Pay Per Click: Whats It All About?

No doubt you've heard the phrase "pay per click" before. This refers to any type of advertising where you only pay per click-through.

Traditional Web advertising, such as banner ads, charged advertisers based how many people SAW your ad. But with pay-per-click deals, you only pay for how many people actually CLICK on your ad (to get to your offer page or Web site).

This is great because essentially you only pay for RESULTS.

THE PAY-PER-CLICK SEARCH PHENOMENON

One of the most popular places pay-per-click has become a phenomenon is within search engines and Web directories. For example, let's use one of my own listings.

Go to http://www.yahoo.com/ right now and search for "ezine publishing." On the search results page, you'll see at the VERY top a section called "Sponsor Listings."

Guess who is listed up here? Yours truly! In fact, at the time I wrote this article, my book site - http://www.ezinequeen.com/tutorial/index.htm - is listed at number one.

Underneath the sponsor listings is the section called "Web Matches," which shows the regular search engine listings that are submitted and indexed the traditional way.

If you do searches for "ezine publishing" on Lycos, AltaVista, and CNET, you'll also see me in the top "Sponsor Listings."

How did I achieve this? Did I pay some search-engine-optimization guru thousands of dollars to tweak my Web site in the favor of all these search engines' algorithms?

No way! I'm on a small business budget, just like you. I achieved these listings myself, and you can too. In fact, it's ridiculously easy.

I simply opened an account with Overture and bid on the phrase "ezine publishing." Overture (http://www.overture.com) provides the "sponsor" listings at all of these sites.

Now, don't let the word "bid" scare you - it's actually a simple process. Once you have an Overture account, you can go in and see exactly who is bidding on the keywords you want, how much they are bidding, and how many clicks these keywords get each week. Then you can choose an appropriate amount to bid and estimate your budget. Some popular keywords go for several dollars, while others go for as little as 5 cents.

AIM TO LAND ONE OF THE TOP THREE SPOTS

Your goal should be to land one of the *top three* spots for your keywords at Overture, because most of the affiliate sites (such as Yahoo) ONLY show Overture's top three listings at the top of the page in that "sponsor" section, which people see FIRST. If you're number four or five in Overture, you may show up at the bottom of the search page, if at all.

Right now Overture has contracts with Yahoo, MSN, Netscape, Lycos, AltaVista, CNET, and more search sites, and they claim their listings reach more than *80 percent* of all U.S. Internet users!

EASY TO SET UP, QUICK RESULTS

I'm the first to admit that while I'm "The E-zine Queen," I'm NOT a technical person. I do none of my own Web design, programming, or computer maintenance, and I'm apt to throw money at anyone who can help me avoid technical tasks! But I found Overture easy to figure out.

It only takes them a few days to approve and post your listings. This means if you sign up today, your site can be listed for the keywords you choose by next week. And that means more TARGETED TRAFFIC to your site by next week!

THERE ARE OTHERS TOO

There are a few other popular pay-per-click services out there. Google AdWords Select (https://adwords.google.com/select) is one of them. Their service works very similarly to Overture, although your listings appear a bit differently - in little boxes alongside of the regular search listings. And your position is determined not only by your bid, but by your ad's popularity (number of clicks).

The only drawback I found with Google's service is that they absolutely will not accept any listing for a site that features a pop-up window. Even if the pop-up features content that is completely related to the site, such as for a newsletter. I hemmed and hawed to their editorial staff ... and got nowhere.

GIVE THEM A TRY!

So be sure to give pay-per-clicks a try. You only pay when someone clicks on your ad, so why not see what type of results you get?

It's important to remember that pay-per-clicks are just one tactic in your bag of online marketing tricks. Don't rely on them for all of your Web site traffic. You should still put effort into achieving regular search engine listings and gaining online exposure in other ways.

As your mother likely told you, don't put all your eggs in one basket! ; )

(c) 2000-2003 Alexandria K. Brown.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen," is author of the award-winning manual, "Boost Business With Your Own E-zine." To learn more about her book and sign up for more FREE tips like these, visit her site at http://EzineQueenTutorial.com/

---

Replacing AdSense Defaults with Paying Ads

Many online ad programs, including AdSense, will sometimes show default... Read More

How to Waste Money and Annoy Potential Customers

Why do some companies bid on keywords for products they... Read More

What is Google AdSense?

AdSense may be one of the fastest and easiest ways... Read More

Google Adwords: Here is Why It Can Explode Your Business!

The beauty of Google Adwords set up is its simplicity.... Read More

ClickBank Affiliate Woes: When Tracking Breaks Down

Hardly a day goes by without a forum posting in... Read More

How to Use Pay Per Click Marketing, the Emoneyreport Way!

The cycle of affiliate programs and money making ventures goes... Read More

It Makes Sense to Add AdSense to Your Blog

Google AdSense is easy to install on a web page... Read More

Profiting From Second Tier Pay Per Click Search Engines

Once you venture into the world of Pay Per Click... Read More

Click Fraud ? Threatening the Internet Economy

One of the most popular forms of Internet advertising is... Read More

Google Adsense: What You Need to Know!

We read about how to develop a Google AdWord campaign,... Read More

Determining Keywords

Determining keywords is a critical step in web design. If... Read More

How to Use Pay Per Click Advertising to Increase Web Site Traffic

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to... Read More

The Effect Of Smart Pricing In Adsense

We constantly receive phone calls from clients, prospective clients and... Read More

Successful Pay Per Click Ad Copy

Writing outstanding ad copy for pay-per-click advertising campaigns is critical... Read More

Adsense Marketing: Brand Performance

Google developed a prime product, Adsense. Marketing your website through... Read More

Google Sued Over Click Fraud in Adwords

On June 24, 2005, a lawsuit was filed against Google... Read More

What is PTRE and Is It Worth Your Time?

PTRE stands for Paid To Read Email programs. Online companies... Read More

How To Find Your Own Valuable Adsense Keywords For Free

There's tons of money to be made from the Google... Read More

Adsense ? The Powerful Passive Income Generator

Webmasters have a revolutionary new method of collecting income from... Read More

Contextual Ads

These are simply advertisements related, in theory and often practice,... Read More

Pay-Per-Click Fraud Exposed--Part II

According to Andy Jones, a member of the Best Practices... Read More

AdWords Campaign Set Up Tips - Part Two

Ready for more tips on how to make your AdWords... Read More

Adlink Success - A New Advertising Style From Google Adsense

There is a new advertising style from Google Adsense that... Read More

Can I Make Money Online with the Adsense Program?

Sure you can. If you will learn how many other... Read More

Managing PPC Campaigns Inhouse

Pay-per-click search engine advertising has generated ample interest in the... Read More

Increase SEO Sales by Teaching Clients about SEO Truths

In private consultations with some Search Engine Optimizers I am... Read More

What is Pay-Per-Click?

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is when an advertiser pays for each... Read More

$1 Million in Google AdSense Earnings

They are calling him the million dollar man. Jason Calacanis... Read More

Plan Your Way to Pay-Per-Click Campaign Success!

Have you heard the saying, "planning is everything?" Perhaps there... Read More

3 Strategies to Profit When Click Prices Increase (Part 2 of 3 Series)

What are Website Conversion Strategies?Website conversion strategies are marketing and... Read More

Choosing the Right Keywords for Your Pay Per Click Advertising Campaign

Introduction:Of all the important decisions that go into a successful... Read More

How to Make More Money from the Google Adsense Ads on Your Blog

Numerous bloggers these days are looking to earn extra cash... Read More

The Secret to Adwords Success

It seems at the moment that everybody is telling you... Read More