Is PPC the Quick Fix?

Being listed in some of the most popular search engines is a great way for a company to market its Web site. A 2001 study from Forrester Research found that it is the best place to form a loyal audience, and that same year, Jupiter Media Matrix and NPD said people who are looking for products are more likely to go through a search engine (28 percent), than browse a shopping channel (five percent) or click on an ad (four percent).

With so many new companies creating their sites daily, the competition is becoming even fiercer. It is often difficult to reach the top 10 listings, even if the keywords chosen are both specific and general. Because of this growth, and since it takes anywhere from 60 to 90 days before a new Web page is visible on the engines, more companies are turning to pay-per-click search engines (PPCSE), otherwise known as pay-for-placement.

Originally created by GoTo.com (now known as Overture) in June 1998, PPCSE has become one of the hottest ways to market a site on the Web. There are critics who believe it is a shady way of searching because a company has paid for the keywords, so it is bound to show up even if it isn't what the searcher is looking for. And, since some of the PPCSEs list exactly what the advertiser is paying for each click, it is similar to showing others what sort of budget the company is working with.

This form of advertising is not to be confused with search engines where advertisers bid on a keyword and then their listings are included at the side of the page, such as Google's Adwords campaign, or the engines where advertisers pay just to be included in the database, with no promise of rank.

The system is similar to inclusion in other search engines, as advertisers create a title and description for their listings. Most of the process is the same, with the exception that the placement is not determined by keywords chosen, but rather on how much money the advertiser is willing to pay. In addition, the company has the ability to make changes to its bids, in order to control how much is being spent on advertising each given day.

Striving to get to the top is a challenge for some smaller companies, but PPCSE allows them to bid precisely (what they are willing to pay for the traffic coming to the site).

PPCSEs are a great way for companies to get noticed right away. Web site owners don't have to wait for spiders to pick up on their site or work for hours a day trying to figure out what keywords will be rewarded with a top 10 placement. And often, because the cost-per-click isn't too high, companies experience a return on investment much higher than if they were placed in an "organic listing" search engine (ones that search based on keyword popularity).

One of the keys to a successful PPCSE campaign is to keep all the costs down. Careful management is essential.