Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Down To Basics With PPC Advertising

By Brian Basch

Pay per click advertising (PPC) is a fantastic way to send visitors to your website. PPC web advertisement campaigns are the new way to reach your target audience online. When used correctly, and there are tricks to the trade, PPC methods trigger sales and improve traffic to your site.

PPC advertising begins with the all-important keywords or phrases that closely relate to your product or service. However, it's not as simple as just using words that have worked for other products. Clever campaigners use quality keywords and combinations that send the right audience to their website and, most importantly of all, end with a sale. This is where Pay Per Click advertising can get a little tricky, but by putting in the extra effort you can reap the rewards. By targeting your audience, you aren't sending people to your site who will then just exit again.

Keywords must be bid for. The more you bid, the more highly you'll be ranked for a given word or keyword phrase. Since higher-ranked ads appear earlier on a search page, and the first few ads account for most of the clicks on a given page, better rankings are important. Every time a visitor clicks on the ad and comes to your site, you'll pay the search engine a pre-agreed amount of money.

Track how your keywords are doing and oversee what is happening with your investment. Advertising ranges from a cent per click to over a dollar, so the amount you pay for your advertising depends on the search engine and, of course, the popularity of your keyword. Using a tool that will help you understand which words lead to clicks and how many of those clicks are making a sale is a great idea.

It might be hard to pay enough for some keywords to make sure your ad's at the top of the page. For some search engines, writing your ad well and making sure it's relevant can help your placement. For instance, well designed sites that rank well in Google's quality scoring are likely to get better placement than sites that look like placeholders, or which could be mistaken for fraudulent sites. Some sites will also allow you to run ads intermittently - you could choose to have ads up only on weekends, for instance.

Consider you ads carefully, as failure to achieve a high placement, or failing to make your webpage attractive to visitors, are common reasons for failed PPC ad campaigns. So, be very certain that your landing page and your ad go well together. Ads should be relevant to the keywords you're using, as well as eye-catching.

Remember to test ads for effectiveness, too. Sometimes a change of only one word can have a big effect on the rate at which people click through and buy. Write ad variations for each keyword, so you can test them to see which copy works best. Google is willing to alternate ads for you, and you'll easily be able to see which ones are the most effective.

For small to middle sized business owners, PPC advertising is a great way to spread the word and make money. A good plan and an organized campaign are the road to success. Do things right, and you'll be able to target your ideal customer, and get many more sales. - 15246

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