In this age of speed dialing, T1 lines and other forms of high-tech instant gratification, many webmasters find themselves tempted to engage in pay-per-click advertising. After all, if you've just designed a state-of-the-art website, there's nothing quite as gratifying as a steady stream of traffic right from the start. Webmasters with open wallets have found that pay-per-click can provide traffic within hours or even minutes of a website's launch.
Pay-per-click Pros
Before considering the perils and pitfalls of pay-per-click, it's worthwhile to remember that in some instances, pay-per-click is a good market strategy. A number of reputable SEO firms combine pay-per-click management with search engine optimization as a method of getting their clients the clicks they need. Pay-per-click can be an especially effective strategy for:
? companies trying to beat a competitor to market with a new product who want to garner substantial traffic while waiting for their SEO efforts to kick in
? webmasters with deep pockets who are more concerned about establishing a quick presence than long-term return on investment
? webmasters who are reaping a return on investment high enough to justify expenditures on pay-per-click
Significant Drawbacks
Although there are valid reasons to engage in pay-per-click advertising campaigns, there are also enough drawbacks to give any webmaster pause.
Companies considering pay-per-click need to determine the primary purpose of their marketing campaign-whether it be immediate sales, building website value, or a combination of the two. If immediate sales is the goal and a worthwhile return on investment is being achieved, pay-per-click may be the strategy of choice-at least until good search engine positioning can be obtained.
Webmasters seeking to build a valuable web-based business should remember that whenever the money "spigot" for pay-per-click stops, so do the clicks. In contrast, clicks resulting from an investment in search engine optimization will continue for months and possibly years to come.
Monitoring ROI
Return on investment (ROI) is another key factor to monitor during the implementation of any pay-per-click marketing strategy. ROI can drop dramatically as market forces change. An increase in competition, when combined with rising costs-per-click and plummeting product prices, can quickly spell doom for a previously profitable ad campaign.
Computing ROI for pay-per-click can be a bit tricky. Since most sites receive "free" traffic resulting from SEO efforts, it's important to try and ferret out what percentage of sales are resulting from pay-per-click and what percentage are resulting from your other SEO efforts.
Choosing which sites and search terms to allocate advertising dollars to can also be somewhat daunting. Rapid changes in per-click charges can also be challenging to manage well. If your bid is #1 and our competitors lower their bids, you may be left paying a higher price than necessary to maintain top positioning. This is the webmaster's equivalent of throwing money down the drain. Unless you plan to sit by your computer watching per-click charges on an hourly basis, some type of pay-per-click management is, in my opinion, an absolute necessity.
In running a successful pay-per-click campaign, there are also questions to be answered about whether to try for top positioning or settle for some lesser spot, and which pay-per-click ads pull the best.
While I have learned "never to say never", I am not presently using pay-per-click for any of my websites. Though I have used it in the past and may resort to it again, my website is doing better than ever without it. Pay-per-click is just one more thing to manage, and, if not managed well, can become a financial drain in a hurry. I'm a pretty busy person, and probably a tightwad as well. As a result, pay-per-click isn't part of my current marketing arsenal.
That doesn't mean, however, that it might not be right for your site. Do some testing, study it out, and consider the "cons" described in this article. In the words of an old adage, "if something is worth doing at all, it is worth doing well." This is especially true for things that cost money. My advice is to keep that thought firmly in mind whenever you open your webmaster wallet.
Copyright 2005 Log Cabin Rustics
Cari Haus has been successfully selling rustic log furniture and beds on the Internet since the late 1990's. Copyright 2005 by Cari Haus, website http://www.logcabinrustics.com
Permission is granted to reprint this article, either online or in written publications, as long as the copyright information, this paragraph, and a link address or a link to the Log Cabin Rustics website is attached at the end of the article.
When Google introduced their new Adsense revenue sharing program, people... Read More
No, this baby boom will certainly not swamp the Social... Read More
On Friday, July 15th all Google advertisers got the email... Read More
The Mechanism First a brief glossary of terms: Adwords: The... Read More
One of the best kept secrets in today's affiliate marketing... Read More
How much revenue do you generate from Google Adsense?Recently there... Read More
During conversations with web business professionals about pay-per-click search engines,... Read More
Pay per click or search engine optimization, which one should... Read More
In the mid 1990's websites used to earn income by... Read More
Without tracking, your online advertising is just a shot in... Read More
One of the common issues that marketers face when using... Read More
Web marketing has taken on many different shapes during the... Read More
We constantly receive phone calls from clients, prospective clients and... Read More
First impressions affect your relationship with someone for life. In... Read More
The pay per click (PPC) search engines have created a... Read More
1: The ideal Google AdSense page should have great content... Read More
Working in research and development for a large infomercial company,... Read More
Pay-Per click fraud dates back even from the time when... Read More
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is when an advertiser pays for each... Read More
Click fraud is currently a major topic in online advertising.... Read More
Who Else Wants To Maximize Their Google Adwords... Read More
There are a variety of advertising options available to online... Read More
What are pay per click engines?Pay per click engines as... Read More
"I don't need the Internet to advertise - I'm a... Read More
The beauty of Google Adwords set up is its simplicity.... Read More
As you probably know, Google Adwords is a pay-per-click solution... Read More
Click fraud is an unfortunate byproduct of the pay per... Read More
One of the biggest problems faced by ClickBank merchants is... Read More
Many of us have websites and as a matter of... Read More
Businesses are starting to look closely at the long-term benefits... Read More
Dinner With Mark JoynerAbout 3 Years ago in Los Angeles... Read More
Paid Search Advertising (also Pay-Per-Click, PPC) has gained a significant... Read More
Writing outstanding ad copy for pay-per-click advertising campaigns is critical... Read More
Here's a simple way to use "No Results, No Pay"... Read More
If you know anything at all about Internet marketing, then... Read More
Many people decide to spend a lot of money putting... Read More
As you probably already know, AdSense is revolutionizing the way... Read More
Internet technology offers vast opportunities to promote your business with... Read More
Not getting the satisfaction you want from your AdWords account?... Read More
If you're an active Adsense publisher, I'm sure you have... Read More
Not long ago, Forbes magazine has reported that pay per... Read More
As you probably know, Google is the world largest search... Read More
If you are already running Adsense on your site, you... Read More
Pay per click advertising is an on-going and growing arsenal... Read More
I had been using Google's Adsense program to generate some... Read More
Have you received your check from Google? If you own... Read More
Why, on your web pages of course. Ok, just kidding.... Read More
Have you heard the saying, "planning is everything?" Perhaps there... Read More
There are millions of web sites trying to get listed... Read More
One of the biggest threats to the continued growth of... Read More
If you haven't yet got a Google AdSense account for... Read More
Determining keywords is a critical step in web design. If... Read More
Google AdSense allows webmasters to dynamically serve... Read More
How much revenue do you generate from Google Adsense?Recently there... Read More
In private consultations with some Search Engine Optimizers I am... Read More
Dinner With Mark JoynerAbout 3 Years ago in Los Angeles... Read More
Google Adwords is a very good place to promote your... Read More
When we launch a new product, we all hope it's... Read More
ClickBank allows its merchants to sell many different types of... Read More
Google and Yahoo-Overture control over 90% of the... Read More
During conversations with web business professionals about pay-per-click search engines,... Read More
If you've been looking for an easy way to increase... Read More
Many of us have websites and as a matter of... Read More
If you want to make money online with a work... Read More
One of the hottest ways to sell affiliate products is... Read More
A few days ago, I was setting up my latest... Read More
Pay-Per-Click Advertising |