industry has deep discussions, specific hobby interests or high engagement - Reddit Ads might be a great candidate.

4. LinkedIn Ads

Most known for it's B2B targeting capabilities, LinkedIn can reach a vast amount of users. While not quite as a high as Meta, 17,000,000 users is still a very respectable amount of people that are on the LinkedIn platform in South Africa.

5. X Ads (formerly Twitter)

South Africans do like to tweet.

I was surprised in pulling the numbers for X and it shows there's about 3 million users on the platform. This platform would make a great choice for any brand that wants to stand out during an in depth discussion.

6. TikTok Ads

TikTok is the fastest growing marketing channel in the country with a reach of 23 million users according to DataReportal. That's a big increase from last year (grew between 5 - 6 million additional users).

My advice here is to consider TikTok ads if you have a product or service that can be demonstrated in short form video format.

PPC Platform Options Summary

That's our roundup of the best PPC platforms in SA - Google, Meta, LinkedIn, Reddit, X & TikTok.

If you need any assistance with your digital marketing or PPC, feel free to schedule a session with us.