"Pay-for-Performance" or "Pay-per-Click" Internet advertising is making big waves lately, and the two biggest players are Google and Overture, which was recently purchased by Yahoo. Microsoft has since joined the fray with MSN Search and there are numerous other fish (albeit tadpoles) in the pond.
When it comes to promotion, the advantages of internet advertising over traditional print advertising can be summed up with the following acronym-rich equation: CPC - CPM = PPC. That's CMO-speak for expressing how much more cost effective cost-per-conversion analysis is to cost-per-thousand analysis.
With Pay Per Click advertising via Google and Overture, the cost of the ad is based upon the performance of the ad; however, the effectiveness of the ad is gauged by its conversion ratio. Thanks to tools provided by both Google and Overture, these conversion ratios can be calculated automatically.
Traditional print media, on the other hand, provides a CPM (cost per thousand) to demonstrate cost (value) of an ad. A certain number of people will see the ad (and believe me, this number is pie-in-the-sky, based upon circulation times "readership"). Therefore, the cost is X.
It's easy to recognize the advantages of pay per click advertising, but before jumping head first into the PPC arena, review the following tips:
1) Be aware of the differences between Google and Overture
Google is the leading search engine at the moment, but their reach never exceeds their grasp. Overture technology, on the other hand, currently extends to Yahoo, AltaVista, CNN, Infospace, and others. Overture requires you to deposit money into an account in advance. Said account is then depleted based upon your campaign selection. Meanwhile, Google simply bills your credit card based upon your expenditures. Overture provides more intuitive and complete reporting functionality that enables you to analyze the effectiveness of keywords, but Google allows you to enter a maximum expenditure-per-day. This daily cap provides more control over your monthly spending while Overture's system simply draws money from the online account until depleted. This daily draw can vary substantially from one day to the next. Also, Overture requires you to keep 3 days of "extra cash" on hand. Do you earn interest on the money you're loaning to Overture? Forget about it.
2) Be aware of the similarities
Both Google and Overture differentiate their paid clicks from their free, contextual algorithms, usually by featuring the "sponsored" searches on a different part of the page and by highlighting them in a color box. Recently, Overture launched a new product, or search mechanism, whereby an advertiser can choose to be listed among the contextual content, also. That's kind of like paying for a meal after you've already eaten it.
Both services also experience infrequent, yet unexplained, "spikes" that decimate your daily or monthly budget in a matter of minutes or hours. It's a little unnerving knowing that you could blow through $500 or $1000 in a matter of minutes with absolutely no recourse. Staffed to handle these anomalies, both services feature barely adequate customer service with representatives who often reply to such technical idiosyncrasies with hostile ambivalence. Sounds like an oxymoron, but it's not.
3) Start conservatively
That said, realize that pay-per-click campaigns are not an exact science and contain the potential to be ridiculously expensive if you're not careful. Start a campaign on either Google or Overture, but not both. Become familiar with the mechanics before launching full scale advertising campaigns on the other service.
4) Understand the mechanics
The way pay-for-performance works is simple. You bid on search terms, either words or phrases or a combination of both. Your webpage link then appears in search engine results relative to the price of the bid. If you're the highest bidder, your webpage appears at the absolute top of many search engines. Remember the frustration of typing in a search for your webpage and never finding your link? No longer!
5) Understand the advantages
Perhaps the best part of pay-for-performance advertising is the "pay for performance" part. Unlike traditional advertising where you pay based upon the number of impressions, here, you only pay if people click on your link. In essence, they are pre-sold.
6) Select the appropriate keywords
Let's look at an example. Say you have published a mystery novel about the death of a land baron in Louisiana. Not exactly a new plot and yet millions of "whodunit" readers may be interested in reading it. Your solution? Open a pay-for-performance account and bid on search terms like "Louisiana Mystery Novel" and "Mystery Book Plantation" and other similar search terms. Counter-intuitively, the more specific the term, the better your campaign will perform, since very specific searches deliver very motivated buyers to your page. Since you're paying for each click, you want those browsers to buy! That's where "conversion" comes in to play.
7) Understand the disadvantages
You have to be very careful managing your bids and selecting your keywords, or pay-for-performance advertising can become ineffective. Do not bid on ridiculously vague and popular words like "book" or "fiction" because you will never recoup your money. Instead, focus your search terms as specifically as possible.
It's only a matter of time before traditional print media finds some way to adopt this new method of cost-per-conversion and pay-for-performance advertising. Those who don't will die trying. Viva la digital revolution!
Brent Sampson is the President & CEO of Outskirts Press Publishing at outskirtspress.com and author of Publishing Gems: Insider Information for the Self-Publishing Writer. Information at outskirtspress.com
Have you received your check from Google? If you own... Read More
What are PPC Search Engines?PPC Search Engines are search engines... Read More
Adwords PPC Management Tip No. 1Setting up an accountIf you... Read More
You know about Google Adsense, now it's Google Ad Links... Read More
Did you know that there are actually pay per click... Read More
I recently made a critical mistake in my progression towards... Read More
Many people decide to spend a lot of money putting... Read More
Many of us have websites and as a matter of... Read More
Click fraud is an unfortunate byproduct of the pay per... Read More
PTRE stands for Paid To Read Email programs. Online companies... Read More
Click fraud has become a major problem for online marketers.... Read More
The truth about Google's Adsense program is that it is... Read More
Is it wise only to reley on traffic from the... Read More
Why, on your web pages of course. Ok, just kidding.... Read More
It's easy to overlook the basics of a strong AdWords... Read More
So how do people find my website? This is by... Read More
Forbes magazine reported that pay per click ads accounted for... Read More
A well-oiled pay-per-click search engine campaign can land hundreds of... Read More
Imagine if you could advertise ONLY to people who have... Read More
Google announced in January 2005 significant changes in their popular... Read More
Do you know what is the most important question among... Read More
On June 24, 2005, a lawsuit was filed against Google... Read More
Where are your ads being displayed?The Untold Secret Of Pay... Read More
If you are using pay per click advertising, I don't... Read More
Google Inc. is suing a Houston-based company for allegedly clicking... Read More
What are PPC Search Engines?PPC Search Engines are search engines... Read More
How much revenue do you generate from Google Adsense?Recently there... Read More
Dear friends,Google AdSense has rapidly gained a status of an... Read More
Dinner With Mark JoynerAbout 3 Years ago in Los Angeles... Read More
Wouldn't it be great if every keyword in Google's entire... Read More
If you want to make money online with a work... Read More
It's worthwhile to examine Google's definition of Google AdSense and... Read More
"I don't need the Internet to advertise - I'm a... Read More
Are pay-per-click ads the best method of getting customers to... Read More
There are various ways to purchase highly targeted advertising at... Read More
Most pay per click ads draw amazingly low click through... Read More
Clickbank has been around for years and has earned an... Read More
Where are your ads being displayed?The Untold Secret Of Pay... Read More
The biggest stumbling block for most home business owners is... Read More
Your probably reading this article because you use Google Adwords... Read More
It seems at the moment that everybody is telling you... Read More
Pay per click or search engine optimization, which one should... Read More
Success with Google Adwords isn't quite as easy as some... Read More
On Friday, July 15th all Google advertisers got the email... Read More
1: The ideal Google AdSense page should have great content... Read More
Without tracking, your online advertising is just a shot in... Read More
As an AdSense sponsoring web site, your goal is to... Read More
There are a variety of advertising options available to online... Read More
Google Adwords is a very good place to promote your... Read More
There's tons of money to be made from the Google... Read More
Pay-Per-Click Advertising |