MLM Online Training Resource

Pay Per Click Optimization Tactics

Posted on 14. Mar, 2010 by admin.

At this point, we are no longer just gathering data, but we are attempting to gather some insight into our pay per click campaigns.  There is only a small percentage of data that really matters.  It is the insights you gain and now it is the actions that you take.  Actions are only possible when you have very clear measurements.  What you can’t measure, you can’t improve and what you can’t measure, you can’t act upon.

The reports and data are not going to be enough.  There is no shortage of data in the average program.  There are dozens of reports that you can run in the Google report center. There are also tools like Google Analytics.  There are software and keyword tools.  Despite all that is available, you still have to understand the difference between data and a measurable action.  You have to be sure that every action you take, that you are gauging what is increasing your campaign performance or bringing you forward or backwards.

When you take an action, it is essential that you measure that action to see if it works. This is one of the things people will do.  They are not scared to take the action.  They will take the initial data, look at it and see that it is not meeting their business objectives. They will then take the actions to make improvements, but they neglect to monitor and measure those actions to actually see what is working and what is not working, thus allowing them to continue with their pay per click optimization tactics.

For example, if you are looking at the CTR metrics, that is one thing.  But, if you take action, you are going to write a new ad and create a split test with the intent of increasing that CTR.  This is a great action step.  But, if you just run to split test for the sake of having two ads and you don’t measure which ad is the definitive winner, you are wasting your time.  Pay per click optimization is about taking out all of the guess work and all of the data you are compiling and turning it into known factors so that you can build on it and continue to get more of the good stuff that is known and eliminate the bad stuff that is the unknown.

When you are looking at  your ad copy revisions that you have made and that split test you created within you pay per click campaigns, it is essential that you quickly and efficiently make a decision on the winner. One ad is going to out-perform the other either on the CTR metric or conversion metric or both.  Once you have gathered this information, you need to delete the loser and then retest again.

Again, if you don’t partner that action with measurements, you will fall short in terms of campaign performance.  You will continue to move in this endless cycle of doing things in your account but never knowing exactly what is working and what is not. This can be kind of an emotional roller coaster.  It is a lot easier if you track everything that is happening so that you can continue to understand why the improvements are taking place.  Also, you need to understand even more why things fail.

Tracking your conversions is essential to measuring your results and tracking those campaigns that are generating the most leads; tracking which ad headlines and text ads the highest percentage of leads and have the best conversion rates.

Looking at all of the key metrics in your account and looking to attract those conversions, tracking which components in your account are making those conversions possible; which components are driving those conversions and driving the highest percentage of them, thus allowing you to be very focused on improving elements within your campaign that are generating good results as well as looking at those elements that are causing harm to your campaign.

Pay per click optimization strategies encompasses a process of gathering data, making the decisions based on relationships and recognizing the gaps between your current campaign performance and your goals. Next, you bridge those gaps by continued action and improvements and measure the results of those actions to gain insight into what is working and what is not working.

One thing that is very easy in Google, one of the easiest to do in regards to optimizing your Google campaigns is to notice what isn’t working. You know it is not working if it is not bringing you closer to your goals.  If you are running a campaign and it is not generating a descent amount of leads usually is a good indicator that your ad group, campaign, or ad copy is not working. Is it producing leads at the right conversion rate, meaning are a high number of people taking this keyword in your ad group and going to your landing page and opting in, are they buying? If a high conversion rate is present, this is probably good. But having a keyword with a very low conversion rate; such as 3%, indicates that there is not enough interest there and there is definitely a gap between the keyword and your ad.  What you will find is that either there is a low quality audience or not interested in your offer, or the keyword is not specific enough, whatever the problem, it just is not working.

A low conversion rate, most times, is a very clear indication that something is not working and that there is something wrong there.  The higher conversion rates indicate a higher level of interest.  They are more likely to convert to sales.  The conversion rate is another key metric that can be used to determine whether something in your campaigns is not working.

Another metric for what is not working is the Cost Per Click metric, or CPC.  If you have a set budget and you know that the market value of your lead is around $6.00 and you can afford $6.00 a lead and still make a profit, if the lead is costing you $25.00, it does not matter how good that keyword is converting or how everything looks on paper, a $25.00 CPC shows you that something is off.  Thus, the CPC is another great way for determining what is working and what is not working.

Once you have determined what is not working, you are going to delete those elements. You are either going to pause the ad group or delete the ad group.  Another step is to pause the keyword or delete it completely.  Either way, you are going to need to shut it down as soon as it shows you, after 20 or 30 clicks, that it is just not producing. It is over priced, low traffic, with no conversions, and displays lack of interest, which means little to no sales.

