Paying For Web Traffic - Part 3 - Pay-Per-Click
Part 3. Pay-Per-Click Advertising
At the present time, there are only two major players in the field: the undisputed leader, Google Adwords, and the strong second, Yahoo Search Marketing. Microsoft's MSN Advertising is coming along in third place, with some innovative features, and is worth a look. However, for a small business, you can probably get the traffic you need from the first two, and save yourself setting up a third program. There are dozens of other pay-per-click programs out there. They are not worth your time.
Is Pay-Per-Click Right For Your Business?
That's a hard one to answer. Depends on your business. Certainly, both Google and Yahoo offer the opportunity to tailor your adwords program to your local market. Google offers a much more feature-rich system than Yahoo, so if you're only going to choose one platform, we suggest Google. Many business categories that used to use the print Yellow Pages find that they do well on pay-per-click. The reason is simple: consumers are migrating from print Yellow Pages to online search. Some categories that seem to be doing well include florists, landscapers, caterers, plumbers, dentists, insurance agents, carpet cleaning, decorators, contractors, flooring, pest control, roofing, air conditioning supplies, chiropractors, and wedding-related services. And that is just the short list. But in the end, if you think your business could do well on pay-per-click, you need to test it. Fortunately, pay-per-click is perfect for testing -- a little bit at a time.
How Do You Start?
Unless you have a lot of time to play with these systems, you should seriously consider hiring a specialist to do this work. It has become quite complex, and if you don't know what you're doing, it can cost you a lot of time and money. Stay away from companies that offer you "guaranteed leads," a "free web page or listing," anything that smacks of being an unbelievable deal. It's harder work than that. To reach customers, you should have a decent website at the other end of their click. Where do you find a specialist who can provide this service? Like much else in the field of internet marketing, the water is full of sharks. One company that is honest and very competent is We Build Pages. (Disclaimer: we have no connection with this company, and do not gain anything by recommending them). By all means check out their offerings. You can also visit the forum at HighRankings.com where people are very friendly, and ask for suggestions and guidance. After you select a company to work with, stay on top of your program, and make sure they are testing and tweaking your campaign.
Technorati Tags: internet marketing, SEO, pay-per-click,
online promotion, search engine optimization, website promotion, small business, online business
At the present time, there are only two major players in the field: the undisputed leader, Google Adwords, and the strong second, Yahoo Search Marketing. Microsoft's MSN Advertising is coming along in third place, with some innovative features, and is worth a look. However, for a small business, you can probably get the traffic you need from the first two, and save yourself setting up a third program. There are dozens of other pay-per-click programs out there. They are not worth your time.
Is Pay-Per-Click Right For Your Business?
That's a hard one to answer. Depends on your business. Certainly, both Google and Yahoo offer the opportunity to tailor your adwords program to your local market. Google offers a much more feature-rich system than Yahoo, so if you're only going to choose one platform, we suggest Google. Many business categories that used to use the print Yellow Pages find that they do well on pay-per-click. The reason is simple: consumers are migrating from print Yellow Pages to online search. Some categories that seem to be doing well include florists, landscapers, caterers, plumbers, dentists, insurance agents, carpet cleaning, decorators, contractors, flooring, pest control, roofing, air conditioning supplies, chiropractors, and wedding-related services. And that is just the short list. But in the end, if you think your business could do well on pay-per-click, you need to test it. Fortunately, pay-per-click is perfect for testing -- a little bit at a time.
How Do You Start?
Unless you have a lot of time to play with these systems, you should seriously consider hiring a specialist to do this work. It has become quite complex, and if you don't know what you're doing, it can cost you a lot of time and money. Stay away from companies that offer you "guaranteed leads," a "free web page or listing," anything that smacks of being an unbelievable deal. It's harder work than that. To reach customers, you should have a decent website at the other end of their click. Where do you find a specialist who can provide this service? Like much else in the field of internet marketing, the water is full of sharks. One company that is honest and very competent is We Build Pages. (Disclaimer: we have no connection with this company, and do not gain anything by recommending them). By all means check out their offerings. You can also visit the forum at HighRankings.com where people are very friendly, and ask for suggestions and guidance. After you select a company to work with, stay on top of your program, and make sure they are testing and tweaking your campaign.
Technorati Tags: internet marketing, SEO, pay-per-click,
online promotion, search engine optimization, website promotion, small business, online business
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