PPC Advertising - Getting Started

Pay Per Click or PPC is a form of internet advertising that is used on content sites (like blogs for example) as well as search engines and ad networks. Advertisers post ad content with various such web hosts and the host is paid only if and when their ad is clicked. The term "pay per click" literally means what it says: the advertiser pays each time a visitor clicks on the ad.

Websites using PPC ads will show an advertisement when a keyword query matches an advertiser's keyword list or when a content site displays content that is relevant to the advertiser's business. Advertisers typically bid on keyword phrases relevant to their target market, but pay nothing to actually appear on the results page; they only pay the amount they have agreed to (or bid for) when someone actually clicks on their ad and is taken to the landing page on their website.

There are a wide variety of PPC providers. The most popular is Google AdWords. The next most popular are Yahoo, MSN and Ask. A typical PPC listing on a search engine results page is made up of a title, (generally a short heading of around 50 characters or less) and also a short (typically no more than 200 characters long) description of the client's service(s) or some promotional wording, as well as a link to their website. Most PPC search engines strictly control the type of text that can appear in the listing, and sometimes review content before approving it; others automatically approve ads that are submitted.

When putting together a PPC campaign one must first determine the budget and risk level. These will both help determine which PPC search engine(s) one decides to deal with at the start. While the larger search engines may entail less risk due to the fact that they already have large market coverage and are in a position to offer their users more assistance, they are also a lot more expensive.

The next step is choosing keywords. There are a lot of free, independent tools available to help research keywords, and many will also be able to provide information on what the current bids for specific words or phrases on different search engines. The price of a keyword can range from anywhere from 1 cent to a few dollars or more, depending on its popularity as a search term and the search engine itself. Obviously, when advertisers pay more they will appear higher on the search results pages. After that, the headline that will appear on the search engines' results page(s) must be composed, as well as a description of what the product is and/or other promotional copy.

When opening an account with a PPC search engine one must be prepared to provide their name, company name, address, phone number, email address and so on. As a rule, opening an account is free. No charges apply until search words have been bid on and the account has been funded.

There are many ways of funding a PPC ad campaign. An account may be funded with a credit card for a set amount, and when this amount is exhausted, all advertising stops. Alternatively, one may set a monthly spend limit where the ad will no longer appear once the limit is reached.

Generally, the initial deposit for a PPC ad campaign varies between $25 and $50. Some search engines will even provide a small amount of money as a starter bonus.