By 2009 Internet ad spending is projected rise to over $22 billion. This
will represent 7.5% of all advertising spending, and be greater than radio's
7.3% share of the market in 2005.
Recently, Forbes magazine has reported that the portion of Internet ad
spending on pay per click ads is expected to increase to at least $8 billion
by 2008.
There are three fundamental elements that form the basis of a successful
pay per click ad program and they are constant monitoring, response analysis,
and refinement.
Pay per click search engines offer a way to buy your way to the top of
search results for any term you wish. With proper management, and a clear
focus, pay per click search engines can offer some of the most well targeted
and economical advertising on the Internet.
Pay per click advertising works through a bidding process, and the ads
appear prominently on the results pages of search engines such as Google
and Yahoo. The highest bidder for a particular word or phrase receives
top placement, and depending on the engine, the top three to five bidders
also generally also receive placement on the first page of unpaid search
results.
Fundamental questions to be addressed when formulating a pay per click
search engine strategy include the following:
When is the top pay per click bid necessary for highest conversion, and
when will bidding for a second or third place position create a more attractive
return on investment (ROI)?
How can you keep your PPC bids from cannibalizing your search efforts
on other (non pay per click) search engines?
What percentage of your pay per click budget should go to each search
engine?
Does either Google Adwords or Overture work better for your particular
product or service? Or, perhaps neither one is appropriate from a return
on investment (ROI) perspective.
It is of critical importance to focus sharply on identifying the search
terms that convert most frequently for your particular site, eliminating
those that don't perform, and most importantly, calculating and maximizing
your return on investment.
The cost structure of pay per click is action-driven and each time a user
clicks your ad, the pay per click engine deducts the amount of your current
bid from your account. Pay per click offers a high level of assurance
that your ad is reaching the proper target.
Pay per click campaigns, however, are not perfect. Without constant monitoring,
you sometimes risk incurring advertising costs that can spiral out of
control, focusing on terms that don't convert well for your product or
services, or falling way down in position during a bidding war.
PPC advertising can be a great help to a site's success, but only with
very close supervision and a thorough knowledge of the unique characteristics
of each PPC search engine.
Kirk Bannerman operates a successful home based business and coaches
others seeking to start their own home based business. Visit his website
at Legitimate
Home Based Business for more details.
