Pay per click (PPC) is a great way to drive traffic to a website. When a customer enters a keyword phrase in a search engine, the organic search results aren’t the only thing they’ll find. The search engine will also feature paid advertising that is usually labeled ‘Sponsored Links.’ When a customer clicks on one of those links, they are immediately connected to the sponsor’s website. That’s where pay per click comes in. If a customer clicks on a sponsored link, the company pays per click. If they don’t click on the link, there’s no charge to the sponsor.
The amount of each click is previously agreed on between the advertiser and the search engine or website. PPC is a popular means of generating web traffic, and converting that traffic into sales or new customers. Two of the most recognizable and well-known search engines, Yahoo and Google, offer pay per click opportunities.
Pay Per Click Using Yahoo And Google
The Yahoo pay per click service is called Sponsored Search. It was previously called Overture. The Google pay per click program is called AdWords. Both programs offer real-time tracking and reporting, keyword suggestions, and bidding so that you can set the maximum price you are willing to pay to get a customer to click through to your website.
The decision to use a particular service is strictly a matter of company preference. Comparisons can be made of all available service providers based on what is included in the service, reporting tools, keyword analysis and cost per click.
Starting a Pay Per Click Campaign
After you’ve chosen one or multiple PPC services, the first step is to create an account followed by choosing keywords that are highly relevant to the content on your website. The next step is to create the ad itself. The ad consists of a title, headline, description and URL for the landing page of your site that is most relevant to the ad itself, not necessarily the home page.
Both Google and Yahoo allow you to set prices to determine the maximum amount you want to pay per click. When starting out, it’s wise to look at the forecasting tools that the service provider offers. You’ll also need to set a daily budget for the campaign. PPC service providers allow you to set your maximum cost-per-click, also called a bid. The bid will determine where an ad is displayed in search results. If a competitor has a higher maximum bid, their ad will rank higher on the page. If multiple competitors have higher bids, you may need to reassess the keyword phrases for your ad unless your budget allows you to match their bids.
PPC campaigns are a great way to invest a marketing budget into a campaign that shows quantifiable return on investment (ROI) of driving qualified traffic to your website. PPC combined with search engine optimization tactics will give your company the greatest visibility possible to your market segment. Constantly monitoring the traffic to your website is the key to tracking a campaign’s success. Daily updates, adding or removing keywords, and performance analysis are all part of the management process that leads to high conversions for your product or service. Before starting a PPC campaign consider who will manage and monitor it and make appropriate adjustments when needed. Interactive ad agencies are the best way to manage campaigns because of their expertise and other compatible services including search engine optimization, web design and other programs that drive traffic to a site.
Chris Harmen is an author for.COM Marketing, an interactive ad agency that plans and manages pay per click campaigns using both Yahoo and Google pay per click services.
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