PPC Beyond Google… Adwords isn’t the Only Option

When someone discusses pay-per-click advertising, they’re usually talking about using Google’s Adwords program. Adwords is the biggest player in the PPC world and it it’s potential power is so great that most people focus their attention upon it.

Google, however, isn’t the only company involved in PPC advertising. It may be the biggest. You can even argue that it’s the best. But it isn’t alone. There is PPC beyond Google and you might want to explore creating a foothold with some other options.

Why? If Google is the biggest and the baddest, why would someone want to mess around with Yahoo or MSN? If Google is the center of attention, why spend time building a campaign for Mirago or Yell? There are actually a few good reasons to consider branching out beyond the confines of Adwords.

First, the options that don’t receive as much action are often not as competitive. Some niches are surprisingly under-represented on alternative PPC networks. That can create some strong value opportunities for smart advertisers. That click that costs you $5 via Adwords might be available for $2 on a competing network.

Second, you may be able to reach a different audience with different networks. In some cases, that can work to your advantage. Yahoo and MSN users, for example, profile out differently, on average, than Google users. This is your chance to reach the people who aren’t Googling their searches and, in some niches, the user demographics for alternate networks are a much better fit than is Google’s.

Third, developing alternate advertising venues provides some degree of insurance in case of problems. What would happen to your PPC plan if you experienced problems accessing your Google or Adwords accounts for a few days? What would you do if a new “bully” moved into your PPC “neighborhood” and you didn’t have the resources to fight back in an economically viable manner? You can avoid the sting associated with a variety of problems if you have back-up, or secondary, plans in place.

There is PPC beyond Google. Consider making it part of your overall plan.

Turning 95 Characters into Sales – Writing Ads for Adwords.

PPC marketing is probably the fastest way to drive traffic to your site and it can be one of the most profitable—if it’s done correctly. An important part of the PPC equation is actually convincing people to click on your ad. It doesn’t do you any good to have the ad displayed every time someone queries for your keywords if they aren’t clicking.

Unfortunately, Google gives you a mere 95 characters to construct an enticing ad. You don’t have a lot of space to write irresistible copy in the world of PPC. In addition to playing by Google’s rules with respect to grammar, spelling, etc., you need to be strong, succinct and tempting.

That’s easier said than done, of course. And there’s no way to turn an absolutely miserable copywriter into a PPC ad writing superstar in a single blog post. There are, however, a few things to keep in mind when writing your Adwords ads that will increase your CTR dramatically.

First, you need a call to action. The call to action is a critical component of traditional copywriting. Every sales piece is a funnel leading to that moment where the prospect is convinced to follow through with action. Your 95-character PPC ad might be a tiny copy project, but you can’t overlook including a call to action if you want to produce the best possible results. Don’t just impart information. Make a point of persuasively directing searchers to click on your ad.

Second, you need to approach your ads as if you were a potential customer. If you’ve done market research, this is the time to use it. If you have a strong sense of your potential customers and what they really want, this is the time to make sure you’re giving it to them. Too often, PPC advertisers think like business people or advertisers instead of “getting into the head” of the people who’ll really be seeing (and hopefully clicking on) those ads. Write for your audience.

If you put together an ad that will resonate with your prospects and you manage to craft a compelling call to action, you can expect great results for your PPC ads. Your CTR will jump and you’ll be getting the most out of your Adwords investment.

PPC Pays in Clicks

In a conversation with a friend the other day, he was excited about how well his pay-per-click campaign was finally paying off! He had used PPC as a marketing strategy for a few weeks and was optimizing his keywords as much as possible - bidding on only the words he felt would bring success. But it looked like it was not a good strategy for him - AT FIRST!

That’s when he reinforced and reminded me how important it is to ensure Read more

Optimize Landing Pages

The economic tide still hasn’t turned yet and people are tightening their belts even more when it comes to spending. Whether you’re managing an online or an offline business, you can attest to the fact that there has been a slow-down in sales of most products and services.

But don’t make the mistake of thinking that you can save money by dicontinuing your pay per click strategies for your online business. At least not until you’ve evaluated your success with PPC. If you stop and evaluate what PPC is doing for your business, you may find Read more

Monetize and Measure Traffic

With the holidays rapidly approaching, it’s a good time to think about capitalizing on your PPC strategies and campaign. Including advertisements that draw visitors and send them to relevant websites for products and services can be a great way to monetize your site during a busy holiday season.

Unfortunately, economic conditions are still in a bit of a turmoil right now, but that also means that Read more

PPC Incentive Offering

If you’re in the business of online marketing, you’re likely already using pay-per-click (PPC) as one of your promotional and monetizing strategies. In one of our previous posts on this site, we provided you with some of the top PPC search engines.

