Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising - It Makes Cents

You have had a stellar website created that will bring your business to the world. It represents your company image and corporate branding. So now what do you do? Where are your visitors or traffic? How in the world do you get people to visit your website? After all there are millions of websites on the Internet; how do you get people to visit you? You can't just put up a website and expect it to be listed on the front page of Google. In fact it can take months or years to get recognition from the search engines, and you may never make the front page. You must create an Internet marketing plan, which includes Pay-per-click advertising.
Pay-per-click (PPC) is a method of internet advertising available on search engines, content websites, blogs, industry specific websites, even trade magazine websites;, where you only pay when an internet user clicks on your ad which leads them to your website. On search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN, you bid on keywords that are relevant to your business; what people would type into the search engine to find your business. When someone types one of your keywords into the search engine or is on a page that has relevant content to your site, your ads may be displayed. These ads are called sponsored links or sponsored ads. They appear above and on the side of the organic search results, and just about anywhere on a content site. Content websites usually charge a set price per click instead of using a bidding system.
The two types of PPC systems are flat rate and bid based. Regardless of the type of system used, it is up to the advertiser to decide how valuable each click is so that they can determine what amount they are willing to invest per click. Determining this value can be tricky. It must be determined what can be gained from each visit; is it exposure to your business, a phone call, or a purchase. As with any advertising campaign, it must be targeted. What are the keywords that a prospect will search for to find your business? These are the terms you will build your campaign around, bidding on keywords that bring targeted prospects to your site.
Flat-Rate PPC Systems:
In the flat rate system, a fixed amount is agreed upon that will be paid per click. Usually there is a rate card that list the Cost-per-click (CPC) within the different areas of the website or network. These costs are usually related to the content on the page, with the content that attracts more valuable prospects having a higher CPC than other content pages. Flat rate systems are used on shopping search sites like shopzilla.com and shopping.com. They usually charge a flat rate per click, but sometimes these rates are only minimums giving advertisers the opportunity to spend more to get more exposure. These sites are organized by product or service category, thus allowing for better targeting by advertisers.
Bid-Based PPC Systems:
Bid based systems; allow the advertiser to decide the maximum amount that they are willing to pay per ad, which is based on a keyword or phrase. Each time the keyword is searched by a prospect, the ad will appear on the page. If you are the highest "bidder" for that term, your ad will show up in the first position. You will only pay when someone clicks on your ad and visits your site. Google, Yahoo and MSN all use these bid-based systems. They are managed through an online portal. You can increase or decrease your bids at any time as well as set spending budgets and determine time of ad delivery.
PPC systems, whether flat-rate or bid-based, can be complicated and time consuming to maintain. When fist embarking on a PPC campaign, you may be visiting it hourly until you get the right ad text, costs per clicks and relevant keywords to bid on. It may take weeks, or even months to perfect. It is best to have a professional set up and manage your pay-per-click campaigns. Internet marketing can be complicated and time consuming and may be best left to the professionals.