FindWhat Bidding

When planning your FindWhat bid management and downloading your keywords into pay per click management software, don't forget the filters.

FindWhat offers users the option to filter their searches, blocking adult content, which can interfere with your pay per click bid management. For example, if your visitors perform searches for “bra,” the filtered results might not include your lingerie or women's clothing store if your listing includes the word “nude” (referring to the color).

This is not to say that PPC bid management means ruthlessly scouring your ads and sites for any potentially offensive terms. But if you make a pay per click bid for “bra,” you might want to omit the word “nude.” You'll probably find that in your keyword bid management that your clickthroughs (and conversions) increase when you design your campaign with the FindWhat filter in mind.

Google AdWords on Multiple Sites?

Google advertising doesn't mean just buying keyword listings on Google. When selecting Google Adwords, you have a variety of pay per click search engines where your Google AdWords can appear, such as Ask Jeeves, and other sites such as AOL.com, Earthlink.com and About.com.

Any Google AdWords tips can't ignore the popularity of Google AdWords and the distinct advantage AdWords sponsored listings have for you over PPC bids on other pay per click search engines. Google AdWords can work in tandem with your Shopping.com campaign, since Shopping.com is a Google AdWords partner site. Google AdWords partner sites also include heavy hitters The Food Network, iVillage and The Weather Channel. Designing targeted keywords for these sites will bring you more qualified leads.

Choosing a Pay Per Click Search Engine for Online Advertising

The choice of which PPC search engine to use for your online advertising campaigns is very important. Larger engines like Overture will draw the most users, but also have the highest prices. Smaller engines have prices as low as 1 cent per click, but may not generate any traffic. The best option for most companies lies somewhere between the two. Look for a search engine that can satisfy your goals for traffic, but won't break your budget, then research that company and try to contact other businesses that use it for advertising to see how their experience has been.

Popular Search Terms

It's always good business in keyword bid management to know what your potential customers search for, even when your pay per click bid dollars aren't being spent for those specific terms.

For example, if on FindWhat you search for “books,” you'll find 56 listings, which means you can comfortably rely on “books” in your PPC bid management and spend just pennies (the bid for the #1 spot is .08 as of this writing). Widening your pay per click bid management net, you search for “books” at Overture. You can actually view advertisers' max bids in a separate window. Amazon.com has bid .65 as of this writing for the top spot. If your bid management budget can compete with Amazon, make the bid. Otherwise, consider a more specific term such as “paperback books” (.35 for the #1 spot as of this writing.)

Built-In PPC Tools: Your best Bet for Your Best Keywords

The more specific you get with your keywords in your Overture Pay Per Click campaign, the less competition you will have for your pay per click spots, even if your keywords aren't in the top Overture position.

The Internet Digest cites the example of “soccer training” and suggests “womens soccer training” as a specific Alternative. (Remember that Overture treats single and plural keywords the same.)

If you click on the search term variations for, say, “womens soccer training” on the actual keyword table, you may get even more specific key phrases and keywords, which can deliver more bang for your pay click buck. Take advantage of Overture's built-in tools when designing your Overture PPC campaign.

PPC Software, Pay Per Click Tracking

Pay per click tracking allows you to determine how much your online store in generating sales. It can also study customer behavior. Depending on how detailed the tracking report is, you may also learn what specific pages your customer vistised, how long they looked at each page and if they were a returning customer. PPC Software acts, in part, as a surveyor and an analysts. Pay per click tracking is especially beneficial if you advertise with more than one PPC company.

Gap Bidding

Pay per click advertising, or ppc advertising, allows you to bid on specific keywords. Gap bidding is the difference between the bids of a keyword. Bid one cent more than the position you desire. Look for huge gaps in the current bidding. For example, if the bids are 30, 29, 20 and 18 cents, then your optimum bid would be 25 cents.

Quepasa and Bid Management

Spanish language portals and pay per click search engines are muy caliente…in fact, if your business is hot or if you have a resort in a hot climate, you could even place a pay per click bid for “muy caliente” on your bid management console. Remember that Quepasa searches are bilingual, so spending $100 (minimum) in your PPC bid management is a smart move if you want to reach the bilingual audience.

Say that in your keyword bid management strategy you discover that “muy caliente” in the Spanish-language searches is muy bien on ROI. When you optimize your pay per click bid management for English, you discover that “muy caliente” also offers a terrific ROI in English searches. You've captured the Spanish-speaking market with a $100 deposit and a .10 minimum bid on “muy caliente.”

Campaign Tracking Is the Secret

PPC Campaign tracking has become as important as making each pay per click bid. Like any other advertising campaign you start, you need to pay attention to the results of keyword bid management. Even if you opt for an automated tracking service that can handle everything for you, do your homework and educate yourself on bid management. Google, Overture Ah-ha, and LookSmart constantly change, and keywords also constantly change…and, of course, your business doesn't stay static. Another secret to PPC bid management: Know the online advertising game, and equally important, know your own business goals.

What is click fraud and how does it happen?

Click fraud is the practice of illegitimately clicking on a text ad in a search engine such as Google, in order to force the advertiser to pay for the click. Some companies who perpetrate this fraudulent activity employ low-cost workers from Asian countries to click on text links and other advertisements. Other companies use internet robots that are programmed to click on links that are listed in search queries and results. Yet another form of pay per click fraud takes place when companies click on their competitors' ads with the intention of depleting their marketing budgets and skewing their search results. All of these forms of fraud can cost online advertisers a lot of money.