There are a few PPC search engines that are offering some great bargains or incentives for participation (as of this blog posting). If you’re not already participating with these, it might be a good time to get involved. Take a look at some of the incentives for participation in these reputable PPC resources:

1. Findology is offering a $50 bonus in free clicks when you sign up using this link: http://www.PayPerClickSearchEngines.com/findology-promo. Check it out and see it they have something to offer that will increase your monetization efforts.
2. Ask.com is also offering $50 in credit for registration to their site. Check them out at http://asl.ask.com/.
3. Search123 is making an offer to attract more PPC business. They will add $20 to your ad account when you sign up with a deposit of $50. Visit their site at http://www.search123.com/sc/advertiser_programs.shtml to access this offer.

Since these search engines change their incentives and offers frequently, be sure to check them out periodically. As of the writing on this blog, these offers were current and available so hopefully they will still be available when you visit their sites. Other PPC search engines such as 7Search.com, Adwords.google.com, ABCsearch.com, and Searchfeed.com may also offer incentives or bonuses at some time so keep an eye out. This is a great way to capitalize on PPC and optimize your marketing dollars. As the PPC competition becomes heavier, we may see even more opportunities to access incentives and bonuses.

Let us know if you find others who are offering incentives so we can share the information with our readers.

Optimize PPC Campaigns

I’ve received a few questions lately about optimizing the pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns for websites. It seems that some people aren’t getting the traffic they expected, so I thought I’d give you a few valuable tips on making the most of the PPC strategy.

After talking with a couple of these online marketers, I found out that they haven’t taken advantage of the tools to help them refine keywords or wrap keywords effectively. In one case, adding negative keywords made a difference almost instantly.

First of all, PPC will only be as effective Read more

Top Eight Search Engines for Your Pay-per-Click Campaign

Pay-per-click advertising is a great opportunity for your online business. You can let search engines drive business to your website and thereby increase your sales. Many people do not realize how many search engines are out there.

Here’s a look at the top eight most popular ones listed in alphabetical order.

7Search This is one of the smaller search engines that exist today and its fees are relatively high compared to the larger competitors. However, many people prefer using it and many say it generates a greater return on your investment.

ABC Search This search engine prides itself in attracting specific and targeted users to a site. With this in mind, you can feel more confident that the visitors driven to your site are more likely to make a purchase. However, its rates are relatively higher than some of the other search engines discussed here.

Enhance Interactive This is one of the newer search engines and it specializes in driving high-quality traffic to a site. Although quite new, it is already getting a good reputation among Pay-per-Click advertisers for the quality it provides.

Google Adwords This is probably the most favored search engine for the purpose of Pay-per-Click advertising. However, such popularity means that you may have to pay more. Although registration may be cheaper than some, the search engine’s popularity causes more intense competition among advertisers. This means that you have to pay more to get the page ranking you want. Still, Pay-per-Click advertisers agree that the traffic it generates is well worth the extra cost.

MIVA Some Pay-per-Click advertisers shy away from this search engine because its registration fees are quite high. However, many of those who have used it say that it is very effective in Pay-per-Click marketing because its results are very targeted.

Microsoft Ad Center This is considered as another one of the big gust especially because it has the Microsoft name backing it up. It is also very inexpensive to use making it eve more popular among Pay-per-Click advertisers. However, some say that its interface needs further development.

SearchFeed Operational in 11 countries around the world, it is considered as a great way to increase business internationally. Users say it generates a good amount of traffic.

Yahoo! Search Marketing This is considered as one of the Big Three (along with Google and Microsoft). Its fees are in line with the other two but, somehow, keyword competition is not as intense.

These are just some of the many search engines available today. Choosing from these or others can be a tricky thing. However, there are a few things to remember to help you in making your decision.

1. Try using the search engine yourself. Is it easy to use? Do you like the appearance of the home page? If you answer yes to both questions, you can be more confident that other users feel the same way about it.

2. Compare costs. You need to compare the registration fees and the Pay-per-Click bid rates among search engines and be sure that you spend on what will benefit you most. Remember that it’s not about finding the cheapest one but the most cost-efficient.

3. Read the fine print. Do you understand the search engine’s policies? Do you understand how the search engine operates? Do you understand how one search engine is different from another? Make sure you understand all these as they can make all the difference in your Pay-per-Click campaign.

Search engines are a critical part of your pay-per-click efforts. Learn to use them wisely and you will see your profits grow as your website page rankings climb up the charts.

The Evolving World of Pay-per-Click (PPC) Advertising

We all know how Pay-per-Click (PPC) advertising can drive traffic (and therefore potential customers) to your website. But have you ever heard of pay-per-call advertising?

