Here is your NoSpin Debunker for May 19, 2003

Help People Find Your Web Site
Search Engine Optimization: The Basics--Part V

Pay-Per-Click SEO

Pay-Per-Click means paying for higher search engine rankings so as to drive quality traffic to your website. Virtually all first tier and secondary search engines now have two types of rankings: "non-sponsored" (that is, "free" rankings that are determined solely by a search engine's own algorithms) and "sponsored" listings that are determined solely by how much someone is willing to bid (per keyword). Usually "sponsored" website listings appear at or near the top of a search page, but in the case of Google Adwords, they appear on the right side of the page.

Type "marketing outsourcing" into Google search, and you'll see a sponsored listing of mine (on the right hand side of the page) in the 1st or second spot (unless someone has outbid me in the meantime). And in the "non-sponsored" listings on the first page, you'll also see a listing for www.nospinmarketing.com. Or try the same thing by typing "marketing outsourcing" in to Yahoo search-and I'll be listed among the top couple "sponsored" listings and approximately 5th in the "non-sponsored" rankings.

Pay-Per-Click to Jumpstart Your Website Traffic

Last Debunker (Part IV) I talked about how to submit (register) your site so your site will be located by search engines and over time--IF you implement other SEO initiatives--ideally, be ranked high as well. But, as mentioned, that process can take some time and sometimes a lot of effort, and there are no guarantees of ever getting on the first page of Google, Yahoo, MSN, AOL, etc-much less be ranked in the Top 3. Pay-per-click is another option to significantly enhance the chances that your website is visible to web surfers who use keywords that are applicable to your business, products, and services. The beauty is that it happens immediately. Pay-Per-Click doesn't replace other SEO activities, but rather it supplements them-and can be a valuable addition to your website marketing strategy.

How Pay-Per-Click Works

Pay-Per-Click is a very effective shortcut to getting quality traffic on your site. Essentially, you bid real-time (against direct competitors and others) for specific keywords (See Part II and Part III of this SEO series). And sometimes you get lucky and find that no one is bidding for the key words you want. Then your website gets ranked according to your bids-and you pay only when a web surfer actually clicks on one of your urls. Ideally, you want to shoot for Position #1, or #2 or #3 on the first page of any search engine. The higher your ranking, the greater the likelihood that someone using a relevant key word will click on to your site. Traffic falls off almost exponentially from 1 to 2 to 3--and continues to dwindle rapidly. If you are off the first page of any search listing, your chances are very, very slim indeed that you'll be located in searches for a particular keyword.

You bid what you are willing to pay for each click-through to your site. To get a top position you may only need to bid $0.10 per click (the typical minimal bid on Overture and others) for a key word--or several dollars per click for a very popular keyword. Prices are generally higher for keywords that generate higher search volumes. But even more important in determining price is the bidding interest in a particular keyword. A specific keyword may generate a relatively low volume of searches-but still be of very high interest to more than one business that continues to "bid" it up over time. And remember, it's not so much the gross number of visitors that hit your site but rather the number of "quality" visitors who may become good prospects and buyers of your products and services.

Your Pay-Per-Click= (the price of each of your key words) X (the # of times) someone actually clicks on it. Your "click-through" rate per keyword is the number of times that your url is clicked on as a percentage of all searches for that keyword (for any Pay-Per-Click provider and its "affiliate" search engines). Pay-Per-Click providers will show you what you need to bid in order to achieve a top position. Google also gives you some idea of estimated click-through rates (e.g. the % of times a url in a top position will be clicked on and estimated daily cost)-but only AFTER you've signed up. In general, Google Adwords generates a lot more traffic but a lower click-through rate (2% to 5% is pretty good) than Overture. Overture, on the other hand, sometimes generates substantially higher click-through rates but on a lower number of searches than Google. Still, you likely find one or the other more effective depending on the key words you need-and the audience that uses those search engines. All Pay-Per-Click providers give you real-time, online tabulations of your clicks (per keyword), your click-through rate, and the dollars that you are spending.

