For some website owners, the road to riches is as simple as using a pay-per-click campaign. But, truth be known, this path isn't as clear cut as you might think since not all pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns are wisely planned. While setting up a PPC ad in a search engine isn't very difficult to perform, the strategic planning prior to set up is what makes the response rate reach full speed. Can the average website owner carry out this planning on his own? Sure, if he's quite lucky. But, do you really want to leave your PPC campaign's success to luck?

Many large search engines offer comprehensive PPC plans. For instance, Yahoo Search Marketing Solution (also known as Overture) and Google Adwords, take you through the steps of creating, submitting and activating your advertisement. In a matter of minutes through Google Adwords, your PPC campaign can be approved and working. Yahoo, on the other hand, takes a little longer since actual people, not a computer program, do its review process. Upon launching, your campaign isn't automatically seen by every searcher. Instead, your ad must climb up into a position that makes it most visible.

The quickest way to climb into a good position is to bear in mind some basic tips prior to launching your PPC campaign:

- Who's your target? Pick keywords and phrases that mean something to your market. Many groups expect your product or service to be presented in a certain fashion. Examine your list of words and phrases that are commonly used by your customers to find out their likes and dislikes. This may clue you into how your customers will search for your product or service.

- Do you track your keywords? Even if your PPC is tight with keywords, each keyword will only attract a percentage of visitors. Attract new customers by tracking which keywords appeal to them most strongly. Tracking systems like in Google Adwords and Yahoo Search Marketing Solution do the trick.

- Maximize the small space inside an ad by first split-testing your keywords. Do research by testing keywords and phrases in search engine results. Pick only the best keyword or phrase results.

- Traffic and performance do not go hand-in-hand. Even if you attract lots of traffic, you must motivate visitors to take action. The clearer you are about the desired action the better performance you will get from your traffic. When your performance does better than your competitors, you are in a position to buy better PPC ad positions. This privilege attracts even more visitors who should be more inclined to take action.

- Link your campaign to "landing pages". Direct clicks on certain keywords to a specific page on your website. Clicks on a certain keyword or phrase puts the visitor in a population that is seeking specific material. Studies indicate that a visitor's call to action is much higher upon landing on a page that is most relevant to the visitor.

A great return on your investment (ROI) is the goal of a PPC campaign. When it comes to creating a great PPC campaign, learning to set up a PPC ad is only one part of the picture; the other part is incorporating strategic planning. To discover simpler and more successful ways to carry out a winning PPC campaign, go to www.1dmom.com/archive.

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Tips for Successful Pay-Per-Click Campaigns
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