Internet advertising and online advertising:The Top Online Internet PPC Programs
Posted on | July 9, 2006 | No Comments
PPC programs, also known as pay-per-click or cost-per-click, are online Internet advertising vehicles offered by a growing number of both large and small search engines.
They usually involve short text ads positioned either above or beside the free search results. When someone clicks on an online PPC ad, the online Internet advertiser pays a set amount ranging from as little as $0.01 up to $100.00 per click depending on keyword quality. Generally, the more popular the search term, the higher its cost per click.
There are PPC engines that specialize in helping consumers find specific products and services, such as BizRate and Shopping.com, but in this article we’ll focus on the two main keyword-based PPC programs: Google AdWords and Yahoo! Sponsored Search.
Google AdWords
Google’s AdWords program displays your ads not only in Google’s search results pages for the keywords you buy, but also on Froogle, Google Groups, Gmail, and on partner sites such as AOL, Compuserve, AskJeeves, and many more.
Your ads will also come up on websites that subscribe to Google’s Adsense program. Adsense serves up AdWords ads on pages that host related content, so your ads will be targeted to the readers of that page.
Good Things to Know About AdWords Online Internet Advertising:
• Google’s bid system adjusts your bids automatically as prices fluctuate so you can stay ahead of your competitors without overpaying.
• Their system also allows you to set a daily budget so you don’t overshoot your limit.
• You can focus your campaign on a specific geographic area.
• Google charges a one-time activation fee of $5. After that, you only pay for the keywords clicked on.
• AdWords has plenty of rules and regulations so be sure to read the editorial guidelines and craft your ads carefully before submitting them.
• Google now has a learning center that contains more information about AdWords than you may ever need to know.
Visit the Google AdWords home page for full details.
Yahoo! Search Marketing
Yahoo! Sponsored Search (formerly Overture) displays your PPC ads in the results of some of the most highly-rated search engines and portals, such as MSN, Alta Vista, Excite, AllTheWeb, CNN, ESPN and many others. So, like Google AdWords, Yahoo!’s PPC program buys you online exposure beyond the pages of the “mother ship” itself.
Yahoo! Search has two PPC components: Sponsored Search and Local Sponsored Search.
Sponsored Search:
To start your Sponsored Search campaign, Yahoo! asks you to write search listings that include your keywords. Then you determine the bid amount you want to pay. The order in which your ad is displayed in the search results depends on how high you bid.
Content Match is a nice little extra that displays your keyword ads alongside relevant articles within Yahoo!’s network of publisher websites. You will automatically receive traffic from Content Match listings when you open a Sponsored Search account.
Local Sponsored Search:
Local Search allows you to promote your business in a defined geographic area and is especially useful for small, regional businesses or larger companies that want to drive customers to their local branches.
Searchers go to Yahoo!, type in their search query, for example “Boston seafood restaurants”, listings appear in the regular search results, and when they click on one, they are shown a Locator page – an information page with the restaurant’s address, hours, map and web address.
There’s no monthly minimum charge for Local Search, and you only pay for clicks on your listing.
Good Things to Know About Yahoo! Online Internet Advertising:
• Yahoo! Search has dropped its $20 minimum monthly spending rule so now advertisers can spend as much or as little as they like on their PPC campaign.
• Sponsored Search requires a $5 deposit (reduced from $30) to open an account, with click-throughs deducted from the deposit.
• Yahoo! has a view bids tool that allows you to see what advertisers are bidding for specific keywords. The minimum bid is $0.10.
• Yahoo!’s budgeting feature helps you control how much you spend based on a daily budget that you determine.
Visit Yahoo! Search Marketing for more information.
While Google and Yahoo! are the key players in the PPC field these days, they have hundreds of competitors; here are just a few you may want to explore:
FindWhat.com (now Miva)
Enhance
LookSmart
Kanoodle
7Search
GoClick
ePilot.com
Lycos Insite AdBuyer
Summing Up:
PPC advertising is an excellent way to generate interest in your business quickly. But remember, your campaign needs to be set up carefully and then monitored and adjusted to ensure the clicks you generate are paying for themselves in increased conversions. Your PPC campaign may always be more of a work in progress than a finished masterpiece, but that’s what keeps it interesting!
Additional Online Internet Advertising Resources:
Online / Internet Advertising Standards and Guidelines
ClikZ Stats: Online Internet Advertising Statistics
eMarketer: Internet, Business & Ecommerce Statistics
Online Internet Surveys
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