You are always going to want to plug those holes on a constant basis. With Google, everything is going to be a test and a lot of it is not going to work.  This is why it is essential that you see what is not working and quickly act upon it, by taking it out so that it doesn’t continue to bleed your ad dollars. If you don’t act quickly, you can fall behind in the race very quickly.

A key factor for success, which occurs over time, where you can get some industry metrics
starting out in a new market or you may have a market where you don’t know what your metrics are and you are going to have to develop them.  Often this is the case because every business is unique in terms of their goals, their budgets; everything is unique within you business.  In situations like this, you are going to need to set some campaign benchmarks that are measurable that pertain to your business, that are obtainable just for your. You want to set something that is specific to you, not broad.  This will be something that you will need to develop over time.  Again, this is an ongoing process. Therefore, optimization is going to remain there for as long as you manage an advertising online campaign.

Through the optimization and data, when you gain those insights, you want to immediately set some benchmarks for what works. You want to be clear on your benchmarks; such as, what your CTR should look like.  You want to know what it should be in your market.  You know that when you get a certain benchmark, you show up at the top of the page.  This is something you are going to have to watch from your traffic and experience.

Next, what about your CPC? For example, you notice that you make the greatest profits at the end of the month.  This can be determine if you are simply taking your ad spend that you put into Google, the entire amount of ad dollars that you used for your Google advertising and you are just adding up all the sales, revenue, and profit that was generated during that month and compare those two metrics.  When you do this, you are going to find out which months are more profitable, which ones are not as profitable and you know which campaigns.  You may have noticed that based on your numbers, that your CPC, there is a certain Cost Per Click that always tends to produce a profit.   You also know that if you go much over that CPC, you go into negative, no matter how well you do, just based on performance metrics, that there is a certain CPC, that if you pay it, you are certain to lose money whereas if you keep your CPC at or below a specific CPC, you are guaranteed for profit.  So, having a Cost Per Click benchmark is something that you will develop over time.

Then there is positions.  It is important to know which positions are the sweet spot for your campaigns.  This is going to vary from keyword to keyword and campaign to campaign.  It is never going to be the same. This has a lot to do with behavior.  It has a lot to do with the buying behavior.  Are your prospects buying, are they shopping, are they browsing and how does their behavior relate back from the keyword query.  You need to know which positions are working and which behaviors are producing sales.  Overall, you want to know what is producing you the most profits and sales and good results.

You should also always have some conversion numbers.  You should always try to beat your conversion metrics.  The two metrics you are always going to try to beat ever day, that will make you the number one advertiser in your category or your market, is to increase your CTR (Google ranks everything on this) and your Conversion rates (this is the ratio you bench everything on).  The conversion rate reflect the leads and the sales opportunities in your pipeline. The CTRs reflect for Google, the value in your traffic, the value in giving you those positions.  Every time Google puts you at the top of the page, there is a value in that. Google has to know that if they give you those positions, they are going to get paid in clicks.  If it does, they will continue to put you there over and over again.

In conclusion, you should always be improving the CTR metrics as well as the conversion rate metric, then you will know that you are going to get the most high quality leads for the lowest price over time.  Therefore, be sure you have some conversion rate metrics set in terms of benchmarks.  What is a good conversion rate for you and what is a good cost per conversion (CPC).

Pay Per Click Optimization

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Generate Pay-Per-Click Free Leads

Posted on 03. Feb, 2010 by admin.

How does one generate pay-per-click free leads?  First of all, free leads do not necessarily mean you don’t have to pay any money.  What the statements means is that you pay for your lead generation, but the cost you put out costs less than what you earn as income from the lead flow generated from pay-per-click.  The idea is to make more than what you pay.  This means that anything above and beyond what you have paid for lead generation is profit, but not only have you made a profit, the money earned has paid for the lead generation you purchased.  Not bad!

I decided to write this article because I was helping someone with his pay-per-click campaigns, as I often do for people.  He wanted to setup a campaign and wanted to know how to do so without having to spend a lot of money.  Does this sound familiar?  Who wants to spend a lot of money when you can spend a small amount and still get the same results?  After helping him, he stated that I should create a video or an article showing people what I know in regards to pay-per-click.  I thought about it and I decided “why not”.  I have had success using pay-per-click whereas many online professionals have not and I would like to help those who are struggling.

Set A Budget:

To generate pay-per-click free leads, you first need to set a budget.  To establish your budget, you not only want to set the amount of money you want to spend per day, you also want to decide how much you are willing to spend for each lead.  I usually set a budget of about $300-$500. I prefer to spend $3.00 or less per lead.

