Paid search marketing uses an advertising model often referred to as direct response because it allows advertisers to purchase premium placed ads of their choice on search engine result pages, advertising networks and content sites such as blogs and news sites.  This advertising model is often referred to as Pay Per Click (PPC) and for the right business it can be a key element of their Digital Internet Marketing toolkit.

How Does PPC Advertising Work?

Paid search programs allow site owners to “bid” on the terms they wish to appear for. You agree to pay a certain amount each time someone clicks on your listing. Websites that utilise PPC ads will display an advertisement when a keyword query matches an advertiser’s keyword list, or when a content site displays relevant content. Such advertisements are called sponsored links or sponsored ads, and appear adjacent to or above organic results on search engine results pages, or anywhere a Web developer chooses on a content site.

Pay-Per-Click Advertising Lets Your Company

• Reach prospects when they are actively looking for information or products and services related to their business
• Run cost effective advertising campaigns, as this type of advertising is less expensive than any other type of traditional advertising and lets business owners have control over their budget.
• Have flexibility and control. You can edit your campaigns and ads at any time (24 hours a day, 7 days a week).

Ads start running for the first time almost immediately after you activate your account with your credit card or direct debit information. (Advertisers in certain countries can pay by bank transfer. In this case, ads run when the first payment is received.)

Industries That PPC Works Well In:

PPC works well in those services that people need immediately and used to go to the Yellow Pages to look for.  If you are keen to drive traffic to your business website then PPC should be one of the tools you should seriously look into.

Paid Search Marketing Platforms

There are many PPC providers but the three largest network operators are Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing, and Microsoft adCenter and all three operate under a bid-based model.  The Cost per click (CPC) varies depending on the search engine and the level of competition for a particular keyword.

Contact Anthony Burke here to discuss any aspect of digital internet marketing.  He has many years of executive experience in business development, marketing and the Internet with large companies – more recently Hewitt Associates, Xchanging, Axa Insurance and several key London Market Insurers. Anthony now runs his own business which is associated with WSI to provide companies with affordable digital internet marketing solutions to enable profitable growth and increase marketing ROI.  He is also a member of the British Computer Society, the Chartered Institute for IT, and a registered Prince2 Practitioner.