Pay Per Click Search Engines Explained

In a nutshell, pay per click search engines allow you to bid, auction style for positioning within their search results. For example, if a competitor has bid 10 cents for position number 1, (and the best chance of getting a visitor), you can bid 11 cents, and nearly instantly, YOUR site is number one. The competitor site moves down to number 2. This process goes on and on, all day long.

As people click on your search listing, and go to your site, the amount you have bid is deducted from a previously paid deposit.

The positioning within search engine results is critical. Studies have shown that a vast majority of searchers will not go past the second page.

Overture (formerly GoTo) was the first search engine to deploy this method of ranking. Overture is now Yahoo! Search Marketing. In addition to ranking their results this way, they have amassed hundreds of partner sites that use their data. Major partners such as AOL, MSN, HotBot, Lycos, Altavista, Netscape, Dogpile, and others utilize their top results.

Being on the top three (Premium Listings) has gained in importance as AOL, HotBot, Lycos, Altavista, and others use the top three results in their search results, usually at the TOP, before their "regular" results. You gain an incredible amount of exposure by using this system, some estimate reaching over 75% of all search traffic by staying in the top three.

Google Adwords is a very strong player in this market - and arguably the top contender. The reach of Google all by itself is a good reason to use Adwords, but they also are exported to a large number of networks. 

Their system is a bit different, ranking based on user click through and maximum bid per click. Accounts are pay as you go, rather than by deposit. Their elegant system is a direct marketers dream, enabling testing, targeting, and very precise cost control. A Google Adwords account can be setup and producing visitors in less than 30 minutes.

Google Adwords and Yahoo! Search Marketing ads combined cover approximately 95% of all searches conducted on the web. Shouldn't your site be there?

There are over 650 other pay per click search engines, operating on the same basic principal. Most are not very valuable due to their low traffic, but some can be bargains at a penny or two per click, if you have money in your budget that can sit for a while. 

CPM vs. CPC
With pay per click or PPC advertising, you do not pay per impression, (CPM) as you do with banners. You only pay when someone actually clicks on your link, and goes to your site (Cost Per Click or CPC). You have nearly total control (within reason, and editor reviewed relevancy) over your title and description, to get the visitor to click.

Unlike banner ads, with an average click thru of less than one half of one percent, you are paying only for visitors, not impressions.

To do the quick math, at an average of only $15 CPM (cost per thousand) banner impressions, and a .5 per cent average click through rate, you will receive 5 visitors for $15, or $3 per visitor. On the other hand, the mean average cost per click at Yahoo Search Marketing is stated as 65 cents! Of course, this is all dependent upon how competitive your term is. Bids run the gamut from .10 minimum bid, to over $20 per click!

We have developed very efficient methods of seeking out relevant search terms for your site, and also finding the best prices and positions for your bids. We also have very cost - effective methods of monitoring your bids, and adjusting them to maintain position and control costs. You can do this yourself online in real time with the Overture system, and the others, but we have been doing this for many accounts over the past two years. The systems developed have been used on monthly accounts as low as $25 per month, to $8,000 per month, and everywhere in between.

You are in nearly complete control of your PPC budget, through raising or lowering your bids, and the exposure they give you.

There are other PPC engines that have lower traffic than Overture and its partners, hence their bids are lower. After we've done the requisite keyword research for bidding at Overture, you can leverage that research by opening accounts at other PPC engines. We've carefully screened the best out of the over 70 other PPC engines, and can do this very cost effectively. Granted, the other PPC engines combined do not have the traffic or reach of Overture and its partners, but the bid costs are much lower - some with a 1 /10 of a cent minimum. And a visitor, is a visitor, whether from Overture, or any of the other engines.

We believe that PPC advertising is one of the most powerful , most immediate forms of web promotion available today. You can be start receiving traffic from PPC engines in 3 - 5 days, rather than the months it takes to rank well in most search engines. This may change, as all things do on the web, but for now, the window of opportunity is WIDE open for those site owners astute enough to take advantage of the opportunity. We have honed this system to a fine edge, and you can take advantage of that edge now.

Why Pay for Visitors?
If you do not appear high in the search engine rankings, you will not be visited by those who are searching for your goods. Period. You can attract visitors in other ways, but common knowledge says that nearly 90% of people who find a site do so initially through the search engines, and of that, nearly 80% will not go past the third page. On the web, as in real world business, one of the most important cost is that of customer acquisition. Pay per click search engines offer a very affordable method of acquiring visitors and therefore customers.

What about Search Engine Optimization?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an art and a science, of determining the algorithms or formulas that different search engines use to rank the sites in their search results.

Each search engine has its own algorithm, and figuring these formulas out are a time consuming, maddening process. We know. We’ve done this for years. And, to top it all off, the algorithm can change at the click of a mouse. Why would they do that? Because unscrupulous operators have taken to manipulating the results, and driving irrelevant traffic to their sites. The only service search engines provide, is helping people find what they want.

When someone manipulates the results, and guides the user to irrelevant information and sites, the product of the search engine suffers, and they lose visitors. Hence, Search Engines need to protect their investments in traffic, and do what they can to befuddle and confuse people trying to “crack” their algorithms. This is a never ending game, and requires a lot of study, and vigilance. We have found over the past several months that this is no longer an efficient use of time or resources for the average webmaster.

Use SEO  and Pay Per Click
Historical data shows that on average, 65% of users click on the natural "organic" listings, and 35% use the paid or sponsored listings. Can you afford to ignore 35% of the market? 

Additional research has shown that users in "buying mode" use sponsored or paid listings more often, and convert better. It is as if they know the paid ads lead them to where they can buy their goods, rather than in the natural listings, where they can find information.

We are SEO specialists, but there are other ways to drive traffic. In the long run, it is helpful, but sometimes takes months to achieve good “ranking”. We provide  Search Engine Optimization for your site without resorting to "secret tactics." This will give you a good shot at ranking well in the long run. Pay per click advertising gives you whatever ranking you can afford - almost immediately. With our guerilla marketing tactics, you will receive much more traffic for much less than the competition. For pennies per visitor in most cases.

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