Become a PPC Optimizer and Triple Your Profits!

With our ppc optimizers guide, learn how to increase your conversion rate and squeeze the most profit out of your traffic.

If you are looking for either pay per click management software or someone to monitor your pay per click campaign, please go to our Professional PPC Optimizer Guide Back to the subject!

There are a number of ppc optimizers on the web that charge you to maximize the profit of your campaign. However, with the right guidance (like from our PPC Optimizers Guide), you can easily do your own ppc optimization and actually increase your profits (you don’t have to pay someone to do the work for you).

Ready to learn?

…Good! That’s what I like to hear.

How Do PPC Engines Work?

You, the ppc optimizer, pay a rate (which you specify) per click for every visitor who clicks through from your ad on the search engine site (or their affiliates) to your web site. It's simple and quick.

Each unique keyword phrase (for example, "digital cameras") has its own bid price. You set the budget. With a credit card and your url (website address), you're on your way to advertising on the web's top sites in no time.

Let’s say you bid $0.05 for the keyword “lawn mowers”. That means that when someone on the pay per click search engine enters "lawn mowers", all the ads that have bid on that specific keyword (including yours) will be listed by the search engine. The highest ppc bidder is placed at the top and the lowest bidder at the bottom.

Right now if you follow this link Click here to see results.
You will see the highest bid for lawn mowers on FindWhat (one of the ppc engines). At the time of this writing the top spot was $0.11. With your $0.05 bid, you will be in the seventh spot (this very well may have changed, as ppc bids fluctuate all the time). If the searcher reads down to the seventh ad (yours) and clicks on it, you are charged $0.05. If not, you are not charged.

That’s the basics of pay per click search engines. Look, you’re already on your way to becoming a great ppc optimizer and setting your campaing up for pay per click optimization! So what’s next...

The Top PPC Search Engines

Now that you know how ppc engines work, we will show you the best of the best pay per click search engines.

The absolute best in terms of traffic is Overture. Also if you follow this link, you can receive $10 in free pay per click advertising. Unfortunately, Overture is also the most popular and therefore the bids can get high. If you spend a lot of time researching keywords, then you can receive adequate traffic at $0.10 a click.

There are a number of "second tier" PPC’s that will provide you with ample traffic, given that you get enough keywords together and bid high enough. In general, you will save quite a bit of money by using these search engines over the "big engines".

As a PPC Optimizer, my overall favorite is FindWhat at http://www.findwhat.com. Bids at this PPC search engine are slowly creeping up, and you used to be able to get traffic for only $0.01 a click. Unfortunately, due to their popularity, they recently raised their minimum cost to $0.05 a click. They continue to expand their traffic partners and as such, it makes it easier for you to get a good deal on traffic. This search engine is an absolute must to use.

Another high quality search engine is GoClick at http://www.GoClick.com . Like FindWhat, it provides searches at $0.01 per click. The general ROI for this PPC is very high, so you will get your money's worth. Unfortunately, it doesn't get a huge amount of traffic, so it may take some time for all your traffic to arrive.

One search engine that continues to get mixed reviews is Kanoodle. Some think that it delivers horrible traffic, some think that it is great. Luckily, they are currently offering a free $10 trial, so you can test them out and see how the traffic works for you. I have seen the ads for this special at Pay Per Click Analyst. I’m unsure how long they will be running this offer, so sign up now. Since the minimum bid is $0.05, if you get enough keywords and listings into their system, once your free $10 is spent, you will have received 200 Free Visitors. The next few steps are how you will actually attract visitors: you must create a large list of keywords, and then you will need a title and a description.

Evaluating Search Terms

The first thing you will have to do in order to use the Pay Per Click Search Engines is to create a large list of keywords or search terms.

Use the four criteria to evaluate potential search terms:

• Relevance
• Cost
• Popularity
• Performance

Relevance

Relevance is not just making sure that a search term can apply to your product or service but, more specifically, that it is unlikely to apply to any other product or service.

Think about it this way, would you use the selected search term to look for your product or service?

...It doesn't make a whole lot of since to bid on "Las Vegas" when you're selling "Lawn Mowers."

Cost

Next up is the cost you should pay for your keyword. In a competitive market, you may often find that the top bid for a search term is far higher than your own margins allow.

In general, you can attain far better value by choosing more specific search terms.

Popularity

Popularity is simply the relative usage of one search term over another. People searching for a product may often be more likely to use certain words than others in their search request, e.g. ‘buy’ and ‘purchase’ may mean the same thing but people are generally much more likely to use the word ‘buy’ than ‘purchase’ when searching.

You should maximize the popularity of your keywords when you can get a reasonable bid. One great tool for judging the popularity of a search term is the Overture Search Term Suggestion Tool

Performance

Your most important goal as a ppc optimizer is to make your listings perform. Performance is something you will have to determine for yourself by tracking your customers from initial referral through to the sale. You will often find that while some search terms will generate more visitors, others will actually generate more sales. This is because many people will simply be researching a potential purchase while those who are ready to buy will use slightly different search terms.

