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| What
is Pay Per Click Advertising? |
| Pay
Per Click (PPC) Advertising is a type of online advertising
in which advertisers (i.e. you) pay for visitors on a Cost
Per Click (CPC) basis. That is, advertisers only pay when
a Web searcher actually clicks on a link and visits their
Web site. PPC advertising is different than "traditional"
online advertising, where advertisers pay according to how
many times their ad is displayed. With Pay Per Click Adverting,
an ad can be displayed many times, but the advertiser pays
nothing unless a Web searcher actually clicks on the ad. When
done correctly, PPC Advertising can produce highly targeted
traffic -- the most sought-after and valuable entity on the
Web. |
| Call
it the evolution of the "traditional" search engine.
Pay Per Click Search Engines allow advertisers to sign up
and bid on specific keywords -- keywords that are relevant
to the particular products and/or services available on their
Web site. Advertisers bid for priority location in the search
results of these relevent keywords. The order in which listings
for a particular keyword are displayed is determined by the
amount of these bids. Depending
on the specific PPC Search Engine and also on the demand
for a specific keyword, the CPC for that specific keyword
can be as little as $0.01 or as much as a few dollars. When
a Web searcher types in that keyword, that advertiser's
listing will be ranked according to the amount bidded, compared
with all other bids on that keyword. But regardless of how
many times the listing appears, that advertiser only pays
when a searcher actually clicks on their listing and visits
their Web site.
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Example:
Let's say that John owns a Web site that sells apples. John
signs up for a Pay Per Click Search Engine and bids on the
keyword "apple." On this specific PPC Search Engine,
four other advertisers happen to be bidding on that same keyword.
The first advertiser is bidding $0.10, the second $0.08, the
third $0.07 and the fourth $0.06. This means that John would
have to bid $0.11 in order to get the top listing. John, however,
decides that he wants to bid $0.09 instead. This would put
John's listing at No. 2 for the keyword "apple."
Now, each time a Web searcher visits that search engine, types
in the keyword "apple" and clicks on John's listing,
John will be charged $0.09.
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| With
"traditional" search engines, advertisers submit
their Web sites, which are then indexed and ranked based on
a number of different factors. This process is time consuming,
and it often takes a couple of months to see results. Also,
there is no guarantee of top placement within the search results.
With
PPC Search Engines, the listing process can take as little
as a couple of days, and advertisers can determine the placement
of their listing within the search results, depending on
how much they are willing to pay.
PPC
Advertising is a rapidly growing phenomenon and cannot be
ignored by Web site owners or marketers who are serious
about growing their online businesses. Sure, there are other
ways to advertise online, but right now, PPC Advertising
is the quickest, cheapest, easiest and most effective methods
available. |
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