What is Pay-Per-Click?

In short, PPC is exactly what it sounds like. If you have a website that you want to promote, PPC search engines give you the opportunity to pay for each time they direct a web user to your site. It’s that simple. The largest vendors of PPC deals are Google, Yahoo!, and MSN, so most web marketers start with those.

PPC is an important tool for websites that are just getting started and that want to generate a following. It’s often used in addition to Search Engine Optimization techniques to create a complete marketing package. If all of these things are done right, you’ll eventually have enough traffic that you’ll no longer need PPC. But for now, it’s good to have.

Advantages of PPC

PPC is pretty simple and easy to use. You don’t have to have a lot of tech knowledge to generate traffic through PPC. You just need to sign up. After that, services like Google AdWords make it easy to track the return on your investment. All of their data is reported immediately, so you can follow it in real time.

Another reason why PPC is perfect for websites that are just starting out is that it can give you a an advantage over your larger, more established competitors. This is especially useful when your website pertains to a field that is already well-covered on the internet. PPC can move you up in the search engine rankings and start diverting some of the traffic away from your competitors and toward you.

Disadvantages?

The obvious catch to PPC is that you have to pay for it. Depending on what service you use, the cost of your PPC campaign may be related to the search volume associated with your site’s keywords. So if you want to use very popular keywords, you may end up having to pay a large chunk of change. Plus, PPC lasts only as long as you continue to make payments for the campaign. Once your account expires, it’s over. So hopefully you’ll have generated plenty of repeat traffic by then.

Tips for Pay-Per-Click

• Research your keywords in advance, and don’t be afraid to throw out keywords that aren’t working for you. You might have to experiment a little.
• Start with one search engine before expanding to others. Your experience with the first one will give you the knowledge you need for successful PPC campaigns with other engines.
• Remember that it’s not enough to just draw people to your site’s landing page. You have to make that page compelling enough for people to click around your site and to put it in their favorites.
• Be flexible. If you see that your campaign is bringing in certain types of visitors that you weren’t expecting, don’t be afraid to play up your advertising to that market.