Pay-per-Call is a similar online advertising style to PPC. However it is intended to assure advertisers that they will get visitors who are truly interested in what is being marketed.

As you know, PPC advertisers only have to pay for ads when a user clicks on them. However, as people become more sophisticated, the practice has lead to instances of click fraud. Website owners have been known to inflate the number of clicks each site received, thus increasing the amount they are paid.

To combat this practice, Pay-per-Call advertising is becoming more popular. In Pay-per-Call, advertisers only pay for each telephone call or personal visit generated by website. Users clicking on a site are taken to a page with contact information and a source code. When they contact the advertiser, he or she notes the source code to determine which website was the source.

While internet mavens may say requiring a customer to physically call a company may lose a client, many users actually prefer talking to a “real person” rather than just clicking a button. Calling a company allows the customer to ask any questions they may have before ordering. Many customers like the personal touch and won’t mind taking the extra step to get it.

Pay-per-Call is obviously most advantageous for businesses that work in a specific geographic region. After all, customers have to take into account travel costs and long-distance telephone costs in dealing with a business further away. However, for advertisers who want to make sure their advertising is truly effective, Pay-per-Call is becoming very attractive. PPC experts are predicting the major ad networks will be shifting to a pay-per-call format in the near future and so many advertisers are keeping that in mind as they make their marketing plans

If you are interested in Pay-per-Call’s potential, be sure to research on reputable companies who now offer this service. You can find them on your favorite search engine. You can also find other information that compare Pay-per-Click and Pay-per-Call methods. You should be sure you understand the pros and cons of each type of advertising.

Whichever form of Internet advertising you choose, it pays to be smart about it. Be sure to read all documentation about all online marketing services before you buy and be sure to understand exactly what you are getting. If you have any questions or doubts, don’t buy it. If possible, try the free trial offers that may be available. You can always cancel at the end of the 30-day period if you want.

Remember, each business is different and no advertising model is right for every business. No matter what advertising you use, use it consistently and often. The whole point of advertising, whether online or in person is to increase exposure for you and your business. The more your venture is in the public eye, the more business you will generate and the more money you will make.

Is Pay-per-Click (PPC) Advertising Right for Your Business?

Pay-per-Click advertising is a very tempting way to build your online businesses. What could be easier than having someone click on a link to your website to drive your business? What could be more enticing than paying only for the number of clicks on your link? What could go wrong?

Actually, there is plenty that could go wrong. Pay-per-Click advertising is not for everyone. Here are some pros and cons to help you decide whether it is an advertising method you should pursue.

Although Pay-per-Click seems very cost-efficient, it can actually get very expensive. In order to get the search engine rankings you want, you have to place a bid and compete with others interested in the same keywords. The highest bid per keyword, of course, gets the top spot. For example, if you are selling a weight loss product, you will have to pay a high fee to beat out all the others to the search engine top spot for the keyword “diet.”

In addition to this, even if you’ve paid a high fee for a search engine ranking, you can quickly lose that spot through search engines’ auto-bidding systems. If a competitor auto-bids on a site, he automatically bids just a cent more than your bid and displaces you. On the other hand, if you use the auto-bidding system and are unable to watch the results carefully, you may find that those penny-bids to retain your hold quickly amount to major dollars.

Furthermore, Pay-per-Click advertising can be a very inexact science. You can use all the keyword selector tools you want but you won’t know if you will get a good return on your investment until you actually have the advertisements in place. Part of the reason is that the networks that handle Pay-per-Click advertisements control where links appear. You cannot actually know if the visitors your site gets are there because they want to buy what you are offering.

However, Pay-per-Click advertising also has its significant benefits. It is amazing how much Pay-per-Click advertising can increase traffic so quickly. Many people have found traffic to their websites increased dramatically the very day they begin a Pay-per-Click campaign.

Also, there is a chance that the keywords you choose will not be overly expensive. You really can use internet marketing inexpensively as long as you are smart about it.

As with any marketing plan, the key to Pay-per-Click success is consistency. Keep your business’ name out there and you will get traffic. Many advertising experts agree that it is best to use Pay-per-Click advertising in conjunction with other forms of advertising. These may include banner ads and advertising in other media.

After all these, it all comes down to name recognition. You want people to recognize your business and there are many ways to get your name out there. If you try Pay-per-Click and it doesn’t seem to work for you, you can try a little longer or you can change small things about your Pay-per-Click campaign. Of course, you can always give up and move on to other advertising methods. Experiment and see what methods are right for you but always consider that if Pay-per-Click advertising is done correctly, it can prove to be a very fruitful internet marketing tool.