Pay-Per-Click Search Engines ? The Basics

Search engine optimization can take a long time to show results. The Google sandbox alone can delay optimization results by 6 to 8 months. So, what can you do to get traffic while you wait? Pay-per-click ["PPC"] campaigns fill the time gap. This article discusses the basics of PPC advertising.

What Is A PPC?

A PPC search engine allows you to bid for placement in search results. Search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, AOL and most others bolster their organic search results with sponsor advertisements. If you search on Google, links in blue across the top and the little ads down the right side of the search results are PPC listings. In one form or another, similar listings appear on every major search engine.

How Does It Work?

When you use a PPC, you will bid for placement in the search results under particular keywords. Instead of optimizing your site to appear high in the listings, you simple pay for the position. While this may sound great, keep in mind you are paying for the listing and have to watch the return on investment closely.

To get started, you must open an account with the PPC in question. The two biggest PPCs are Google Adwords and Overture. You will need to register with the PPC, provide a credit card number and, depending on the PPC, deposit money into the account. Next, create ads with a title, body text and link to the landing page of your site. The title of each ad should correspond to a particular keyword you want to promote. If at all possible, include the keyword in the actual title. Finally, you will be asked to bid on placement in the search results.

Bidding for placement is not as simple as it my sound. Ideally, your ad should be in the top 3, but never below the 10th position. This has to be balanced, however, by the return on investment of the campaign. If you sell a product that produces a $10 dollar profit per sale, you probably can't afford to pay $.90 per click. If your site converts 1 visitor out of every 100 into a sale, you will spend $90 for every sale. Obviously, that is going to work out very well. The one caveat to this situation is a business with reoccurring revenue.

If you site charges clients a reoccurring monthly fee, you can bid in excess of your immediate profit margin. To do this safely, you must determine how long the average customer will stay on your site. For example, if you make a $10 profit per month and the average customer pays for 5 months, the total profit is $50. In this situation, you can spend $20 or $30 to obtain a customer and still turn a profit. To properly manage a PPC campaign for a reoccurring charge site, you must recalculate the profit per customer ever week to protect yourself.

PPC Cons

Why not just use a PPC campaign instead of pursuing search engine optimization? There are a number of reasons. First, you are paying for each click with a PPC, which requires a budget and may impact your cash flow. Second, PPC bidding is competitive and that translates into higher costs, so much so that a profit may be hard to make. Third, many people simply do not click on PPC ads with the figure being as high as 20 percent. Fourth, you run the risk of having people click on your ads with no intention of buying, whether they are just browsing or are trying to exhaust your advertising budget.

PPCs definitely have a place in the online marketing field. Manage your campaigns with an eye for detail and you should fine.

Halstatt Pires is with http://www.marketingtitan.com - an Internet marketing and advertising company comprised of a search engine optimization specialist providing meta tag optimization services and Internet marketing consultant providing internet marketing solutions through integrated design and programming services.

---

Free Pay Per Click-PPC Search Engine Advertising

Did you know that there are actually pay per click... Read More

Pay-Per-Click Marketing & Natural Search Engine Traffic

PPC advertising has many great benefits. First of all, you... Read More

Google Adwords ? Online Riches Without Owning A Website Or Product!

Did you know that you can make money from Google... Read More

Google for Resellers: Leveling the Resell Playing Field

With so many people trying to make money on the... Read More

Pay Per Click Web Advertising Power Word Secrets Revealed

First impressions affect your relationship with someone for life. In... Read More

Adwords & Adsense: A Beginners Guide

The Mechanism First a brief glossary of terms: Adwords: The... Read More

Pay Per Click Advertising and Article Marketing Compared

At first glance, Pay Per Click advertising seems to be... Read More

How to Double Your AdSense Income Instantly

As you probably already know, AdSense is revolutionizing the way... Read More

How to Help Google Make Up Its Mind

As an AdSense sponsoring web site, your goal is to... Read More

You Wont Make Dollars If You Dont use AdSense

As the dust settles and the excitement caused by Google's... Read More

How to Skyrocket Your Paid Search Profits

Faced with a mediocre or worse performing paid search campaign... Read More

Google Adwords Guide I

You probably have already heard about the new marketing tool... Read More

Articles and Adsense

Google Adsense is a hot topic in the Internet Marketing... Read More

The Truth About Google?s Adsense Affiliate Program

The truth about Google's Adsense program is that it is... Read More

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

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

Considerations For A Pay-Per-Click Ad Campaign

Submitting your website to the Search Engines today may seem... Read More

The Truth About Google Adsense

Make $$$$ with Google Adsense! Top Paying Keywords! $100 per... Read More

Seven Tips To Getting The Nost From Your Google Ad Word Investment

With Google Ad Words . . .When a person searches... Read More

Pay-Per-Click Search Engines ? The Basics

Search engine optimization can take a long time to show... Read More

Optimizing Adsense For Better Performance and More Money!

So you want to make money with Google Adsense? I... Read More

Affiliate Strategies Of Pay Per Click Search Engines

Where are your ads being displayed?The Untold Secret Of Pay... Read More

Google Adwords Guide II - Why Use Negative Keywords

When you are running a Google AdWords campaign, it is... Read More

6 Easy Ways to Increase Your Adsense Revenue

How much revenue do you generate from Google Adsense?Recently there... Read More

Internet Advertising Options

Your online business will likely require more advertising than a... Read More

7 Great Ways to Lose Your Shirt Using Google Adwords!

Google Adwords is a great tool! Careful use can lead... Read More

Not Sure If Your Online Advertisement is Working?

Without tracking, your online advertising is just a shot in... Read More

Googles AdSense Soon To Have New Rival?

A large part of Google's multi-billion dollar annual turnover comes... Read More

Can I Make Money Online with the Adsense Program?

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

AdWords Analyzer Review - Pros and Cons

Adwords Analyzer (http://tinyurl.com/a3o3o) is a remarkable keywords research tool that... Read More

When AdSense Goes AWOL

No matter how hard you work to optimize your page,... Read More

Cost Per Click Bid Management

Cost per click or pay per click is a common... Read More

Pay Per Click: Whats It All About?

No doubt you've heard the phrase "pay per click" before.... Read More

The Basics Of Pay Per Click Search Engine Advertising

Not long ago, Forbes magazine has reported that pay per... Read More