Pay per click and it’s pros and cons
For those of you checking out pay per click campaigns, I want to mention a few basics in regards to the pros and cons. Sites such as Yahoo, Bing and Google provide listings on a per-bid basis. This service is additional to the optimisation of your ‘natural’ search results whereby those words listed within your site help to maintain exposure on the web (usually achieved via Search Engine Optimisation).
When part of a ppc campaign, you effectively bid what you feel is appropriate or what you can afford for a click on your ad. The more you pay, the more chance you have of ranking highly in the sponsored results. When someone clicks on your campaign they are directed to your web site and you are then charged whatever the amount you have bid. For example, if you were to spend 10 pence on one specific word such as ‘plumber’ and 100 people click on your ppc listing, you will be charged £10.
Pros:
You can specifically target your audience.
Place the right bid and get a top placement.
With well researched key-phrases you should attract traffic straight away.
You can adjust your campaign to market conditions.
Great for a business looking for direct response.
Great for one off campaigns.
Cons:
Can cost a lot of money if handled incorrectly.
Bid costs can inflate greatly for highly searched phrases.
Check the statistics to see where the hits are coming from. Not all are from useful sources.
Potential to get stuck in a bidding war whereby you can spend more than you are likely to get in return.
Conversions NOT clicks are the most important things. Track and evaluate your campaigns.