Once you have your budget and lead cost established, then you want to think about what the focus of your campaign will be.  In other words, you want to focus on who a target market.  Since I am in the home business / internet marketing / network marketing arena I will select keywords relevant to these topics.  I don’t make my niche market to broad.  I try to keep it as narrow as possible. For instance, “internet online business”, “starting a small business”, or “online business system”, just to name a few, are specific, not broad.

The keywords used are usually either long tail or money tail keywords.  If you select short tail keywords, then, again, you are creating a campaign that is too broad.  If you create a broad campaign, use a lot of negatives and continue to add negatives to narrow the focus of your campaign so that you are not spending money on keywords that are burning money. .

Free Lead Generation Tools:

I have purchased tools to help me help me with my pay-per-click campaigns, but you don’t have to. Assuming that you are on a very tight budget, you probably would like to use free tools and there are a number of them to pick from. They include:

• Google Keyword Tool helps me to find keywords relevant to my main keyword.

• Google Insights lets me see what other keywords I can use in my campaign, but better yet, it also can indicate which keywords to use as negatives.

• Google Trends, gives me some idea on how that keyword is doing overall and it informs me of the countries, cities, and languages are using the keywords.  I focus on countries and cities.

• Google Search allows me to locate other keywords to use in my campaign or to use as a negative in my campaign.

Using Google Keyword Tool and Other Tools:

When I use the Google Keyword Tool, I try to select relevant keywords that will cost me around $3.00.   There is a column that gives on, on average, the average cost per click of a particular keyword.  You will need to include the “Avg CPC” column to be added.  Volume should also be included.  Refer to both of these columns.  Once you are in the Google keyword tool, you have two choices.  Either select keywords that have a volume of 10,000 or more or select a lot of low cost keywords that don’t have as much volume.  For example, if my primary keyword is “starting a home business”, some of the keywords I see that cost around $3.00 and have volume of over 10,000, include “how to start a business”, “start own business”, “start business”, etc.  Keywords that are low-cost, cost around $3.00, have volume for the same primary keyword, include “starting an internet business”, starting a home based business, “homebased business”, etc.  For search marketing, I use exact and phrase keywords.  For content marketing, I use phrase and broad.  For each, be sure to include your negatives. The Google Keyword Tool also gives you a list of negatives.

Another way to select keywords is to use Google and put in your keyword, then look at your competition.  There is a free tool that you can use to look at what keywords are being used by the top sites.  Sometimes this tool will show you the keywords and other times it will not, but when you do find the keywords used by your competitor, include it into your campaign.  The tool I am referring to is called, “Free Meta Keywords Tool“.  Do a search on this and you should be able to find it.  You should see the name “Apogee web consulting” at the top.  I have successfully used this tool.  Another tool I have used is called Textanz.  I use this tool to analyze frequency of phrases that are relevant to my keyword.

One other way to look at the keywords of your competitors is to use the Google Keyword Tool.  Take the website of your competitor, click on the website content button, and put in the website address.  Look for keywords that fit your criteria; low cost, less competition.

Using Google Insights:

Google Insights gives more insight on how a keyword is doing.  I use this tool to decide on whether a keyword is profitable.  The information provided is shown with a graph.  Be sure you are looking at the last 90 days. Using “starting a home business” as an example, the graph shows me that it looks to be a keyword to use in my pay-per-click campaign.  I see also that the United States is the only country that has an interest, so the U.S will be the country I would select to market to.  It also shows me keywords that I can either add to may campaign or add as a negative.

To verify whether this is a good keyword to use, I will also type this keyword into google search.  The results of my search show me that the keyword has a high volume, which is not what I want.  I want a keyword that has less than eight ads and a lower volume, preferably less than 500,000.  Why? Because it will be easier to include my ad on the first page of Google and I will have a better chance of a prospect taking a look at my ad.  If you are unable to find a keyword from your list of keywords that fits all of the criteria of being low cost and having less competition, then you can either continue using the keyword you have selected or select another primary keyword.

Using Google Trends:

The next tool I use is Google Trends.  This tool provides information on, not only how the keyword is performing, but how the keyword is performing for each country.  You can click on the links of the countries and see whether there is more information associated with that country.  If there is, I will include it into my campaign as a country to market to.  If I don’t see any results, I will not include.  It is your choice how you want to use this tool.  If you get results by clicking on the country, you will see what sub regions and cities have an interest.  If you want to market to certain cities, this would be one tool you can use as well as Google Insights.  For my keyword, “starting a small business”, I see the United States and United Kingdom are two countries that have an interest in this keyword.

