With millions of people searching the web each day, and the most popular keyword phrases fetching the highest price, it’s easy to see how some have let the romantic notion of being #1 destroy their marketing budgets. What’s worse is they typically received little to no return on their investment.

Don’t let the same be said for your business. Your pay-per-click experience can be a positive one, but only if you take the time and gets the facts.

Part three (3) of my five (5) part series on, “Things to Consider, When Considering a Marketing Methodology Consultant” will bring you up to date on this new form of search engine marketing. It details how it works, its benefits and drawbacks, and what to ask a marketing consultant to make sure they don’t use your marketing budget to make their mistakes.

How It Works

Google, Yahoo, MSN, and others offer the chance to be #1 on their search engine by bidding for keyword phrases with their Adwords, Overture, and adCenter programs. These ads are referred to as “sponsored results” and look like this:

To include a website in these results you simply:

1. Choose the keyword phrases you want to bid on
2. Write ads to display each time these phrases are searched
3. Set a maximum dollar amount you are willing to spend each time someone clicks on your ad
4. Set a daily budget that deactivates your ad once it’s reached until the following day

Once your keyword phrase is searched for, an instant auction begins between you and all the other advertisers bidding for the same phrase. The auction determines what position your ad will get and how much you’ll pay for a potential.

Why Pay-Per-Click Works

Pay-per-click marketing displays ads that are relevant to any search the instant it’s made. This is a big advantage over other forms of advertising because it targets only the people you want to reach. What’s better is it catches them when they’re actively looking for a solution.

When Pay-Per-Click Doesn’t Work

The biggest problem with PPC advertising is click fraud. It occurs when a person, automated script, or computer program imitates a legitimate user and clicks on an ad to generate a charge for a click without having an honest interest in the ad’s link.

This problem comes from two (2) primary sources:

• Pay-Per-Click Publishers

  As blogging has become more popular, pay-per-click programs have offered their authors, and almost anyone else with a website, an opportunity to make some money. By putting a small piece of code on a webpage, anyone can position pay-per-click ads wherever you want.

  The ads shown on each page, like search engine results, are based on the content of the page. If someone writes an article called “Why I want to be a Veterinarian”, ads from vets and pet supplies might be shown. If a visitor clicks on one of these ads, the website owner receives a portion of the revenue collected from that click.

  If everyone was 100% honest, there wouldn’t be a problem. People would only click on an ad if it was truly of interest. But this isn’t the case, and despite the efforts of pay-per-click programs, advertisers are still charged for fraudulent clicks.

• Competitors

  In addition to worrying about dishonest webmasters and their friends, pay-per-click advertisers need to worry about their competition. Just like pay-per-click publishers, your competition can click on your ads to help waste your marketing dollars.

  Click fraud has become such a problem that there are now companies devoted solely to identifying click fraud and working with pay-per-click providers to recoup the revenue lost from it.

The best 2 questions to ask a potential marketing methodology consultant who provides pay-per-click consulting are:

• What are your average click-through percentages?

  Click-through percentages, or CTRs, measure the effectiveness of a pay-per-click ad. High CTRs are desirable because they show that a consultant can write ad copy that makes people want to click on it. Yes, more clicks means more money, but high CTRs tell you that your ad is in touch with the needs of your audience.

• What are your average conversion percentages?

  High click-through rates are not enough. You also want high conversion percentages as well. Conversion tells you how many people, out of the total people that clicked on your ad, actually did something useful on your website. In other words… Did they buy something? Sign up for your newsletter? Enter to win a FREE Hawaiian vacation?

Since you’re paying for each click… make it count! A good pay-per-click consultant can help you do it.

My next article discusses search engine optimization, or SEO. Many companies claim to be experts, but make sure you arm yourself with the facts before you potentially make a costly mistake.

Part two (2) of my five (5) part series, “Things to Consider, When Considering a Marketing Methodology Consultant” touches on the power of corporate blogging. There isn’t much to ask a marketing consultant regarding blogs except, can they provide one
, so instead I’ll focus on the three (3) top reasons to have a corporate blog.

• What Makes Blogging Different

• Blogs Are Personal

  When you’re a solo entrepreneur, your personality shines through in every action your business makes. As your business grows, however, this fades. Blogging provides an opportunity to bring this personalization back by helping you break the corporate wall that separates you from your audience. But leave the sales copy for your website. Blogging is about making a human connection and starting a dialogue, not soliciting business. It’s about differentiating your business by sharing a part of yourself.

• Blogs Get Honest Feedback

  Another difference between a website and a blog is the ability for readers to interact. Just like the post you’re reading now, with a blog, your readers can leave a comment, rating, email, or another type of message.

  Be warned! They may not always be pleasant, but this isn’t a bad thing!

  Every business has its problems and usually, no matter how hard you try, your customers will find them. By using a corporate blog as a way to communicate with them, you force yourself to see your business as they see it; “warts and all”.

