Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising starts out simply. Within minutes, anyone who can read and follow directions can launch their first pay per click program. Google makes it simple because the easier it is to run ads, the more money AdWords makes. Of course, Google makes money whether or not your particular PPC campaign succeeds, and that is where simplicity becomes a trap for many companies advertising online.
After hearing how online advertising has brought success to so many companies, do-it-yourself business owners are shocked to discover that pay-per click (PPC) marketing is not necessarily a cheap solution. Much to the contrary, improperly managing your PPC campaign can lead to wasting thousands of dollars in advertising budget with little or no sales to show for it.
However, you shouldn’t despair. PPC offers probably the most powerful and cost-effective advertising opportunities. Achieving these results simply requires a clear marketing strategy, selection of efficient keywords and proper testing to ensure a maximum return on investment (ROI). There are many high-quality services and online utilities to help you implement these elements and establish a successful online presence.
In 1984, the Olympics became a self-sustaining entity when the International Olympics Committee (IOC) put on its first games that did not require public funding. They accomplished this by offering lucrative sponsorship contracts that provided exclusive rights to “official sponsors.” Unknowingly, they also gave birth to new advertising strategy known as “Ambush Marketing.”
Ambush marketing is an emotionally-charged phrase that refers to the practice of appearing to align a brand with an event for which that brand has not paid for the right to be a sponsor. Probably this practice had existed in some form long before 1984, but the sheer volume of money involved and the worldwide attention given Olympic events have led many to view the 1984 Olympic games as the origin of ambush marketing.
As part of any online marketing plan, a good PPC campaign can be a fantastic tool for boosting traffic, conversion rates, and online visibility and business presence. There are several aspects to understand about running a PPC campaign as part of an overall internet and/or search marketing strategy.
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rch Engine Optimization (SEO) has become one of the hottest buzzwords of the Internet age. After all, what good is trying to have a presence on the Internet if your website isn’t presented in a manner that allows your image to be maximized? Isn’t being seen the whole point of it? This is doubly important if your point is to not only be noticed, but to sell a product or service as well.
That’s why SEM should be the goal of every Internet-focused organization trying to sell a product or service. This fact is why SEO isn’t always enough. In fact, a plain old SEO focus should go the way of the buttonhook.
Pay-per-click (PPC) marketing can be one of the most cost effective methods of drawing new prospects to your website. With an optimized landing page and a clear call to action, you can convert these targeted leads to paying customers. And with detailed analytics, you can keep refining your ads and your landing pages to turn PPC pennies into dollars of profit.
Google AdWords is one of the easiest PPC programs to implement. Google provides a lot of analytical data you can use to interpret the behavior of visitors to your website. Google also provides webmaster tools that show where you can improve your website to increase visitor interaction. The Google website optimizer allows you to split test different versions of the same page to find which works best in particular situations.
When marketing your business online, your most vital tool is your website. Your site should rank highly in search engine results. In order to do this, your website must be search engine friendly and contain relevant, concise and informative content for your niche market. The higher your site ranks in search results, the more visible you are to potential customers. If you have what these customers need, it could mean profit for your business. It all boils down to your landing page.
If you are at all familiar with search engine marketing, you know that it is a form of marketing used to promote websites on major search engines including, but not limited to, Google, Yahoo and Bing. This type of marketing can be done through the use of organic Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay per Click (PPC) or Affiliate Marketing. PPC marketing is an internet advertising model that is used on websites. With this model, advertisers pay search engines when an ad is clicked. Next time you are on your favorite search engine, take a look at the listings that are grouped at the top or on the side of the page in a shaded color. These are usually PPC listings.
If you are a local business, you may think that search engine marketing isn’t necessary for you. That’s only for the big companies and corporations right? What are the odds that someone in your town would use a search engine to try and find you?
Actually, they’re pretty high. Let’s say your business is a veterinarian. You provide excellent service and all of your clients love you. How are you going to get new clients? Newspaper ads are one way to get your name out there, as well as fliers, listings in the yellow pages and on and on. But, with the rise of the internet, and now the mobile internet, you need to get your business online. However, no one is going to find it if you don’t take advantage of your specific local market opportunities online.
If you’re getting ready to embark on a PPC campaign on Google AdWords or Microsoft’s adCenter, keyword research is vital to make it successful. A single keyword can cost as much as $80 per click, so it’s important to make sure it’s the right one to drive people to your site.
Here’s where a good strategy is important. If you don’t have a plan for how to execute your PPC campaign effectively, you might as well kiss your PPC money goodbye. Here are a few things you can do to maximize your PPC strategy and effectively practice keyword research.
Perhaps your business is just starting out and you’re wondering why you should use Google AdWords for marketing your business? We believe that everyone should use Google Adwords in some way or form. Whether your business is small or large, you should be targeting online users and the fastest way to do that is Google AdWords. If your demographic is online at all, Google AdWords is the way to reach them.
Google has held the largest market share of online users for the past 10 years. But with the recent merger of Yahoo and Bing, the new Microsoft adCenter is giving Google a run for their money. The rise in popularity of social media throws another hat in the ring, although Facebook isn’t really a search engine site per se. Choosing between these options to start your pay per click (PPC) campaign can be difficult at best. How can you know where your business’s precious marketing dollars will be best spent? Let’s start by understanding what each search engine site has to offer.