Improving Return On Investment (ROI) :

Once you have your campaign up and running, you will need to track your account stats.  Check on your stats and create customized reports.  Keep a close eye on your keywords. If you have a limit of $3.00 per lead, then any keyword that is $4.00 and above, shutdown or delete.  This enables you to stay within you budget.  Monitor closely your campaign; especially in the beginning.

Monitor your ads and websites.  Add keywords and add negatives as you are monitoring your campaign. To include additional keywords, often times, I will input the keywords into the Google keyword tool that were generated when I first entered my primary keyword.  You can either add them to the same ad group or create another ad group.  I like to create another ad group just to separate the various keywords in their own group. Don’t forget to remove any keywords that are just costing you money.

Over time, you should start to see which keywords are your money keywords; the ones generating you the most clicks, conversions, and return on investment.  Often, I will use the money keywords to create a separate campaign.  If you are using Search, you have to pause or delete the keyword from its original campaign.  If you are using Content, the keyword can remain within its original campaign.  But, try to avoid using duplicate keywords. Google only shows one ad per advertiser on a particular keyword. There is no need to duplicate keywords in different ad groups or campaigns.  By doing this, you enhance the performance of your campaign.  Because you know which ads, keywords, and website is working, you should generate more leads and conversions.

With everything that was just explained, your cost per lead should be around $3.00 and you should be generating revenue and profits, which means you are generating pay per click free leads.  I know that the research seems to be a lot of work, but the work is necessary.  The initial step of researching for keywords will get you started in the right direction.  All that remains now is to continue to modify and test your campaigns to get the results you are looking for.

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Setting Up A Profitable Pay Per Click Campaign

Posted on 11. Jan, 2010 by admin.

There a specific keywords and keyprases that people will type into a search engine that leads to hundreds of search results that pertain to that specific keyword or key phrase. Many businesses that want to advertise on the internet using pay per click campaign have to come up with an overflow of keywords and key phrases that are associated to their business that are running; so when a prospect types in these keywords or key phrases, it will lead that individual to their business website.

This is basically how the whole concept behind pay per click.  This is how a pay per click generates traffic to your site, with the selection of the right keywords that people can search on the internet.

There are some keywords that tend to be expensive while other keywords, in particular the popular keywords.  It is crucial to select the correct keywords in order to receive your money’s worth.  This is why it is important to manage your pay per click campaign wisely.  Sometimes you are better off selecting the less expensive keywords, especially if you are on a tight budget.  Some businesses even hire an individual who specializes in pay per click campaigns, often referred to as a pay per click consultant or something similar.

There are many experts that specialize in pay per click management.  They come with certain strategies, and also assess the needs of their clients.  They will then develop a pay per click campaign that focuses on the specifications of the client.

Video Training On Setting Up AdGroups (click on the screen to start)

This is generally why big online businesses seek the expertise of a pay per click specialist to run their PPC ad campaign, because having the right plans can potentially generate large profits.  The more keywords used, the more likely the increase of customers clicking on your keywords that could lead them to your website.  There are also software you can purchase that will help you track down keyword listings for you; Google keyword Tool is one of them and it is free, but there are many more sophisticated ones that will generate better results, but usually cost money.

If you are running a business online, and you plan on running a pay per click campaign, it is best to purchase keywords that are very relevant or related to the theme of your business.  This way, people will know what they are getting, and don’t become confused with the content on your website.  The secret is to use keywords or key phrases that are search frequently, but cost less.

The chances are, the longer people remain on your site, the more likely these prospects are to making a purchase.

But, you must first draw them in.

This is why many online marketers spend a large amount of money advertising, because they know that starting with the right campaign can get the ball rolling.

You should first start with doing keyword research for your pay per click campaign.  There are many pay per click search engines to select from.  The search engines that are not as popular, charge less for the same keywords that you would find on the larger, more popular pay per click search engines.

The great thing regarding pay per click campaigns is that you can reach anybody around the world.  Advertising online allows you to market globally.

Most pay per click search engines do require a monthly payment in exchange for their services.  If you fail to make the payments, your pay per click account will automatically be shutdown.  So, it is important to pay your monthly bills, so that your marketing efforts are not wasted.

The potential earnings that can be created by starting a pay per click campaign can be significant.  This is why so many online entrepreneurs are trying to get involved in using pay per click as their form of online advertising.  With the right keywords and keyphrases, as well as smart pay per click campaign management, online businesses are making more money more often.

Learn More At: Profitable Pay Per Click

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Maximum Website Promotion through PPC Bid Management

Posted on 17. Nov, 2009 by admin.

