Also known as paid listings, allows advertisers to bid against each other for placement in the search engine listings for specific search terms.
We want to start the traffic generation section with PPC /CPC because for most ventures starting out it’s extremely important. First, the traffic is almost immediate; you can start a campaign and within ten minutes have people visiting your site. Second, its scaleable, most providers give you complete control over the amount of clicks you receive and ultimately how much you spend on the traffic generated. And third, it provides you with a method to inexpensively test your market. CPC campaigns can be put in place and over a relatively short period of time you can see if it generates any significant traffic, this can provide you with an indication of the conversion rates for that traffic (the percentage of visits that convert into sales). This will allow you to quickly identify problems like:
- Does your product sell?
- Is your product overpriced?
- Does your website convert traffic into sales?
- Is your website easy to use?
- Does your website provide your customers with adequate information?
All of the keywords we use for our Search Engine Optimization
campaigns are first tested using PPC/CPC to make sure that they generate traffic and most importantly what percentage of that traffic converts into sales (called conversion rates)
PPC/CPC is extremely important to most internet retail ventures but never more so than when you are first starting out. Traffic for new internet ventures is extremely hard to come by and as traffic is the life blood of your internet business, having an almost instant means of pushing potential customers to your site is crucial to the success of your venture.
Listed below are providers that sell paid listings on a cost-per-click (CPC) basis. They are also referred to as pay-per-click (PPC) search engines. Advertisers pay for every click the search engine sends them, and those who pay the most generally get the highest listing.
The main contenders
Google-AdWords
The Google AdWords program places paid listings within Google's search results, as well as on some other sites that carry its listings. Because of its size and market position Google must be included in any serious CPC/PPC campaign.
Overture
Overture has been around longer than the other paid placement search engines. It has a wide distribution base, including that of its owner, Yahoo, who purchased it in October 2003. Yahoo still takes a very major slice of the search engine action and should therefore be a serious consideration for any CPC/PPC campaign.
Miva
A major paid placement service with wide distribution in the United Kingdom and Europe. It merged with FindWhat (below) in July 2004 and operates as a division of that company. Because of its position in the market this is a must have if your website is designed to attract a European audience.
FindWhat
FindWhat is another valuable CPC/PPC service because it distributes to many key meta search engines.
LookSmart
Provides paid placement listings and has good distribution to second level search and meta search engines
Other Notable Services:
Enhance (formerly ah-ha)
ePilot
Kanoodle
Lycos Insite AdBuyer
Mirago Serves the UK/Europe.
Search123
More Pay Per Click Resources:
PayPerClickAnalyst.com: Long-standing site with reviews of major pay-per-click search engines, along with news about changes to them.
PayPerClickSearchEngines.com: Another long-standing guide to paid placement search engines, with links to articles and resources about dealing with them.
Search Engine
Advertising: Compilation of general articles about how search engines sell listings-based ad units, as paid placement and paid inclusion.
Continue to Focus
on Google PPC
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