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When To Use Pay-Per-Click
By Robert Fuess ©
2006
The only way to really guarantee top placement is to use pay-per-
click advertising. (This is an advertising mechanism in which you pay for every
click of a potential customer.) Most search engines offer this on a bidding
basis, and if it generates more money than you spend on it, it can be a sound
business strategy. In most cases, you would DO THIS LAST - after you optimize
your
web site and implement other promotional techniques. If you do an effective
job
with your website optimization and promotion, you may already come up top
naturally and not have to use pay-per- click for several keywords. (This is
especially true for MSN or Yahoo.) Or if you choose to make a big (temporary)
advertising campaign while you are optimizing (and have the money for this),
then you may consider this.
Some keywords will cost more than others,
depending on competition. Some will generate more paying customers than others.
Do the math as you go along. Figure out the return on investment. This is seldom
a one shot deal and often takes a few months of tweaking to get the optimum
pay-per-click bid amount for the different keywords.
YOU WILL FIND SEO
COMPANIES THAT GUARANTEE YOU TOP PLACEMENT FOR YOUR FAVORITE KEYWORDS. THIS IS
HOW THEY DO IT. They use pay-per- click as part of the package and point to the
pay-per-click listing, showing you your top placement. The natural links are
normally much cheaper in the long run, since once you achieved a top ranking
without pay-per-click you will have a steady stream of customers without having
this kind of per-click fee.
Google is, of course, an exception. For the
first year you will not likely rank for most of your desired keywords despite
any valiant efforts on your part. During this period, I would encourage using
Google's pay-per-click (AdWords). Although Google is the slowest to recognize
your natural ranking - it will give the greatest return in the long run. While
you do this - use the information they give you while you manage your
pay-per-click keywords. See what is used most often - and what gives you the
most sales (conversions). They have tools to help you with that.
ANY SEO
FIRM that promises or guarantees top placement for competitive keywords is
either selling you pay-per-click or is being boastful. Be wary with your money.
You don't need an SEO expert to sign up for pay-per-click. You may use one to
help you find the right keywords or perhaps to handle optimization techniques.
If they are selling you a package, pay-per-click is often a justifiable part of
it. However, don't let such a promise be a decision factor in selecting an SEO
expert.
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