Tools for Internet Marketing have been rising to popularity these days because of cost-effectiveness and the possibility of measuring increase in profits and sales.

Pay per click (PPC) is a means to advertise business through the use of keywords/phrases in the search engines. The advertiser is required to only pay for each click that sends a visitor to his website. Search engines such as Overture, Google Adwords, Search Yahoo and Miva are just some examples of search engines. They offer top positions among the sponsored listings for particular keywords/phrases you choose. The idea for bidding is you have to buy/bid on keywords/phrases relevant to your business. The highest bidder gets to be on the top of the search result listing and the second highest bidder, of course, gets the next top listing and so on. Every time a visitor clicks on your website, you will have to pay the same amount that you bid on that particular keyword.

PPC can be very costly, time consuming and sometimes not worthy. But if you know how to go about the step by step procedures, PPC is a welcome change to traditional advertising.

If you do your searches for products, articles and auctions in the net, you usually type in a keyword or a set of phrase to guide you in your search. Either you use Google or Yahoo Search depending on where you are most comfortable at and where you usually get the best results. As soon as you key in the search button, immediately a long list of keywords or phrase will be displayed containing the keywords you key in. The first or the top link that you saw is most likely the one who bids the highest for that keyword you type. In this way, businessmen will produce the desired results; they get to be advertised, at the same time, saving and spending only for the clicks they need that might translate to potential sales.

The way to start PPC bid management is to identify first the maximum cost per click (CPC) you are willing to pay for a given keyword or phrase. CPC varies from time and even search engine to search engine too. Maximum CPC can be measured by averaging the current costs of bids (bids range from $0.25 to $5). Average of these bids is to be used as the maximum CPC to begin with. As your ad campaign progresses, the actual conversion rate (visitors turning to potential buyers/sales) will be determined and you may have to adjust your CPC (bidding rate) accordingly.

When you start to bid, see to it that you adopt different bidding strategies for various search engines. Search engines have their own PPC systems that require different approaches. It is also worthy to identify different bids for the same keyword phrases in various search engines.

Another thing, it is wiser not to bid for the top spot for two reasons: 1) It is very expensive and impractical, and 2) Surfers usually try different search queries in various search engines before they settle on the right one that fits to what they are looking for. This hardly results to conversion. Try to bid for the fifth spot instead and work your way up.

If you are now going steady on your PPC biddings, it is time for you to develop your own bidding strategy accordingly. It is important for you to track down which sites bring the bulk of your traffic and identify the ranking of your paid ads. This will help your bidding strategy to be effective and you should also decide where you want your ad to be positioned. Usually your maximum CPC will limit your choices.

Bid gaps (e.g. $ 0.40, 0.39, bid gap, 0.20, 0.19, 0.18) occur when there is a significant price increase to move up one spot in the PPC rankings. It is best if you take advantage of the bid gaps by filling them in so you can save up your cents to other bidding opportunities. Often there are keywords worthy of lesser bids to get the appropriate ranking on the list and produce a good number of clicks and higher conversion rate rather than bidding higher but having a poor conversion rate. You have to put in mind that overbidding too is not good but rather the best position for the most effective bid.

Using pay-per-click bid management in promoting your website will only be successful if you take time building many lists across many engines and studying the performance of every listing. In this way, you can make the most value from what you spend in the bidding process.  The key is to use the necessary precautions to stay ahead of the competition.

Bid Management Tools

In ensuring best results, you may use bid management tools. There are accepted and approved management tools that will help you in your bidding. They are categorized in two different types:

•    Web based (services by monthly subscription) or,
•    PC based (a purchased software)

Monitoring tools too may help in the tracking down of your keywords/phrases and search engines as to which among them often generate sales, overall and in relation to your cost per click. This is what you call return of investment (ROI) monitoring.

These bid management tools may include additional functions that may not get from online marketing tools that are readily available. Other tools can monitor competitor’s bids, produce reports for different parties and offer the ability to interface with multiple PPC engines. This is particularly helpful to those who manage more than a hundred keywords across several PPC engines to boost productivity and save time.

Pay-per-click bid management is ideal for the effective promotion of your business online without the hassles of draining your financial keeping too much. It is now fast catching up as a means used in marketing your goods and services to reach to as many consumers as possible.

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To SEO or To PPC?

Posted on 16. Nov, 2009 by admin.

The online community is definitely a large market place that you cannot ignore, especially if you have an internet business. There are thousands if not millions of consumers that you can tap in the internet.

At the same time, the internet also poses a quite different challenge. The easy access that internet provides also gives you as much competition as you can imagine. It is too crowded and congested.

