Pay-Per-Click – As a PPC advertiser, you will pay only when a user clicks on your advertisement, also known as a text ad. PPC listings are referred to as "Sponsored Links" on Google.com, "Sponsored Results" on Yahoo.com and "Sponsored Sites" on MSN.com.
These PPC listings are extremely desirable as they are usually the first links a user sees when searching online. PPC advertising can help you achieve your desired amount of website traffic by giving you the ability to choose the keywords for which your ads will appear and specify the highest amount you are willing to pay for each click.
Pay-Per-Click enables website owners to display (advertise) their website through text ads on the same pages that natural (organic) search results are shown – typically at the top and right of the search engine results pages.
Typically, users surf the web by searching for key terms or phrases, also known as keywords or keyword phrases, on the serach engines. For example, someone looking for an office supply vendor may go to Google.com and search for the keyword phrase "office supplies".
Using the example above, let’s say there are 10 vendors who sell office supplies and have online PPC campaigns. Ads from all 10 vendors will display on the search engine result page for the user to see. Better ad placement means that more users will see it and likely click on it to go to your site. The idea is to get the best ad placement resulting in more traffic for the lowest cost to the advertiser.
How much you spend on PPC listings is entirely up to you and based on your marketing goals. PPC campaigns are a great way to drive targeted traffic to your site because you pay only for the clicks (instead of how often your ad is shown). This provides exposure, while allowing you to control the amount you want to spend on your PPC advertising campaign.
Remember, to determine the success of any advertising initiative, you must look to see if it brings you profitable results. Are you getting profitable sales and/or does it meet your overall marketing goals? Tracking the performance of campaign(s) will help you ensure the best possible return on your advertising investment. Conversion tracking is offered through the account tools within each campaign. Reviewing this information helps you determine your budget and CPC (Cost Per Click) bids. In addition, conversion tracking will identify ads and keywords that are not receiving targeted traffic and are unprofitable. This will help you optimize your campaigns!
Click here to read our SEO tutorial for more information on using search engines to drive free traffic to your website.
Creating and maintaining a PPC account is not technically difficult. There are various search engines that offer this service. The three most popular ones are Google AdWords, Yahoo Search Marketing and MSN Ad Center, but there are numerous others. Each one has a unique set of terms and conditions which you should become familiar with before creating an account. Once you select the search engine(s) you want to work with and activate an account, you will be able to take full advantage of the tools they offer to create, track and manage your PPC campaigns.
• Google AdWords Account Setup Instructions
• Yahoo Search Marketing Account Setup Instruction
• MSN Ad Center Account Setup Instructions
After you familiarize yourself with the features of your new account administration interface, you will have to determine the best way to organize your account. Organization from the start is paramount to an effective campaign. It will take some time to do this effectively but the reward will be well worth it. Think about words a person would use when trying to find your type of product and/or service. Keyword research tools like the Google AdWords Keyword Tool will help you estimate costs and explore the volume of potential traffic your keywords will receive - allowing you to maximize your budget. You also want to make sure your text ads stand out so searchers click on your ads instead of any other text ads that appear. Ask yourself, "What will make my text ads stand out against my competitors' text ads?".
This will help you set the framework for your PPC campaign and the cost of your campaign when setting your budget and keyword bids. Remember, you will always have the ability to access your account at any time to adjust pay-per-click bids, keywords, ad text, and daily budgets to make sure you are most profitable!
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