Pay Per Click Advertising

Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising is a paid advertising method where affiliate marketers bid on various targeted keywords to drive traffic to their websites. If a consumer is interested in applying for a credit card for good credit, and the affiliate marketer is bidding on the keyword phrase “credit cards for good credit”, the applicant may see the paid ad listed in the search engine and click on the link to the application page or credit card website. At that time, the advertiser will be assessed a fee for the click. These sponsored ads will appear next to or above the organic search results on a search engine results page.

There are a wide variety of pay per click advertising sites from which to choose, and keyword bidding prices can range considerably from one to the next. Some of the top keywords are now commanding bids of $3.00 or $4.00 per click, but there are also many less expensive and less popular keywords that are listed as cheaply as $.01 per click. Keep in mind that cheaper isn’t always better for your business. You should do some online research by reviewing keyword rankings and monitoring your competition’s bid history to determine which keywords are best for your financial website.

Although a larger number of keywords will generate more traffic, please keep in mind that the more targeted keywords that you purchase for your site, the greater expense you will incur. To get started you may want to try bidding on only a few keywords at a time and measuring your results to hone your investment strategy.

Some popular search engines worth checking out for your pay per click advertising efforts include Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing, Ask and LookSmart.