What is PPC Advertising?

Watch this intro. to Google AdWords Video & see text below

Why choose the PPC Management Company to do this for you?

The screenshot above shows the page returned for a typical search using the Google Search Engine. The the search term is "Widgets" in this case (also known as the keyword or keyword phrase).

The listings shown by the Google are a mixture of so called Natural or Organic results and sponsored listings. The Pay Per Click Adverts are shown on the R.H.S. and sometimes also above the Natural listings.

How does PPC Advertising Work?

The reason the adverts appeared above when the search term "Widgets" was entered, by the searcher, was because they were programmed to do so by Google and the sponsor (the advertiser) . To help explain this, think of the actual advert as the part of an iceberg that you see above the water. We all know that there is more below the water! In this case think of there being a keyword container below the water. For this example this container certainly contains at least the one word "Widgets". It may however have many more keyword variations such as "Blue Widgets", "Cheap Widgets" etc.

From Impression to Click

If the searcher sees a relevant advert that is interesting, they may click on the advert. This will take them through to what is called the Landing Page. It being a particularly relevant page of the advertiser's website with information for example about "Widgets". This whole process allows Searchers, (possibly customers) interested in Widgets to find Advertisers trying to promote Widgets.

Pay Per Click

Each time a searcher clicks on the advert a charge is made to the advertiser, hence the term Pay Per Click or (PPC).

Cost Per Click

This is where it starts getting complicated so you will need to pay attention! Each advertiser can set a maximum Cost Per Click for each keyword that they are using. So in the example above each of the four advertisers may have set a different maximum Cost Per Click (CPC) for the keyword "Widgets". Let's assume that advertiser at the top of the sponsored listings is prepared to pay 40 pence per click but each of the other advertisers are only willing to pay a maximum of 20p per click. The cost of a click to the top advertiser will actually be 21p and not 40p. e.g. 1p more than the next highest bidder. The cost of a click to each of the other three advertisers will be 20p. Just to make it even more complicated advertisers can change their maximum CPC for each keyword as often as they like. So in effect you have a dynamic auction taking place for keywords 24/7, 365 days!. That's one good reason for choosing the PPC Management Company to do it for you!

The Position of Your PPC Advert

This is where it gets even more complicated, as the way that Google, Yahoo and MSN determine the position of your advert varies. Broadly speaking naturally the amount of money you are prepared to spend on a click has a significant influence on the poistion of your advert. However, Google for example, also calculates what is known as a Quality Score. This is essentially a reward for relevance. e.g. The relevance of the Seach Term "Widgets" to the PPC advert to the Landing Page. Google wishes to ensure a good search experience. So an advertiser with a good Quality Score can actually pay less and get a better position than someone willing to pay more but with a poor Quality score. Managing this is another good choosing the PPC Management Company to do it for you!