Pay-Per-Click is not gambling a la William Bennett (please take my current NoSpin survey), but it is not for the faint-of-heart. Depending on how many keywords you're bidding on and their respective prices, you can run up a pretty good tab in a hurry (especially if you do not set reasonable automatic budgets). You need to pay attention and know what you are doing-and get some help from a knowledgeable pro-if you need it.

Pay-Per-Click Players

The two big players in the world of Pay-Per-Click right now are Google and Overture. You get to bid real-time for your keywords on Google Adwords and your (sponsored) listings appear on Google (at the right side of the page) and also on AOL. Overture sponsored listings appear on Overture-but more importantly on Yahoo, MSN, AltaVista, Lycos, InfoSeek, etc. Every time you bid or re-bid, your listings show up immediately (although MSN can be a bit slow). There are also a number of second players like ah.ha.com and Kanoodle etc that have affiliations with dozens of secondary engines. They don't generate the volume traffic like Google and Overture, but the price of their keywords is usually a fraction of the same words on Google or Overture. More on how to get started in Pay-Per-Click and the specifics of Google, Overture, and other Pay-Per-Click options in the next Debunker...

You pay and you get ranked. Sounds relatively straightforward, but it takes a lot of know-how to do correctly. For many businesses that have good websites, Pay-Per-Click is an outstanding marketing investment.

Pay-Per-Click Prerequisites

  • You need a good I-Commerce or E-Commerce site with compelling content-otherwise paying for more traffic will be a waste. If your site is a loser, fix it up first before you invest in Pay-Per-Click.
  • You need to be willing to invest a reasonable amount of money in Pay-Per-Click for at least for 2-3 months to check your results. Are you generating not just more traffic to your site but contacts and hopefully sales? What's reasonable as an investment certainly depends on the size of your business and the number of your products and services. But even for a small to medium-size business your investment will probably be at least a couple hundred dollars a month to over a thousand dollars a month. But you can always control your spending depending on your own budget.
  • You also need to be willing to regularly monitor your search engine traffic overall, and in particular, your pay-per-click results--and make ongoing adjustments as needed.

Otherwise do NOT use pay-per-click as an SEO strategy.

The Pros of Pay-Per-Click

Immediate results. It's a lot faster way to a high ranking (albeit "sponsored") and more traffic than doing all the things necessary to move up the big engines ("non-sponsored") rankings.
  • Still a mystery to most. Although more businesses are catching on to Pay-Per-Click, it's still well kept secret than you can take advantage of in the marketplace, regardless of the size of your company.
  • Control. You can carefully monitor your results as well as control your investment and turn it up, down, or off at any point.
  • Higher Sponsored Rankings As Well. Because Pay-Per-Click increases your overall website traffic that is one of the key criteria that most big search engines use to rank sites. In fact, it not a bad idea to purchase a few inexpensive key words (in some way related to your business) to build your overall traffic.
  • Visibility. You can see what your competitors are doing at all times and adjust accordingly.
  • ROI. The proof in the pudding over time if Pay-Per-Click generates quality prospects and sales for your business. But relative to other marketing initiatives the investment is low and the potential high--for businesses that take their websites seriously.

The Cons of Pay-Per-Click

  • Money. It takes a reasonable level of ongoing investment to see results. Plus there are only so many top slots for any key word-so you may be precluded if the keywords you need are just too expensive. In addition you have to watch out for continual bid escalation that gets out of control
  • Time. You can't just sign up with Google or Overture and forget about it. You need to monitor your bidding regularly and pay attention. You may need assistance. Handling ongoing SEO and Pay-Per-Click is one of several services that I provide my Marketing Outsourcing customers. If you need help, please give me a call.

Next time, I discuss in greater detail how to get started in Pay-Per-Click and what I've learned about the vagaries of bidding for keywords using Google Adwords and Overture.

Tom Ranseen
615.383.7157