Pay-Per-Click (PPC)

What is Pay-Per-Click?

PPC is a service where you pay for placement of your ads. The two main providers are Google Adwords and Yahoo Search (formerly known as Overture). There are hundreds of other PPC services such as MIVA and GoClick, but considering that over 80% of search engine searches are performed on Google and Yahoo, those are definitely the places with the most bang for your buck.

How does it work?

You bid an amount for certain search phrases. Every time someone enters a search phrase that you have bid upon on a search engine (or affiliated engine) where you have an account, your ad will appear as long as you still have enough budget to show it and you've bid enough to appear near the top of the listings. On most search engines this is across the top (Sponsored Links) and on some it's up and down the side and/or across the top. Some services such as Google may also show your ads on private affiliate sites if you want.

If someone clicks on your ad and goes to your website, then you pay the bid amount for that click. Most services let you set a budget. In some cases it's a daily budget, in others it may be a debit system where your ad shows until the money is gone. When you're checking out the service, find out how this works; some services immedtely re-charge your credit card as soon as your budget is reached, so in those cases you need to be able to set limits!

Some of the larger services do not position your ad based only on how much you bid, but also factor in other elements such as the quality of your ad and your landing page and the sustainability of your campaign.

How do you get started?

Typically there is a small signup fee. Google for instance at the time of this writing charges $5.00. Many of the smaller services charge $25.00 or more. Some charge nothing. Investigate the service before using it as some services may produce little or no results for your industry. The signup process can take some time; plan to spend 20-30 minutes signing up for some cases. Some services will want you to complete everything at once; others let you skimp by, set up your account, and enter and activate your campaigns later. They should let you tweak your campaign as desired.

Once you have signed up you'll bid on search phrases. It's important to know what people are actually searching for and to make sure those phrases are tightly focused. Having the wrong phrases can cost you big bucks.

Plan your budget carefully. The industry standard conversion rate is about 1%. What this means is that it'll take about 100 visitors to get a client, meaning that if you're spending an average of 10 cents a click, you'll spend $10 to get your average client. It's important to note that if your ads and your message are very focused your rate may be significantly higher. If you have a niche product or search phrases your rate may be higher. But if your message is confusing or you're in a very competitve industry, your results may be much lower.



General Info

The PPC listings usually appear on search engines as the top listings on a search engine page or, with Google, the boxes on the right side of the page.
  • To be listed you must be among the top bidders for the desired search phrase
  • Every time someone clicks on the link to your site, you then pay your bid amount
  • You can bid on as many phrases as you want
  • You only pay when someone actually clicks the link to go to your site
  • If your service allows a lump sum daily spending limit for all your terms when your daily budget is reached, your terms are removed until the next day
  • Some services allow your phrases to be targeted locally
  • If you're using Google, listings can appear not only on Google, but also on Google Network Sites
  • You can select Google Network Sites by URL, by demographics, or by topics
Advantages of PPC:
• Instant visibility
• Smaller initial investment

Disadvantages:
• Appeals to a smaller audience than Search Engine Optimization
• More expensive over time than Search Engine Optimization
• Has a much lower click-through rate than SEO

Things to Know

  • Know how much a client is worth before you start
  • Know what people are searching for – identify exact terms
  • Create special pages that focus on your search phrases
  • Focus your campaign tightly for best results

Things to Consider

  • Plan & Budget before starting
  • Research, Research, Research
  • Write your content to convert visitors into clients, not just get them to your site
  • Examine alternative search phrases

Monitor Your Campaigns Closely

It's important to keep track of how many visitors actually turn into clients by monitoring your site statistics and your PPC provider statistics and by asking new prospects how they found you. If your phrases aren't on target and visitors aren't turning into clients ask yourself why not. It might be a good idea to place a small survey on the page with an incentive for people to fill it out.

It's also important to try new things. Try new phrases and see how they work. Shift the focus of the message on the page. Test a new goal for the page. Each time record the result and keep tweaking.

At some point you may also want to step up to the next level and investigate search engine optimization.