In the age of the virtual consumer there is no venue of advertising more widely utilized than the internet; unfortunately, this means that everyone is doing it. It makes it very difficult for the small businessman or woman to gain the proverbial "leg up" on the marketplace. For this reason many are looking for an alternative to traditional means of marketing.
The marketing offered by Google in the form of pay per click advertising has provided an option. If you have ever explored the options for advertising on the internet will know about Google Adwords. Google's Adwords permits a marketer to create their ads based on specifically chosen keywords. These ads will in turn be shown alongside the results from searches made on these keywords.
If you happen to not be familiar with Google's Adwords you only need to go to www.google.com and put a search term in the search box. You will be taken to a page that has a section on the top and on the right side that is labeled 'sponsored links'. Ads in the 'sponsored links' sections are made using Google's Adwords.
Launching and managing a Google AdWords campaign can be a daunting proposition.
There is no doubt that the extra exposure provided by such an endeavor can bring exponentially increased profits; however, the fact that AdWords operates on a pay per click basis (the advertiser is charged a fee for every time a browser follows the link to their website) means that it can quickly deplete an advertising budget.
This is why it is vital that pay-per-click advertising campaigns be managed with great care.
The first item in question is the careful selection of keywords. It is essential that the keywords pertain to the subject in question and be specific enough to ensure that the browsers who are viewing them are likely to make a purchase but general enough that anyone browsing without a specific idea of what they are looking for will be directed to the advertisement.
As the marketer contemplates what to bid on a keyword they must consider what amount will fit into their budget for their campaign. Ads online will undoubtedly bring leads that will not produce a sale and just end up being an expense. It is vital that the marketer take care when assessing the possible profits of campaigns before committing himself to the venture.
An advertisement that the advertiser is paying thirty to forty cents a click on will inevitably appear higher on the list of sponsored links than one for which the advertiser is only paying ten to fifteen cents a click. This makes it more visible to the average internet browser who is generally unwilling to look beyond the first few pages. This exposure means nothing if it is constantly bringing unproductive leads and wasting thirty to forty cents a click.
After you select keywords and set your campaign in motion you must carefully check the progress of the ads and keywords. Ads that are unproductive just lead to wasted advertising monies.
An advertisement placed on a search engine such as Google will have a link tracing it to the website, allowing the webmaster to determine precisely how much of their website traffic and sales were generated from that specific ad. An ad that generates a very small percentage, will need to be reformatted and possibly withdrawn entirely.
Careful management of a pay per click campaign is an essential component to its success. There are numerous companies that, should the advertiser feel that they are not up to the task themselves, will happily step in to fulfill the management duties (for a fee, of course) and lead a campaign to success.
Contributor: Kirt Christensen
