Pay-per-click
search engines allow you to bid for keyword placement
within the search engines. For example, if one of your
pages focuses on the topic of "Digital Cameras," you
can bid for the #1 (or any other #) placement on the
first page of search results.
What a nice time saver! But there's a catch, of course.
The most popular keywords are very expensive.
So your best strategy is to work the niches. Bid on
hundreds of less popular keywords related to your content.
And keep in mind: You do not always have to bid for
the #1 placement. Slightly lower placement is usually
much more cost effective.
Submitting to PPC engines (pay per click search engines)
is a quick way to get visitors to your site. However,
make sure you know how much each visitor is worth to
you before you submit.
If you are using any of the PPC search engines like
Overture (GoTo.Com), FindWhat , Ah-ha.com or Kanoodle
you can save a considerable amount of money by monitoring
your bids.
Example: Your bid for "your keyword" is $0.65 and you
hold position 3 with that amount. Your next competitor
bids $0.33 for position 4. That means that you still
would be listed under position 3 if your bid were $0.34
(i.e. you are paying $0.31 too much for your listing).
You can save a lot of money by finding pricing gaps
and lower your bids while still maintaining the same
position. A very useful tool for monitoring your bids
and making sure you do not pay too much for PPC visitors
is available through Calgary, Alberta based http://www.msseo.com/.
In addition to monitoring your placement and bids you
should be aware that there is a significant amount of
fraud going on in the PPC business. Many PPC search
engines have affiliate programs and partnership programs.
These search partners often generate bogus clicks to
inflate their commission. Popular keywords with high
bids are the most popular targets for this, but anyone
can be a victim of fraud.
This is mainly a problem with the smaller pay per click
search engines. The leading PPC search engines mentioned
previously on this page has safeguards in place to protect
you from dishonest affiliates but it never hurts to
track and verify all clicks on your own so you can spot
fraudulent activity.
About
the Author
Carmen is the VP Client Relations of Ms. SEO Inc., a
Calgary based Search Engine Optimization & Internet Marketing
Company. Ms. Seo Inc. works with their sister company
Ms. Hype Inc., a
Calgary Web Design Company, and their parent company
Cre8 Hype Solutions Inc., a
Calgary based Internet Marketing Company, to offer
their clients a powerful online presence. |
