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SEM Ireland | Pay Per Click | PPC Campaigns
PPC | What is Pay Per Click advertising?
Pay Per Click advertising is one of the most visible forms
of online marketing there is. In fact, everyone who has ever used a search
engine while browsing online will have been exposed to PPC,
whether they noticed or not. Each time a searcher enters a word or phrase
into the search field and clicks, the engine returns pages of results
ranked according to how relevant the search engine thinks them to be.
At the top of these results pages you'll find sponsored listings, otherwise
known as Pay Per Click ads. They can usually be easily identified by their
'sponsored results' tag on most search engines, but others make it more
difficult to tell them apart from the natural search results.
This form of online advertising allows the customer to
market their service or product directly to users who have been actively
searching for it or for something similar. Of all the marketing programs
available, PPC (or sponsored search placement)
is probably the most highly targeted form of advertising available, online
or offline, as it allows the user to preselect the keywords or phrases
for which their ad will appear. It is essentially an auction. The highest
listing will always go to whoever bids the most for that particular key
word or phrase combination. The advertiser is only charged when a potential
customer actually clicks on the link and is delivered to their site. Because
the results of any campaign can be monitored on a daily basis, many thousands
of web sites have made the use of Pay Per Click ads an ongoing part of
their overall Online Marketing program.
PPC | Measuring Success
The popularity of Pay Per Click programs as a form of
online advertising is likely a result of how easy it is to measure how
successful any campaign has been. Success is ultimately determined by
the ROI (return on investment), however the ROI is highly affected by
the level of competition for any given phrase. If the keywords or phrases
chosen are highly competitive (ie, many companies are bidding for them),
or very general, then the ROI will usually be significantly lower. Because
Pay Per Click programs are an auction, site owners are
well advised to spend plenty of time and effort researching the search
terms properly, and thereafter tracking and monitoring their progress
on a daily basis. There are two main PPC programs available
for site owners at the moment, Google Adwords and Yahoo Search Marketing,
which was run by Overture previously. MSN has its own platform, but as yet hasn't significantly
cut into the big two's domination of this market.
Although Yahoo and Google offer a service that is similar in a broad sense,
they behave quite differently and allow the user very different levels
of control over the costs and selection of search terms.
PPC | Advantages of Pay Per Click campaigns
We have mentioned some of the obvious benefits to running a Pay Per
Click advertising campaign above, but to recap:
- Low start-up costs
- Ease of set-up. Setting up a Pay Per Click campaign doesn't take
very long. This makes them an ideal addition to other ongoing marketing
promotions. They are perfect for product launches or programs which have
a specified amount of time alloted to them.
- Guaranteed top listings in the SERPs. Usually, search engines reserve the top positions in the
results pages for PPC users, these can be easily identified by their 'sponsored
listing' tag.
- Choice. If you conduct your research properly, you will
be able to identify and target those lesser used, but more specific, search
phrases, which will be cheaper than the more popular general terms. As
search engine users become increasingly more sophisticated in how they
write their queries, multiple word (phrases) searches are becoming more
popular than single word searches, so these cheaper search terms usually
have a higher ROI than their more expensive general counterparts.
- Where the visitor arrives is your choice. Perhaps you have a site that has hundreds
of product pages. Having the potential customer land on the exact page
they need rather than the homepage can be a significant advantage.
PPC | Managing your Pay Per Click Campaign
If you are serious about using the internet
to drive sales then it is highly likely that you will find PPC advertising
playing a crucial role in your future success, at least over the short
term. However, successfully managing a Pay Per Click campaign is more
complicated than it first appears. Key to its success is the need for
constant monitoring, preferably by a skilled professional familiar with
the intricasies. Successful Pay Per Click bid management tends to be time
consuming and complicated, requiring a complete understanding of the differences
between the two interfaces offered by Google, Yahoo and MSN.
PPC | Choose The Professionals
Avatar Web Solutions can run your Pay Per Click campaign for you, either
as part of a complete SEO/SEM package, or as a wholly separate one-off
campaign. Our team of experts have the experience, knowledge and skills
to set up and run a sucessful pay per click or adwords campaign for your
business, with maximum reward for minimum fuss.
PPC | Avatar Web Solutions PPC Bid Management Services
Our complete service includes:
- Research - an intensive examination of all the keywords and key
phrases suitable for your business, identifying those that will perform
best for the least, and finally developing those keywords into a business
specific campaign;
- Titles - with a restriction on how many characters allowed in the
title (24/40), we select the best titles to describe your business,
using appropriate keywords and sharp text.
- Landing Pages - if necessary, Avatar can design suitable landing
pages that are specific to a particular search term or phrase; Creating
and developing the actual Pay Per Click ad;
- Bid Management - simply making a bid and then sitting back and waiting
won't get the best results. Avatar Web Solutions will ensure that
you are not over bidding, or getting trapped in a bidding war.
- Constant monitoring - by keeping track of your PPC campaign on a
daily basis, we can help ensure that you are not wasting your money,
and that the campaign maintains its effectiveness.
If you have any further questions about Internet Marketing,
Search Engine Marketing or Pay Per Click campaign management,
please contact Avatar Web Solutions
and we'll be delighted to provide you with answers.
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