Pay-per-click (PPC) is an advertising arrangement that allow business owners to only pay for website traffic they receive from an ad and not for each time the ad is shown. One of the most popular ways to implement PPC is through Search Engine Marketing (SEM). Perhaps the best example of how PPC works is Google’s AdWords program. In essence, you place a bid stating how much you are willing to pay each time someone clicks your ad that is displayed next to search engine results for a particular keyword. The higher your bid, the more prominently and often your ad will be displayed. Your ad could be shown thousands of times, but you will only be charged by the search engines, if a user clicks on the advertisement and goes to your website.
There are certain factors that can improve the success rate of your PPC campaign, among these are:
• Creating a highly targeted campaign
• Bidding on an adequate number of relevant phrases
• Bidding enough for every search phrases so your text ad will appear often (brand awareness) and get clicked often (building targeted site traffic)
• Providing relevant information to searchers
• Accurate measurement and testing of results
Some of the advantages of PPC advertising are:
Small Initial Investment
Search engines don’t charge a single penny to insert a PPC text ad. You donly pay search engines when unless someone clicks on your advertisement. Some liken it to going to a gym and paying only for each pound you shed.
Set Your Own Budget
PPC campaigns allow you to tailor your daily budget according to the financial resources of the company and your sales goals.
Instant Gratification
It can take months for your site to achieve a respectable search engine ranking, PPC is an exception. With this strategy, you can get top placement almost instantly. In addition, you’ll generate traffic and sales more quickly as compared to natural SEO strategies.
Local & International Exposure
PPC campaigns allow you to control where your ads are shown, giving you a chance to level the playing field and compete with larger companies. PPC campaigns can be highly targeting to specific towns, cities and states or to national and international markets. Google and Yahoo account for nearly 90% or all search engine traffic. Putting a PPC ad on these search engines allows you to reach nearly any market.
