How to Use Pay Per Click Advertising to Increase Web Site Traffic.

by Mark Williams

How to Use Pay Per Click Advertising to Increase Web Site Traffic! -Mark Williams© Have you ever imagined what it would be like to get hundreds, even thousands of targeted visitors to your web site each and everyday? If you could increase web site traffic by a factor of 3, how much more money would you be making? I can tell you that your profits would grow exponentially! So how do you drive those targeted, ready to buy, visitors to your site? I am going to outline the keys to winning the Pay per Click game. If you will implement these strategies, I can guarantee you that you will have more traffic to your site than you ever imagined! So, let's get started increasing web site traffic, shall we? PAY PER CLICK SEARCH ENGINES This is one of the most obvious and misused traffic generating strategies on the web. If implemented properly, this can be a profitable way to get laser targeted traffic to any web site. If you are just starting a web site, then this is where you need to start generating traffic. There are two reasons for this: the first, you will get immediate targeted traffic and secondly, paid traffic is predictable. You will be able to count on this traffic while you develop your free traffic strategies and implement them. If you already have a site that is not doing well, then paid advertising is a great way to increase web site traffic immediately and start making sales. Our goal is to make sales profitably, and the following guidelines will help you do that. KEYWORD RESEARCH The key to successful paid advertising is developing a large number of highly targeted and relevant keywords. Keyword research will make or break your paid advertising campaign. There are a number of tools that can help in developing a list of keywords; I have mentioned a few below: Overture's keyword search tool - This is a free tool that can be found at inventory.overture.com. There is NO http or www just inventory.overture.com Wordtracker - Wordtracker costs a few dollars to use but it is a great tool. Word Tracker Adword Analyzer - This is my personal favorite because it provides the most information and I use it everyday. Ad Words Analyzer You need to develop a short list of about 100 keywords for your ad. You will eventually build this list into about 1000 but 100 is a good place to start. SET UP YOUR ADS ON GOOGLE ADWORDS Now that we have our keywords, you need to set up an account with Google Adwords. The reason we want to start with Google is they will produce the most traffic and we can test ads. We will discuss testing a little later, because right now I want to focus on setting up our ads. This is NOT rocket science, just follow these easy steps: 1.Pick the countries and language that you want the ads to run in. I usually select the U.S and Canada with English as the language. 2.Now it is time to write the ad itself! With Google you are limited on space so make every word count. You will need to write a headline and two lines describing your ad. a.Headline - This must be an attention grabber and it is critical that you include your keyword. I have also found that placing the headline in the form of a question helps with your click - through rate. b.Description - Briefly describe what it is you are selling and explain how the reader will benefit from your product or service. You need to include your keyword in the description as well. (Some keyword phrases are awkward and trying to use them in the context of the ad is hard. Don't get frustrated by trying to make it work. If the keyword flows naturally in the ad, then use it!) 3.The next step is adding your keywords and keyword phrases. Google Adwords allows you to enter keywords 3 different ways: a.Broad Match - A broad match will trigger your ads anytime one of your keywords is within a search. So if your keyword is "golf" and someone searches for "the best golf club" then your ad will be triggered. Broad match will deliver the least amount of targeted traffic and is not highly recommended. b.Phrase Match - To enter your keyword as a phrase match you need to put quotations around the keyword like "golf equipment". This is a slightly more targeted way to get traffic. c.Exact Match - Exact match keywords are the most targeted and they are entered with brackets, like [golf equipment]. The only way your ad will be triggered is by someone typing in the exact keyword you are bidding on. In our example, if someone typed in "golf equipment" then your ad will show up as a sponsored ad. This is the most effective way to get targeted traffic to your site! 4.Now it is time to test your ads! You need to write two ads for every ad campaign you have. Only make slight differences in the two ads, just change one word for example. Let the ads run for about 500 impressions and then see which one gets the highest CTR (click through rate). When you have determined which ad is the best, then change the ad slightly and run another ad to see if you can make it better. Always keep trying to produce better pulling ads, because Google Adwords will reward you for a high CTR. 5.The last step is setting your bid price for your ad campaign. I suggest a little trick that will help your conversion. Bid your keywords to get into first position and let your ads run in first position for a few hours or up to one day. Then reduce your bid price to place yourself somewhere in the top 8 ads. This will help your CTR and you will get a higher position for less money per click! Once you have some proven ads that are pulling in the profits then start placing them on the other Pay per Click Search Engines. Always start with Google Adwords because they are the only company that will allow you to test ads. Let's recap our list of things needed to effectively run a PPC (Pay per Click) campaign: 1.Build a good keyword list. 2.Write effective headlines and descriptions. 3.Test your ads trying for a higher and higher CTR. 4.Monitor profitability! 5.Take proven ads and expand your paid advertising to other companies. If you will follow these simple steps, I guarantee that you will increase web site traffic and drive more targeted leads to your site than you could ever imagine. These targeted, ready to buy customers will convert your products into cash. Just remember that this is a business like any other business and tracking your ad effectiveness and profitability is vital to your internet success! About the Author Mark Williams can show you the way to increase website traffic and get more out of your new or existing site. He has researched and reviewed hundreds of traffic techniques. You can get more traffic tips at: Increase Web Site Traffic

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Personal Tech (Washington Post)
1 Feb 2007 at 6:56am
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