Pay Per Click (PPC) - SEO

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Pay Per Click (PPC)

Admittedly I'm not a residential expert in other PPC engines beyond Google's AdWords. My time has great value and as such I put effort into what will provide the client the most return - not just any return. Notwithstanding - opening the door to PPC where a client has not ventured before allows them to reproduce these achievements in due course - should they desire... I don't do professional spoon feeding. :-)

Before we get into this I tend to draw on my experiences in submarines as a way to address problem-solving. Everything and I mean everything is both an "opportunity" and a "conspiracy". You really need to look at both side of any argument and weigh the advantages and disadvantages and then use your conclusions to suite the particular situation you are in. In other words -- there is quite often more than one way to gain the same results and you will likely get a taste of this Opportunity/Conspiracy theory through these writings.

Like anything else there is an "art" part and "science" part to AdWords. First things first though - a reality check -- if you are among those that believe AdWords don't work -- "search results listings must not work either" thus you are in the wrong profession.

AdWords Science Part

AdWords are simply another way to reach customers and nicely complement your ranked results strategies - plus as an SEO AdWords gives you a certain amount of credibility - immediately. Should you have had a bad experience with AdWords say; spent $50.00 (or more) and didn't make a nickel, the fault might lie elsewhere -- AdWords are extremely efficient at matching buyers to sellers.

For an SEO AdWords are an efficient way to determine if a potential client is worthy of risk management. In any business venture there is always "risk" involved thus managing that risk is the only way to succeed successively.

When approached by a potential client the first question out of my mouth is, "are you currently using PPC?" If so, they have the characteristics of being your target customer - a "Risk Manager". If not, this is both a red flag (traditionalist) but also a potential to develop immediate credibility for yourself - in both instances -- the name of the game is "sales" (of some sort) and if you can make this process work, or work more efficiently -- you gain more than just a fee.

There are a couple of academic questions that do need answers to start though. Commerce and distribution - A website without an ecommerce solution will have a tough time making AdWords work, and in addition to that, a local (only) commodity will likely not produce any desirable effects. That is -- if is it far easy for a user to find and buy something locally e.g. groceries -- it doesn't stand a chance online. Shipping is also associated with this - if shipping expenses or the delay of products/services is unrealistic AdWords are unlikely to help.

Remember that just as SEO "ranked results" are not some magical solution - AdWords in retrospect have similar disadvantages. Proactive SEOs therefore must help those where they can actually make a difference - and let radio, TV, newspapers and other print media services, service their markets.

Marketing dollar for dollar AdWords makes perfect sense. $0.06 (US Dollars) is quite inexpensive per qualified and near immediate lead. Ranked results can improve upon this margin (I have produce $0.013 per qualified lead - but not in the time span Google provides).

You should start with a catch-all AdWords account and if a particular website looks promising spend a few dollars in AdWords to test the waters and potentially show the client what is possible. You could spend revenue in business cards, flyers, or even on your own AdWords campaign to develop new leads but in all likelihood the cost/return benefit would be far less appealing and you will spend much time chasing dead-ends.

Your proactive innovation provides an idea of "impressions", "competitiveness", "click throughs", and possibly web sales for which the potential client will immediately see your value and professionalism.

Additionally, it is well worth that investment to quickly find those clients that are a good match to your services. In hindsight, I can't remember how much time I have spent in the past wooing the wrong people. The use of AdWords technology in this fashion at a cost of about $5.00 per potential is an enormous cost saving - as I have said before, my own time is far more valuable if you consider: writing emails, phone calls, initial website report writing, and then the potential of dressing a contract, only to find out that they have decided - I'm just too expensive to risk. AdWords can remove much of this burden and clearly demonstrate your value.

In contrast, an argument could be made for talking yourself out of a contract - by showing them an easy way to "do-it-themselves". Sure thing - the account however belongs to you, you are not targeting primary "costly" terms nor show them the art of using AdWords effectively - thus in my opinion the advantages out-weigh the disadvantages.

AdWords Art Part

This starts by reading and rereading Google's tutorials, they are the very best resource to gaining a competitive advantage as most AdWords users (like most people online) tend to scan written documents and as such absorb little.

Notwithstanding, you really need to put a different spin on this - what is Google itself most interested in -- getting more revenue per click or getting you to spend more per day, month, year? I've seen people go immediately and use the maximum bid in an attempt to gain and maintain that #1 spot. In competitive circles (and with many others using similar tactics) that allows them about 10 or 20 clicks (e.g. their budget), limited return and disillusioned with the process, quit.

In contrast - Google knows that long-term AdWords users will spend more over a given term than a "once only user" thus Google favors the willingness to spend more over a term period.

Without going into all the functionality Google AdWords offer, the single most powerful AdWords function at your disposal (in my honest opinion) is the Negative Word Feature. This feature allows you to capitalize on broader terms without receiving irrelevant queries.

e.g. Targeting "search engine" to capture all uses of Marketing, Ranking, Positioning, Promotion (and many longer phrases using "search engine" that suite this market) and using the negative tool to stop queries from displaying your ad for -engines, -submission, -submissions, -submit, -best, -strategies (which is a well known conference), etc. (please note: this is an example only and not recommended for use). In a sense - you get more bangs for your buck.

Also this process is continuously redefined - when seeing a query that isn't part of your negative list - you add, thus becoming far more efficient and targeted than you were previously.

AdWords also have a hidden value that is often over-looked until long after a contract is signed. Some websites "can't sell" regardless of how hard you try through ranks, clicks and visits no sales materialized. AdWords give this notion an immediate face - you may indeed not be held accountable for sales - but just the same and in hindsight - a company doesn't normally hire you to "not help" in this regard - thus we had better get use to the idea and start advising them on what they need to know.

Value Added Opportunities

The use of AdWords in SEO strategies also allows additional and future opportunities that may or may not be apparent today, but should you chose not to incorporate AdWords in your strategies now - you may well be behind the eight ball when Google expands its circle of influence. As such your clients are farther behind. Being PROACTIVE does works!

Two such opportunities:

Froogle - inclusion only through using AdWords, and

AdSense - an opportunity only available to AdWord users.

It's also worth noting that these insignificant text-based ads have assisted the rebound of Internet advertising above its $2.1 billion mark in 2000 (last quarter) to $2.2 billion year 2003 (last quarter). People rarely advertise for long -- if it don't work.

How will these pan out for you? As an Opportunity or a Conspiracy? :-) The ball is in your court - what will you do?