Top 5 Pay-Per-Click Tips By Catherine Seda

Want a top search engine position now? Then buy your way to the top!

By not being at the top of search engines, you’re probably losing an extra $10,000 a month or more in new business.

Pay-per-click (PPC) helps your site show up in the paid listings. Search engine optimization (SEO) helps your site show up in the organic listings. Both listings typically appear on a search engine’s results page; PPC ads are placed above the free listings.

For just $5, you can create a PPC account and start bidding on keywords through Google, MSN Search or Yahoo! In just a few days—or even within 15 minutes—your ad will appear for as many keywords as you bid on. You only pay when search engine users click your ads. Ah…instant, targeted traffic is yours.
Today, PPC is very competitive. Clicks cost a lot more today than they did in 1999 (when I started doing PPC). But if you know the insider secrets, it’s still wildly profitable.

Here 5 PPC tips that’ll keep higher profits in your pocket:

Choose the “Right” Keywords
The wrong keywords deliver clicks that don’t convert. Yikes. You don’t want traffic. You want SALES.

So…stay away from single-word keywords, for starters. These get a lot of traffic; but few sales. With the wrong keywords, you could blow your budget in less than 24 hours. Ouch.

Start with highly-targeted keywords. For example, “gardening tools” is more targeted than “gardening.” Yet, “gardening tool kit” is even better. Provided you sell a kit, of course.

You’ll get fewer clicks from highly-targeted keywords, but more customers from those clicks. That’s how to get greater profits from your PPC campaigns.
Don’t Bid on a #1 Position
I see this mistake over and over again. Don’t do it.

Do the highest positions get the most traffic? Yes. So, why am I telling you NOT to bid on a #1 position?

Because it’s almost never the most profitable position.

Remember, people comparison shop. I do. You probably do too. That means that if your ad is #1, shoppers will click it, visit your site and then hit the “Back” button to do more shopping. Now, they’re ready to buy from your competitor. Uh oh.

Here’s the simple solution: reduce your bid so that you’re not in a #1 spot.

This is a HUGE money-saving tip. Let your competitors over-spend on a #1 position. You’ll spend a lot less and will get their customers.
Write Ads that Attract Buyers, Not Browsers
Anyone can get traffic from PPC. But do you really want a ton of traffic? No, you want sales.

You do need to write ads that get clicked. Google, MSN and now Yahoo! rank ads based on your bid PLUS your quality score (which includes factors like your click-through rate).

This model maximizes money for the search engines. But do they care if you get traffic but no sales? No.

So, be careful using “Free” or words that might attract browsers, not buyers. These words could deliver a ton of traffic, but few sales.

It’s better to pay for fewer clicks that convert into customers.

This copywriting tip will save you a fortune in clicks fees.
Make Your Landing Page Sell
Do not, I repeat, do not send PPC traffic to your home page.

With few exceptions, the home page is almost NEVER the most relevant landing page.

A “landing page” is the web page people “land on” once they click your PPC ad.

Send people directly to the page that matches their search. For example, a category page or product page. Ah…now you’ve gotten them one step closer to doing business with you.
Track Conversions, Not Clicks
Want to know which keywords make you money? Want to know which keywords waste your money?

There are winners and losers in your keyword list. By tracking conversions (leads or sales), by keyword, you’ll keep more money in your bank account.

The search engines offer free tracking tools. These tell you the number of conversions for each keyword.

And there are many ad tracking tools that reveal how much money each keyword makes. I once discovered that a client was wasting $2,000 a month on one keyword. You bet we cut that keyword ASAP. And the client saved $2,000 a month.

If you’re new to search engine marketing, try PPC first. You’ll instantly discover which keywords and ads are the most profitable for your business. Then, do SEO. Successful search marketing includes PPC and SEO. By doing both, you can attract a steady stream of highly-profitable customers.

Catherine Seda is a 12-year Internet marketing veteran and Entrepreneur columnist. She’s author of the new book “How to Win Sales & Influence Spiders: Boosting Your Business & Buzz on the Web.” Want to know why you could be losing $10K, $100K or over $1 million a month on the web? Then get Catherine’s new book at http://www.HowToWinSalesAndInfluenceSpiders.com before your competitors do!

Technorati Tags: Catherine Seda, how to win sales, pay-per-click tups, PPC, search engine, keywords