Having a website is not enough to make your business running and able to compete. You must take other alternatives to give way for the online community to access your website at any rate or chance possible.

You have to expose your website. Make it known. It has to be visible. It has to be frequently targeted by consumers and surfers.

Invest in marketing your internet site.  There are basically two options available to you, the SEO and PPC. These two are probably the most desirable alternatives you can get for your internet business as strategy for search engine marketing.

1. SEO

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. Some researches indicate that 60% – 70% of internet surfers and users actually resort to using the Google search engine to find and locate web sites and pages, for any topic they desire. SEO is the process taken to make sure that the internet uses will find your website when ranked among the top results of a search. This way you can make sure that you will be visible and can clearly stand out from the rest.

To get a search engine optimization, you will have to build on your own internet site frequently hit internet links to web site pages. The process will involve IBLN or Independent Back-Linking Network, wherein hundreds or even thousands of pages will be utilized to promote a particular website of a client.

In SEO, there is no need for you to pay for the clicks although it will require you to spend time doing research to get a favorable combination of ads and target audience. The SEO process is a long term one. It requires months, 6 months at the least, before the proper outcome is fully achieved, but once the goal is accomplished, you will definitely get a steady source of profit.

2. PPC

PPC means Pay Per Click. It gives way advertising on a search engine. These are sponsored listings that you see whenever you make a search. There will be a charge whenever a visitor or web surfer clicks on any of your ads. There will first be a bidding process. The highest bidder for the price per click will definitely get the chance to be first listed in the search engine.

With this kind of advertising, you can still basically control your campaign as you get to create your own ad. You will also manage the target audience and still stay within the bounds of your budget. Most of the providers of PPC advertising will allow you to specify the target market, either by topic, industry or geographical location. You can also very well check if your ad gets to be shown at all and if it is competitive with the rest.

There are some guaranteed benefits when you get to maximize the PPC strategy.

• PPC lets you advertise to the whole of the online community. It is also relatively easy to set up.

• At first glance, PPC advertising may seem very expensive. Could it possibly happen that someone out there will go on clicking on your ad? This will definitely give you a large bill without the expected profit on your part. If this provides a lot of worries, be rest assured that there is a protection for you. Networks are able to recognize fraudulent clicks.

• You can also set a budget for a certain period. The moment your budget has been used up by the target number of clicks, your ads will no longer be displayed until the next period you want it again displayed.

• You will also be able to adjust well to changes in market demands and trends.

In deciding which of the two strategies will work right for you, think of your goals and of your resources. They definitely offer benefits and advantages that will work for your good. The better way to approach this two is to evaluate according to your short term and long term plans. Take the PPC course for your short term goals and choose SEO if you have long term ones.

There world is out there for you now. Just make sure you do what will work best for your entrepreneurial endeavors and visions. The secret to success lies in your hands. Just study your options well and you’ll get exactly what you want.

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Cash and Pay-per-click Affiliate Programs

Posted on 14. Nov, 2009 by admin.

Millions are paying to get a ride on the Information Super Highway everyday. Now, it is widely known that the Internet is an accessible resource of many income-generating activities. Whether you belong to a private sales company or you are just interested in internet marketing, PPC affiliate programs can be a powerful venue to make money from the Internet. A partnership with an affiliate merchant is a win-win situation for the merchant and the affiliate: sales are soaring because of exposure and traffic while the affiliate is earning good cash.

To make things much simpler: the affiliate merchant provides a strip of advertisement and pays you when someone clicks on the ad’s link. You can get a commission of $0.10 to $0.30 for every click, but it sometimes it can go higher depending on your merchant affiliate. Sometimes, merchants require a quota ($1.4 for every 1000 clicks). Plus, you can get discounts from your merchant affiliates if you happen to like their products too. You can just kick back and relax while your website is generating cash. Sounds easy, doesn’t it?

What is PCC Affiliate Program?

PPC means pay-per-click, wherein you get in partnership with an affiliate company that literally pays you for every click. There are actually two types of PCC affiliate programs – those who pay a commission based on the number of clicks and the other based on the sales. The pay-per-click scheme is much more popular than pay-per-lead because the affiliate gets paid by just clicking the ad, regardless of whether the visitor buys from the affiliate merchant or not. Plus the chances of a visitor purchasing something from the affiliate merchant are not really that high.

In choosing an affiliate program, read the fine print carefully – some pay-per-click programs get the ratio of the number of people who went to your site and the actual people who clicked on the ad. If you have a heavily targeted website, this can hurt your earnings.

How do I start?

