Internet Business Tool Center

PPC


PPC MARKETING

Introduction

PPC stands for Pay-Per-Click. You place an ad at Google, Yahoo or MSN and when someone clicks on it, you pay a fee.

You see these ads whenever you make a search at one of the three named sites. They are in a column to the right, at the top of the page and at the bottom of the page.

PPC marketers place keywords in their ad. They agree to pay some maximum price for each keyword. If the cost of the ads is less than the profits you make on those who answer your ad by clicking on it, you are making money. PPC is one of the most powerful and fast ways to make money on the web. BUT there are RISKS. You can lose your shirt faster than Jack Snap. That has happened to me.

The Process

For a successful PPC campaign (one that makes you money) the following process occurs:

A. PPC Account(s) Setup

Start with Google, MSN (LIVE), and Yahoo.

B. Perform Relevant Research

1. Keywords

Some PPC marketers start with a search of keywords and keyword phrases that are competitive, reasonble cost, and focus on a market.

2. Market

Other PPC marketers are already focused on a market. They want to find a niche which is effective, competive, and reachable.

3. Products

Products can be those of the marketer or of vendors. Finding products that fit a particular niche in the market is very important.

C. Creation of Landing Pages

You want to be narrow minded here. The following criteria are helpful:

The landing page should focus on the keywords or phrases to be used in your PPC campaign. For that reason, you may have a number of landing pages as you broaden your activities. An affiliate link is not allowed on some PPC sites so don't make your vendor's page your landing page. You are not to sell either. That is the vendor's job. (I sell flagpoles so I do just sent folks to my flagpole site where they can buy a flagpole.)

The landing page must contain relevant information. If your keyword phrase is "Grow Winter Turnips," then your page had better tell your reader how to grow winter turnips (whatever winter turnips are). If it does not, Google will punish you! You will pay more keywords and your ads may be so low in the rankings that nobody but nobody will see them. You are in the presell business. You give lots of good information and then give your affiliate link so that the vendor can do the selling. Did I say that? Well, it is very important.

Campaign Creation

The PPC sites have detailed instructions on how to setup your campaigns. You will have ads related to keywords. Different ads for the same product may lead to a different landing page. You will be asked where you geographically want your ads to appear. You may be asked about Associated Networks (Do Not Use if you are a beginner.) A keyword generator will help you with keyword research. (Look at the Google Keyword Generator External to see that this all about.) You will be given the approximate keyword cost. You will be given the amount of traffic to expect and also, the cost of the campaign. You will enter your budget for the campaign. You run the campaign and keep an eye on what you are spending. You look at the traffic on your site. You look at the number of product clicks you are getting and how many sales are made. Your campaign results will be tabulated so you will know exactly what your operating cost are.

Testing

You will see which of your ads are outperforming others. Change the headline on an ineffective ad. A new headline can increase your number of clicks tremendously. Get rid of "bad" ads and replace them. Keep modifying until you find ads that work. Keep a good ad. If you want to modify it, add a second ad with the modification and see which outperforms.

Analysis

You are in the PPC business to make money. Keep track of your PPC cost and your sales. If your sales profits exceed your cost, you are in business. Keep that campaign going but keep and eye on your competition. They will copy you if they can. (They will copy you.) If you are being treated unfairly by a copycat, immediately tell Google, MSN or Yahoo about it. They will decide if he is a crook or not and may ban his ads or even his ability to advertise. (Sweet Revenge!)

Resources

There are many resources on the Internet to learn PPC. WordTracker will keep up to date by sending you emails about new articles on the subject.

There are many ebooks which are free to give you a hand with PPC. The rule is that the more you know, the more successful you will be.

And make sure you TEST, TEST, TEST! Changing the first line of your ad can increase your clicks forty fold and you will get more sales.

A good place to learn PPC is atWealthy Affiliate University but you must me a member. They have several courses and a wonderful keyword phrase finder.

Here are three good products that I use to make money using PPC:

Beating Adwords by Carson and Kyle at WAU. CLICK HERE to read my review! This is FREE if you join Wealthy Affiliate University

MicroNicheFinder by Mr. Jones who is not related to me. This program not only finds the worth of keywords, it also finds you unlicensed and licensed content. If you use licensed content, you MUST have the permission of the writer. The program gives the cost of keywords.

TheClickBankCode is a powerful program but a little technical for new marketers. But I learned to use it and I'm 78-years-old.

FREE PPC Instruction is available at Google (adwords), Yahoo and MSN. They also have experts that will help you get started and they will help you avoid there mistakes. There is nothing cheaper than free so use these sources and tie in with one of there representatives who are very helpful.