Most of the top ppc engines will provide tools to help you optimize your listings and report the return on investment of each of your campaigns.

The best tool to create many different search terms is to use Overture’s (one of the PPC’s) Search Term Suggestion Tool here

Put in any term, for example "work from home" or "web hosting" (you don’t need the quotes) and it will give you a list of other search terms and the number of times they have been searched on the Overture network.

Now that you have a good understanding of how to find keywords, it is time to show you how to create your ads for pay per click optimization. As a ppc optimizer, you will need to create both a title and description to get listed.

First up, Ad Titles

Writing Your Ad Titles

The title (first line of your ad) is treated differently by different PPC optimizers, however, having your keywords placed in the title is a good decision usually. That's the golden rule of search engine marketing: use your customer's words to grab their attention. When you test different ad wordings, you'll discover which are effective.

Of course the words free, instant, and bonus, are attention getters. Call now, or get yours here, are calls to action to encourage readers to click through to your site.

There are two problems (or guidelines I should say) with using these types of titles. First, be prepared to prove everything you say in the ad on your landing page - the page you hyperlink the ad to. Each program has guidelines that you'll have to read. Second, If you make mistakes, you'll be warned (disapproved) once, then ignored. They have no interest in your Webmaster's problems or your manager's concern with legality of terms.

Effective Descriptions For Search Listings

The description can be a little longer than the title, but ideally should be no longer than 25 words, and should be to the point. The description should be one or two punchy sentences that show how clicking on your link will answer their search query.

Example

Search Phrase: 'cheap widgets' Title: Best value widgets from DigiWidget.com Description: Wide range of widgets to suit all needs and budgets. DigiWidget gives you great quality and even better prices.

Dealing With Competition

One thing that will certainly happen sooner or later with campaigns is that you will have to take rival bids and competitor actions into account in your strategy. The first time that this is likely to happen is when you first bid for a specific search term and find there is already a rival bid.

It is vital to know enough about your own ROI to accurately determine what your absolute maximum bid per visitor for each search term can be without diminishing your profit per sale. This is something your own tracking of results must tell you and without accurate data you should always play safe. Assume a 1%-2% conversion rate unless your data shows otherwise.

Your competition may not understand the keys of ppc optimization or their own ROI and so may outbid you to the detriment of their own business. This can be hard to take at the time, but there are plenty of failed companies to show that those who understand how to be ppc optimizers win in the longer term.

Never be drawn into overbidding which would eat away at your profit margin. If another company does outbid you remember the value we showed earlier of choosing more specific search terms and optimizing your pay per click campaign, which most companies don’t think of. You have an unfair advantage of this knowledge as a ppc optimizer – use it.

You may wish to regularly review your bids, your competitors and your overall search placement. Your competitors will not tell you when they have outbid but I would only recommend re-evaluating your bid optimization if you notice a decrease in your traffic levels.

However, as a ppc optimizer, you may find value if you are using a pay per click search engine that does not offer an auto bid system, where your bids are automatically lowered.

This comes to play when a rival advertiser drops their bid. If you don't lower yours as well, then you may be able to lower your bid and receive the same result at a lower cost - that's the real value of ppc optimization anyway.

Remember you only need to be $0.01 higher than the next highest bid. Anything more means that you are spending more than you have to.

Optimize Your PPC Conversion Rate

If you are using a PPC optimizer, generally they will focus on creating an accurate listing that only gets clicks from targeted visitors. That way, you only pay for visitors that are actually looking for what you’re offering.

Make's sense, right?

One of the biggest headaches of PPC listings is that many people using certain search terms may be looking for something quite different to what you had expected when you decided to use that search term. However, if they click your listing, you have to pay for it, even if they buy nothing.

You can use the Description of your listing to mention any limitations, such as if you were only supplying the UK market, for example. As a ppc optimizer, this can help prevent clicks from people who simply will not buy because of such limitations (e.g. shipping costs). Remember, optimization is key!

A variation on this ppc optimizers tactic is to deliberately choose Titles and Descriptions that do not attract clicks, but make a positive brand awareness statement. In this way, you can ensure that many people see your company name at the minimum of costs. Remember, with pay per click search engines you only pay for the click-throughs – all the eyes that see your listing but do not click are ‘free advertising’.

So that’s all it takes to be a PPC optimzer. Yes, it is a little complicated, but if you take it one step at a time and add 5-10 keywords everyday (or more) to your list, soon you will have plenty of traffic at an awesome price. If you need any help as you work through your PPC campaign, please let me know by sending an email to support@home-base-business-advisor.com

Also, you can maximize your pay per click revenue by using Pay Per Click Management Software. We have a put together a Pay Per Click Management Software Review to help you out!

Have you ever been interested in building your own business? Then check the Home Base Business Advisor's Guide to Work at Home Opportunities.

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