What Pay-Per-Click (PPC) engines are we considering?
In my view, there are only really 2 to consider at this time - Google
Adwords and Overture. I have to say that my direct experience
of the other systems is that they are more prone to abuse
because their technology is less secure. You may be billed
therefore for clicks that did not take place or for clicks
generated by more unscrupulous website owners. I may be
too critical, but until these systems are able to provide
more security I feel nervous about recommending a client to
use them.
So my recommendation is to stick to Google
Adwords and Overture/Yahoo.
Why use a PPC? Quite obvious really
1. Your rankings are stable. You decide where you want to be in
the rankings by deciding how much you want to pay. The more you pay,
the higher the ranking. If someone comes in and jumps ahead of you
by bidding more, you know exactly what you need to do.
2. You are not left to the vagaries of the search engine algorithm.
We all know that your natural search engine rankings
can go up and down - sometimes quite violently. You have consistency
when you purchase your positions with PPC.
3. There is no doubt that with some searches the visitor is more likely
to click on the PPC advertisement rather than the pure search result.
4. You may be getting good rankings on the natural search results
on certain terms but not on others. PPC is an ideal
way to "fill in the
blanks". This is applicable to every business because a website cannot
rank well on every search term.
That being the case, you do not necessarily need to spend large sums
of money to exploit PPC.
So what is involved in achieving top position in a PPC campaign?
Google Adwords
 |
Google AdWords is a quick and simple way to purchase
highly targeted cost-per-click (CPC) advertising, regardless
of your budget. AdWords ads are displayed along with search
results on Google, as well as on search and content sites
in their growing ad network ,
including AOL, EarthLink, HowStuffWorks & Blogger. |
With more than 200
million searches on Google each day and even more searches and page views
on their ad network, your Google AdWords ads reach a vast audience.
When you create a Google AdWords ad, you choose keywords for which your ad
will appear and specify the maximum amount you're willing to pay for each click.
You only pay when someone clicks on your ad.
There's no minimum monthly charge -- just a £5 activation fee. Your
ads start running within minutes after you submit your billing information.
You can easily keep track of your ad performance using the reports in your
online account Control Centre.
Overture/Yahoo
 |
Overture's PPC search allows advertisers to bid for placement
in the search results on terms that are relevant to their
business. |
These search results are screened for relevance
by Overture's editorial team and are then distributed to
the UK's leading search providers reaching more than 82%
of the UK's online population. These sites include Freeserve,
AOL, MSN, AltaVista, Ask Jeeves and many more. Once again
you pay Overture the amount of your bid only when
a consumer clicks on your listing.
Principles
Remember, this is not an optimisation game, but an advertising game.
So the principle is to set up an advertisement that convinces the searcher
to click your advertisement over-and-above someone else's. Additionally,
you do not necessarily need to be on the top to get the best results.
This can save you a lot of money, as the difference between paying
for the top position compared to third position can be as much as double!
Why pay £1.50 per click when £0.75 will do?
Before you get started with any PPC Campaign be sure you understand
the search engine's budget and billing procedures. Google AdWords charges
a one time, £5 setup fee, and after that you pay only for delivered
traffic. Overture does not have a setup fee, but they do require a
minimum charge of £20 per month, regardless of whether or not
your click through's have accumulated to that total.
Start off by reading through their FAQs pages, guidelines, tips
pages, and absorb as much information as you can to get
a good grasp on how their PPC system operates. If you are
new to this, AdWords and Overture will seem quite confusing
at first, but you will understand the more you read. It
doesn't take long to get a firm grasp of the systems.
Conclusion on PPC
Managing a Google AdWords or Overture PPC campaign can be confusing
at first, but if you have the time it doesn't take long to
work it out.
You now need a 'landing page' for your PPC advertisements.
Alternatively, if you are looking for someone else to manage it for
you, then please contact us. |
Tel: 01202-257423