  Instead of being afraid, listen to them. In the end, you’ll gain more credibility by admitting your mistakes and addressing your customers’ concerns. You’ll only lose their respect if you hide behind “spin” or PR.

• Blogs Are Sexy to Search Engines

  If you’re looking to increase your website’s visibility, a blog is a great way to do it. Since search engines are always scouring the web for new content to index, writing a blog provides them with the fuel they’re looking for. You’ll be surprised by how much traffic you can get from the most random Internet searches. A blog also increases the overall amount of content available on your site, which also makes it more attractive to search engines.

In my next post, I’ll discuss the nature of pay-per-click (PPC) advertising and how to make sure your marketing methodology consultant doesn’t waste your money learning.

This is the first installment of a five (5) part series about, “Things to Consider, When Considering a Marketing Methodology Consultant.” It describes each of the concepts above and provides some questions to ask a consultant before you hire them. By taking a little time to familiarize yourself with Internet marketing, you’ll increase your chances of making the right choice.

A Website – Your 1st Priority

The Internet is filled with website creation tools and do-it-yourself software. Each promises to help you create your own website without the need for a professional. And they deliver just that… a website that was created without a professional.

It’s a combination of this “do-it-yourself hype” and “Johnny down the street” that has cheapened the art of website development. Would you replace the brakes on your car? Would you let a teenager do it because they’re cheap?

Anyone can learn the tech behind web design, but it takes time to perfect the craft. A knowledgeable marketing methodology consultant has experience and will help you create a website that:

• Improves Your Credibility
• Is Search Engine Friendly
• Effectively Extends Your Brand
• Is More Than an Online Brochure
• Helps Generate and Sustain New Business
• Creates a Solid Foundation for All Marketing

To make sure a marketing methodology consultant can deliver a website like this, ask them:

• How long have you worked in the industry?

  Emphasis on “worked”. Web design and programming used to be a hobby (albeit an intense one) in college, but I wouldn’t consider it as part of my professional experience.

• What other websites have you created?

  Admittedly, this is an obvious question, but make sure that you see several examples of a consultant’s work before you commit.

• What is your process?

  An experienced website developer who has built several websites before will have a standard process they follow. Ask about it early so there aren’t any surprises later.

• How familiar are you with XHTML and CSS

  Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are, in my opinion, the only way to design a website today. When implemented correctly, they help your website stay consistent between different browsers, allow you to do more design with less markup, and make your website more search engine friendly. If your marketing methodology consultant isn’t familiar with these technologies, keep searching.

• Are your websites standards compliant?

  Asking this question is like asking a certified pre-owned car dealer for a 110-point inspection. It ensures that everything “under the hood” of your website is as it should be. What makes standards compliant websites better than certified pre-owned cars is a reputable 3rd party is the one who determines a pass or fail.

• How do I make updates to my website?

  Older web development firms will try to bill you monthly to make regular updates to your website. This leaves you waiting for someone else to do, what is essentially, an easy task that you can truly do yourself. Newer firms empower their clients and allow them to make updates and add new pages to their website whenever they want!

My next article in this series will explain the explosive “blogging” fad and how it can be applied to business.

Here are a few ideas…

• People LOVE TV

  According to a Forrester Research study conducted in 2000, we spend an average of 7 hours a day watching television. This compared to an average of a few minutes spent on the Internet. Now I’ll admit, these findings are a bit dated, but the ratio couldn’t have changed that much. My point is the same, we LOVE television, so why wouldn’t we love it online?

• Social Interest

  As mammals, we are naturally curious about each other. With the falling price of web cams, and the increased availability of broadband access, we can connect with one another in a whole new way by taking a sneak peek into each other’s lives. Add viewer anonymity to the equation with folks who have no shame (have you seen some of the stuff out there?) and you have the makings for an entertainment powerhouse.

• Instant Gratification

  We are lean, mean, media consuming machines. So much so that I sometimes feel like we voluntarily brainwash ourselves like Alex, from “A Clockwork Orange”. We can’t get enough and we certainly don’t want to wait for it. Tivo gave us the power to fast-forward through commercials; video on-Demand gives us entertainment at the click of a mouse. This allows us to go from impulse, to search, to satisfaction in record time.

• Available at Work

  In America, there is no shortage of televisions in the home, but what about at work? After a few dozen lunches with our co-workers, we might choose to spice it up and indulge our media addiction instead. And, if you’re nasty, you might let it spill over to the rest of your day. With video accessible online, we can watch television almost anywhere.

• Fresh & Plentiful

  As demand grows, so does supply. Though most of it isn’t worth watching, there is definitely no shortage of available content. If you don’t find what you’re looking for today, check back tomorrow, there will be a whole new batch of videos watching for you.

Why do you think we love online video so much?