Of course, you need to have a website. Depending on your target audience, choose the best affiliate merchant that is most related to your topic. For example, your website is about Carpentry then you can search for affiliate programs that sell tools used in carpentry.

However, if you don’t have a website, that’s not a problem. You can put up a content site about absolutely anything under the sun like ‘Taking Care of Dogs’ or ‘Decorating your own Home.’ But wait, its not over yet. We are faced by a dilemma – on how to increase traffic! You first need to get internet surfers to see your website, then the ad.

How do I increase my traffic?

First, design your website in such a way that it will attract internet users. A user-friendly site is always recommended so that the customers will know which one to click. Take into consideration the look and feel of the advertisement. If it doesn’t look professional, most likely, users will just ignore it. Place the ad on a strategic location – one where users can see it clearly. Visibility of the ad is always important.

Another way is to post a link to your website in forums, web communities, ezine articles or bulletin boards. However, this method requires a lot of effort – that defeats your purpose of getting easy money in the first place! The key is to do something once and forget about it. It’s like putting your business on autopilot. To maintain you pay-per-click business, be sure to track down site activity, so you are updated on how much money you are making.

Can I make more money?

If you think you can go to the next level, you can try a two-tier affiliate program. This gives you the power to recruit affiliates. Other than the money you get from your website’s clicks, you will also get a percentage of what your affiliate generates. Some companies give 30% to a soaring 50% commission on all referral sales.

Remember, you should be able to manage and monitor your affiliate program. If you can recruit more affiliates, then you can get paid more without even moving a finger! Choose affiliates that can most likely attract more internet users and bring more traffic. You just have to know the right people.

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PPC Advertising for Maximum Web Promotion

Posted on 21. Oct, 2009 by admin.

Engaging in pay-per-click (PPC) advertising has its own benefits and drawbacks. But what exactly is PPC advertising and what it can do to your business?

Business nowadays is doing different kinds of austerity measures when it comes to advertising their products and services. This is because of high rates of placing ads on print and on television. But there is a fast growing approach that businessmen can utilize to bring their services closer to the people and that is through Internet Marketing.

One tool that is causing internet marketing popularity is PPC advertising. This is a technique used in search engine marketing that requires one to pay a fee every time someone clicks an ad on your website. Usually this placement is done through a bidding process. If you are a top bidder for your keywords/phrases, you are sure to be on the number one spot on all search engines. Just be sure of the effectiveness of your ad copy to get the most number of clicks you need for your business.

Here are the benefits of PPC advertising are:

Cons of PPC advertising includes:

1.    Fixed payments every month to the search engine you choose.
2.    Pay for each click received by your website. At times, visitors are just competitors or people playing pranks on search engines. This hassle wastes money you put in to this advertising.
3.    Inability to pay for the fees next month would mean removal of your website on the paid listings.
4.    This advertising can only be used temporarily because it is difficult to handle in the long run.
5.    Pay-per-click pricing can be costly for long periods of time, therefore, this should be stopped after an ad campaign.

But how exactly PPC advertising can increase traffic, leads and sales?

PRE-QUALIFIED TRAFFIC. All visitors of your website are already considered as a qualified consumer or buyer of your product. PPC advertising leads your customers to you for a lesser cost.

INSTANT EXPOSURE, IMMEDIATE PROFITS. PPC search engines enable you to get your desired results fast. They will have your website live within just a few hours which means immediate increase in sale.

CONSISTENT TOP LISTINGS. This is to get your website on top of the sponsored search results for free. You just have to choose the keywords related to your site and business and place them within your web pages. After this, you are done.

PPC advertising enables advertisers to control their advertising campaigns. Advertisers have effectively targeted their audience and set their own price per click. PPC advertising networks provide the platform to identify the desired audience by geographic setting, topic and industry.  These networks have a list of websites of the publishers where the ads will be placed.

Tools are provided by the networks to check how the pay per click limit is working for a certain advertiser. If its still competitive, would it be even listed among the paid search lists or does it generate sales? Of course, if the advertiser made the highest bid, the better chances the ad will be seen in the search engine. These networks too provide protection for the advertisers against click fraud. This advertising set-up allows advertisers to set a daily budget for his ads, thus, less spending for unnecessary clicks. Advertiser will never go over his budget.

In PPC advertising, what are important are the keywords and phrases. You have to select at least ten “very specific” keywords that would give you the best traffic in the search. Then, write the ad creatively but straightforward. Tell the truth about your product or service and do not lie. Good thing if your product or service will not disappoint those that are relying on your ad’s promise – but what if it did otherwise? Important too is the clarity of the ad. Do not use very vague languages. Include important details like the price.

