Search Engine Advertising – Why Use It, and How Much Does It Cost?

Negative

Lack of Detail – You can only use a simple line of text to promote your business. This makes it harder to stand out, especially against bigger companies whose name might be well known in your industry.

Potentially Expensive – Search engine advertising is very expensive compared to other forms of advertising because it is so well targeted. The cost per viewer is much higher than radio ads, online ads, or printed ads; although you get much less waste (viewers who have no interest or need for your product, but who still see your ad).

Some keywords have so much competition that the costs are huge compared to the potential returns. Only firms with expert knowledge or dedicated PPC staff are likely to be able to make much profit from these terms.

Click Fraud / Unwanted Clicks – One problem with search engine advertising is that your competitors are likely to regularly click on your ad; firstly to cost you money, but also to see what your business is doing. You also get occasional cases of competitors repeatedly clicking on businesses ads in order to cost them money and drive them away from PPC. However, the search engines have become significantly better at tracking, preventing and refunding this type of fraud; so it is now quite a rare occurrence.

Summary

• Search engine advertising (PPC) is a quick and potentially very profitable way to promote your business online; but it is also a very easy way to throw away money.
• It is extremely useful if you need to drive visitors to your site or push sales on an e-commerce site.
• Remember though, PPC is not without risks. In many fields there are plenty of competitors who will do all they can to push out new businesses.
• Never try to start on several search engines at a time; you will probably end up spending your entire budget on one while you figure out the others. Start with one, learn how to use it effectively; then look at moving on to another search engine in good time.
• You also need to regularly monitor your advertising; results can vary by day to day, and what makes you money one week could lose you money the week after. Checking regularly allows you to raise and lower bids for keywords that are changing before they drastically affect your results.
• The key to search engine advertising is to read up thoroughly, understand how each search engine works and what sort of budget you have before you start. If you plan properly then you will be much better prepared to change or pull out quickly if it doesn’t work; and much better prepared to take full advantage if it does work.