Part 1g - Pay Per Click Marketing / PPC
I won't delve too deeply into pay-per-click marketing in this book. In my opinion, pay-per-click (also known as PPC and sponsored search) is a more advanced component of web marketing, so I always advise my readers and clients to start with the fundamentals of building a good website first, pursuing natural search engine rankings through SEO, and launching a web-publishing campaign with blogs, articles and press releases.
After all of that, if they choose to pursue PPC marketing, then so be it. But I don't usually recommend it for a first-time web marketer. It's just too complicated a subject for beginners, and you can lose a lot of money if you don't know what you're doing.
With that disclaimer out of the way, I want to at least introduce you to the topic, should you want to pursue it in the future.
Pay-per-click is one of two paths to search engine visibility. Search engine optimization is the other path — this is when your website ranks well in the search engines naturally, due to its content, link popularity and other factors.
- With natural / organic SEO, it takes a lot of work and patience to reach the top of the search engines. But the visibility is long lasting.
- With pay-per-click, you could reach the top of the search engines later today or tomorrow. But the visibility disappears as soon as you stop paying.
So if you want search engine visibility in a hurry, pay-per-click is the only vehicle that will take you there.
Pay-Per-Click Marketing With Google AdWords
The Google AdWords program is by far the most popular of the pay-per-click options. Yahoo Search Marketing and MSN also have pay-per-click programs.
Let's start out with a basic definition. Google AdWords is a pay-per-click marketing program that allows webmasters to create their own ads and choose their own keywords. Google AdWords is a "sponsored search" program, meaning your ad will show up under the "Sponsored Links" section of the Google results page.
Benefits of PPC Search Marketing
As mentioned, one of the primary benefits of search engine marketing with Google AdWords is that you can get your ad in front of people quickly. If you were to set up a Google AdWords program today, you could literally be on the first page of Google for your chosen keywords by tomorrow. Of course, it will cost you (see "drawbacks" section below).
The various reporting features built into the AdWords system provide another big benefit to using AdWords for marketing. You can track every aspect of your Google AdWords marketing campaign, from the number of ad displays to the number of clicks and conversions.
You can track people from the initial click-through to the landing page, and all the way to the conversion page you've identified (such as a "thank you" page for purchase or subscription).
Real-time ad testing is another aspect of Google AdWords that can be useful for web marketers who use the program. For example, if I create a search ad focusing on the phrase "Austin Internet marketing services," I could create two different versions of my ad. Then I could run those ads for a week and see which one had the best click-through rate. I would keep the champion ad, remove the weaker ad, and repeat the process with a new "challenger" ad.
In this way, you can constantly optimize your Google AdWords marketing program by tweaking and testing your ads, over and over again.
Drawbacks of Pay-Per-Click Marketing
Google AdWords differs from natural SEO in that you are paying for placement. With natural (or "organic") search engine optimization, you achieve your search engine ranking naturally through your content's relevancy and popularity.
Through pay-per-click programs like Google AdWords, you achieve your ranking based on the amount you bid per click (the "cost per click" or CPC) and the number of click-throughs you get. In other words, the top rankings in Google AdWords are dominated by search ads that either (A) pay the most per click, (B) have the best click-through rates, or (C) a combination of the two.
Resources for Google AdWords Marketing
This is by no means a complete education on search engine marketing with Google AdWords. Entire books have been written on the subject. I am simply trying to provide an overview into the world of Google AdWords so you can decide for yourself if it's worth further research. If you'd like to learn more on this subject, you'll find the resources I've gathered below very helpful:
Google AdWords Tutorial
http://www.google.com/adwords/tutorial.html
Using Google AdWords
http://websiteowner.info/guides/adwords/
Google AdWords Guide
http://www.akamarketing.com/google-adwords-guide.html
With search engine visibility out of the way, let's talk about the centerpiece to your online marketing strategy — your business website!
Part 2 >> Small Business Websites