The big picture involves short term and long term goals.

Maybe you need the cow to pull a plow or you want the dried manure for fireplace fuel. What we're asking is that you consider the big picture. Lead generation involves helping the right people find your site. Search engines and link building can drive a lot of high quality traffic to your site—and they are free. So why use pay per click marketing? PPC starts driving traffic immediately; for a new site this is important. It gets your name and URL out in front of potential customers, even if they don't click on the link. PPC can be used to highlight new content on the site or a topical mini site that organic search engine optimization (SEO) may not be quick enough to promote.

What is Pay Per Click?

Pay Per Click (PPC) marketing lets advertisers appear on Search Engine Pages and content sites but only pay when a user clicks on an ad to visit the advertiser's Web site. PPC is heavily tied to Keywords and can act as a complement to organic Search Engine Optimization and Link Building. An advertiser will not necessarily appear on a page for a specific search as the ads that appear are dependent upon the total number of other paying customers. Also, your ad will stop appearing once all the funds for that month are spent, so PPC is not recommended as a stand alone approach to Search Engine Marketing.

Advertisers bid on keywords, stating a minimum amount they want to pay per click and a maximum budget for the month. Keywords that were already researched as part of an organic Search Engine Optimization plan can be used, or, if no list has been generated, a Keyword Analysis is performed.

How Does Pay Per Click Work?

When a user types a keyword query matching the advertiser's keyword list, or views a page with relevant content, their ad may be shown. These ads are called a "Sponsored link" or "sponsored ads" and appear next to or above the organic results on search engine results pages, or anywhere a webmaster / blogger chooses on a content page.

While many companies exist in this space, Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing, and Microsoft adCenter are the largest network operators as of 2007. Minimum prices per click, often referred to as Costs Per Click (CPC), vary depending on the search engine, with some as low at $0.01. Very popular search terms can cost much more on popular engines, but in highly competitive markets, the price may give your company an advantage.

Go ZapIT Interactive is a Cincinnati Internet Marketing and Digital Communications Agency helping our clients effectively use integrated marketing strategies to increase bottom line results. We specialize in custom applications, interactive web site development, and online marketing. Using engaging Web designs and content, we drive qualified traffic to your site and improve lead generation through extensive knowledge of search engine optimization, link building, and pay per click strategies.