You should also remember to budget your bids. Do not go overbidding because you will only lose your money and do not go so low that your ads will never get the chance to show up. Check your profit against your spending. If you see no progress then most likely you have to drop your ad campaign.

More and more advertisers have been using PPC advertising and it will continue to grow faster than any online advertising techniques. From revenues of $2.6 billion in 2004 to $5.5 billion in 2009, cost per click will dramatically go up as well from $0.29 to $0.36.

PPC advertising is new in online marketing and it is going to continue in the years to come. For advertisers, this means increase revenues with fewer advertising expenses, savings, more sales, good return of investment (ROI) and effective ad campaigns in the days to come.

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PPC ADVERTISING: HOW TO MAKE YOUR BUSINESS “CLICK”

Posted on 21. Oct, 2009 by admin.

PPC stands for Pay Per Click – a popular advertising technique on the Internet. Found on websites, advertising networks, and especially on search engines, PPC advertising involves sponsored links that are typically in the form of text ads. These are usually placed close to search results, where an advertiser pays a particular amount to visitors who click on these links or banners and land on the advertiser’s web page.

In essence, PPC advertising is all about bidding for the top or leading position on search engine results and listings. Advertisers do this by buying or bidding on keyword phrases that are relevant to their products or services – the higher the bid, the higher the spot on the search results, the more the people will find the ad (and click on it) to go to their websites (this is why some people call it “keyword auctioning”). Advertisers would then pay the bidding price every time a visitor clicks through the website.

PPC advertising is also known under the following names/variations:

·    Pay per placement
·    Pay per performance
·    Pay per ranking
·    Pay per position
·    Cost per click (CPC)

PPC advertising is usually done with the following standard procedures:

1. Setting up an account and/or deposit funds.

2. Creating a keyword list.

3. Choosing (and setting up) an account with a PPC search engine.

4. Bidding on the ad placement, including the search result words or phrases.

5. Writing out an ad copy.

6. Setting up the ‘landing pages’ for your ads.

7. Placing the advertisement in the search engine.

There are many benefits to Pay Per Click advertising, making it an effective way of promoting a business ‘online’. Some of them are listed below:

·    Get launched immediately. PPC advertisements are implemented very quickly – they can go ‘online’ within an hour after winning the bid and paying for it.

·    Obtain specific, pre-qualified, and quality traffic. PPC provides you with a quality or a well-targeted traffic. Visitors are narrowed down into ‘qualified’ people who are actually looking for specific products and/or services that you offer – those who are more likely to become a ‘lead’ (a convert) and complete a transaction (either by buying your product or subscribing to the service that you are offering.

·    Widen your reach. PPC advertising provides additional traffic to your site, aside from the natural or “organic” search engines.

·    Track your investment. PPC advertising makes use of a tracking system that will determine exactly who comes to the website and what they do once they arrive – the length of their stay on the site and the number of pages (including the actual pages) that they view. These are valuable tools in determining statistics such as return on investment (ROI), acquisition cost-per-visitor, and conversion rates (the percentage of visitors who are converted into customers or leads).

Below are some important things to consider when planning on a pay per click campaign:

1. Know your product. Take an inventory of the product and/or services that you have to offer (before anything else).

2. Stay within the budget. Determine your daily or monthly budget; and stay with it. This means keeping your budget in mind, avoiding bidding wars if possible.

3. Bid just right. Know how to bid right – a bid that is too high can exhaust all of your money, while a bid that is too low can make you lose that spot.

4. Watch the bottom line. Measure your profit margin against your spending or expenses. Know when to stop and terminate your PPC program – if you spend more on advertising but have little or no sales at all.

5. Find the right keywords. Decide which keyword phrases to opt and bid for. Do some keyword research, either by actually looking at existing search terms or with the use of online keyword suggestion tools, to know which terms are mostly used when searching for items that are related to your business. Focus on specific keywords, not on general ones.

6. Write effective ads. A good PPC ad is that which can persuade and move a searcher. There are several approaches to this:

·    Discount offers
·    Testimonials
·    Celebrity/famous endorsers
·    Money-back guarantees
·    Free trials or sample offers
·    Freebies
·    Reverse psychology
·    Major benefits (“Lose weight”)
·    Direct instructions (“Click here”)

7. Maintain a professional-looking site. Your web content should be regularly updated and checked for spelling and grammatical errors. There should be no broken links or images. The website should be simple – designed in such a way that it will be easy for visitors to navigate and load. Include contact details to create a good impression among potential customers.

Done properly, PPC advertising can be an effective marketing tool that will maximize the return on your investment.

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