What is Pay-Per-Click (PPC)?

Paid Search Explained

Overview
PPC stands for Pay Per Click (not paper clip); we’ve heard that more than once.  When a user goes to a search engine like Yahoo! or Google, they go there to search the Internet for something of interest.

Using the image on the right as an example, a visitor goes to Google and searches for the term “Florida Motorsports”.  This image depicts the search results delivered by Google for this specific term.  The results on the left are what’s called “natural search results”, which deal with Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  These are websites which were indexed by the search engine “naturally”.  The results on the RIGHT column are “sponsored links”, otherwise known as paid search, paid inclusion, PPC ads, or Google ads.  

The box in yellow shows one of the top PPC results for the term used, this is one of our Google ads.  As you see, we are targeting a local market with this ad, this is a good way to minimize unwanted clicks and reduce costs.

What It Costs
When search engine visitors click on your PPC ad, they are sent to a page on your web site. As an advertiser, you are only charged when a visitor clicks on your advertisement to visit your web site. Typically minimum bids start at $0.05 and up to $50.00, although few bids ever reach that higher level. For most advertisers bidding averages between $0.25 and $2 per click (visitor).

The majority of advertisers who employ both SEO and PPC typically report very positive results, although a well-executed SEO plan over time can deliver more visitors at a lower overall cost than a PPC campaign, but this is sometimes a very lengthy process.  PPC is immediate inclusion!

How It Works
Your PPC ranking is based upon your bid relative to other bids that are made in an auction-like bidding system. Therefore, if your advertisement has the highest corresponding bid, your ad will appear at the top of the Paid Listings results page. If your bid is the second highest, then your ad will appear second, and so on.  This is the rule of thumb, but there are several other important factors that will determine how much Google charges for any given search term or keyword you bid on.

For the major PPC engines, the top one to four bid positions are the ones that receive the highest amount of distribution across their search partner networks, and hence receive the greatest exposure and click traffic. Our advice for bid management is to initially position your bids so that your ads will appear third or fourth, with the best targeted title and text possible. The fee is a little lower (usually) and the click thru rate remains quite high.

Pay Per Click Internet Advertising offers you the ability to control how much you want to spend and where you want to be ranked. And, perhaps best of all, you only pay for actual traffic that clicks through to your web site!

It is estimated there are over 300 Pay Per Click Programs, but really the top 10 have about a 90% reach across the Internet.

Similar to Search Engine Optimization, designing, developing, and PPC campaign management takes time and labor, but the benefits are undeniable:

• Instant visibility & traffic: The more you bid, the higher you are listed and the more traffic you will receive.
  
  
• Quick to launch: Although some PPC campaigns require editorial review before they are active, some do not. Even with editorial review, a pay per click campaign can be active in a few days.
  
• Easy to Implement: PPC does not necessarily require expert knowledge to set up, although experience with search engines is definitely an advantage.
  
  
• Easy to track and measure conversions: With tracking code & metrics in place and data being gathered by the search engines, tracking a campaign's success is easier than it ever has been.
  
  
• No content or Web design changes necessary: Although you might want to make some changes to create a really effective campaign, none are necessary to get you started. Your existing Web site or Web page will work.
  
  
• Keyword conversion testing: You can use a PPC campaign to find out if you are targeting the right keywords by running a PPC campaign to see how well they will convert. Then incorporate the best keywords into your SEO campaign.

Are You Ready To Get Started?