08.27.03
 By Aaron
Turpen
A Pay-Per-Click search engine (also called Pay-Per-Ranking engine) allows you
to place your site at the top of their results almost immediately. This comes
at a price, though.
The idea is pretty simple. You put in a "bid" for how much you're willing
to pay per click-through on certain keywords - the higher your bid, the higher
you appear in the results for that keyword. A click-through is when a searcher
clicks on your link in the engine and comes to your site. Regardless of whether
this searcher purchases anything or not, you pay for them to come to your site.
The advantages of this type of system are obvious: they drive users to your site
starting almost immediately and the amount of traffic can be fairly high with
those visiting being likely to be looking for what you offer (these are targeted
users). Some PPCs even send results to Yahoo! and other big directories (GoTo/Overture
is an example of this). |
In the short run this is a good marketing tool and useful to those impatient to
get their site noticed quickly. Usually, you log into a PPC engine, open an account
and deposit money into it. Then you put in your site information along with your
bid for certain keywords, which will drive people to your site. This bid is what
you are willing to pay for EVERY click-through you receive; so even $100 can go
fairly quickly if you're in a high-traffic area of the 'Net.
Try to stick with the better-known names in PPCs and be wary of those that offer
their surfers incentives to click on links - this is not conducive to "targeted"
traffic. Also watch the engine's use- ability and function. If it isn't easy to
use, nobody is using it and you're wasting your time signing up there. You can
rarely get your deposit back from the search engine once it's been made.
Below is a list of popular pay-per-click search engines in alphabetical order.
Many are not listed here, obviously, but I thought I would list a few and touch
on some of their finer points to show you how a PPC can be used effectively.
Brainfox (http://www.brainfox.com): This
is a decent, though relatively new PPC that offers itself as a budget alternative.
Minimum bids are .001 cents! Not sure of the results of advertising here, but
it may be worth a try since you only need to invest $5 to get started.
eFind (http://www.efind.com): This is a good
example of a PPC you should NOT advertise with. Built like a slot machine, this
one is set up to send users to paid listings in order to be entered to win prizes.
Avoid these guys.
FindWhat (http://www.findwhat.com): I originally
was not going to include this engine as they used to pay their searchers to go
to advertiser's sites, but that seems to have changed. This may become a good
engine in the future!
GoClick (http://earth.goclick.com/pad2.mod?V=1&AID=60859):
This is a good engine and has a great explanation "help" FAQ to get new users
going. It's reasonably priced and has some nice tools integrated to keep your
bidding competitive.
Google AdWords (http://adwords.google.com):
Although not a traditional PPC search engine, it is a pay per click advertising
method. Next to Overture, this is probably the most effective place to advertise
via PPC on the 'Net. You'll need to spend money to be competitive on this engine.
GoTo/Overture (http://www.qksrv.net/click-1357406-9255179):
This is the premier PPC engine. They offer shopping and auction sites (as per
Yahoo!), but you'll need money to be competitive here. If you can afford it, this
one is well worth the money.
Metamission (http://www.metamission.com):
This allows you to advertise on their "metasearch" engine. I'm dubious about their
results, especially when seeing the "too good to be true" 1000% bonus to your
first credit deposit with them.
Sprinks (http://www.sprinks.com): This is
an easy-to-use engine that offers to get you listed in About.com as well. You
may have good results here.
Turbo10 (http://www.turbo10.com): This is
a great search engine with lots of neat bonuses for the users. Searching for exactly
what you want is easy and you can jump around the search results as you wish-
giving the user total power. I suspect that this will get more and more popular
as time goes on and this use-ability will only enhance your listing here.
Window’s Hosting Recommendations?
I would appreciate any Window Hosting sites recommendations that can meet these requirements as per my webmaster at a competitive price:
Microsoft IIS web server with ASP
CDONTS installed (for sending emails)
They'll have to either have installed, or install your CardServices
DLL.
SaFileUp component needs to be installed.
ASPImage component being installed would save some coding to the cart to get rid of its usage but, it's not a big deal either way.
It need at least 20 GB a month of bandwidth, currently using 15 GB a month
300MB of web space
I am looking into EasyCGI, however they do not support SA-FileUp, but support AspUpload by Persits.com. I will need to find out if this workable?
Would appreciate any help.
Jamie
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Overall, especially in the short run, Pay-Per-Click engines are a useful tool
for marketing online. They require a little money to be used effectively and many
require daily or weekly policing to ensure that you are not outbid and therefore
ranked too low. The trouble can be worth it, though, as you drive more and more
visitors (usually targeted!) to your site. As an alternative to getting listed
in regular engines and directories, PPCs are very viable.
About the Author:
Aaron Turpen is the proprietor of Aaronz WebWorkz, which offers many services
to small businesses online including an informative weekly newsletter (advertisement
free!) to subscribers. This and more are avaialble at the website: http://www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
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