If business is small & operating in a niche market, he needs an alternative to the free search engines that are becoming even more competitive & complex. Study the workings of the PPC search engines and he'll boo on a fast track to success. Conversely, poor knowledge can put his business on the slippery slope to ruin. Lets learn to operate PPC search engines &he will have a great advantage over his competition.
Advertising on the PPC search engines can be a bit like attending an auction where he can bid for the top ranked positions on the keywords of his choosing. Every time a visitor reaches his website by clicking on his advert at that search engine he pays the value of his bid. Bid values typically start at five cents but can be several dollars for certain highly competitive keywords.
The advantages and disadvantages of PPC advertising. First some advantages -
1. He doesn't pay unless someone clicks on his advert.
2. Can be an inexpensive method of attracting targeted traffic to his site.
3. Anyone can get the top advertising spot if they outbid the competition.
4. Some PPC search engines enable a campaign to be up & away in minutes. Not very long after he could be taking orders.
5. Adverts can be cancelled immediately if they are not successful.
6. Adverts can be tested and amended very quickly & very simply.
Unfortunately there are some disadvantages that have to discuss too -
1. He could be paying for junk clicks. i.e. people who click on his advert for the sheer hell of it. Probably his competition.
2. Competition over that top spot can result in a bidding war, driving up the cost per click.
3. Some of the PPC search engines have rigorous approval processes for adverts. He doesn't always end up with an advert to his liking, or it could take a long time to get the advert agreed.
4. A misleading or poorly crafted ad can result in traffic that doesn't convert to sales. If he hasn't restricted the advertising budget to something he can afford - then in these circumstances he could be on that fast track to bankruptcy.
Having considered both the upsides & the downsides, get started with PPC advertising. First & foremost he should carry out some research into the keywords that his target customers are using to search for his type of product or service. Techniques for conducting this research are numerous, but lack of time & space here prevent the elaborating further. Another essential piece of knowledge he require before entering the bidding fray, is the monetary worth of a visitor to his website. It mean the average revenue generated by each visitor. This will be his guide to how far he can push it in the bidding process.
If he wants to use PPC advertising to test his sales copy on a new site with no visitor knowledge, then monitor his costs versus sales closely. A daily budget is advisable at the outset. Limit his spending to something he can afford to lose if the worst occurs & he doesn't make any sales. Raise this as appropriate once he can see the sales conversion rate.
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