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The goal of today’s blog is to put some perspective on keywords as they are used in PPC advertising. Because we all use them daily in our searches, and they trigger both ads and natural results at the same time, it’s no wonder that keywords get so much attention in website advertising. Keywords happen to be one of the more tangible parts of search marketing. However, excessive focus on keywords can cause some other equally essential parts of the process to go lacking. We like lists, so...

Here’s our list of six facts about keywords in PPC ads:

As we wrote in our May 2008 blog post, there are some very good reasons and best practices for having your company name as keywords to trigger search engine PPC ads. However, there are also some potential “gotchas” that online advertisers and buyer of leads should be aware of. Essentially, you want to make sure your company is making the most of these tactics, but not unknowingly paying for search traffic on your company name, especially at a premium price or mixed in with new customer acquisition reports.

Internet Search Engines - Used Like Telephone White Pages

In explaining website marketing and advertising, we often refer to the search engine results page as being like a split-screen television. The natural , organic results appear in the left/center of the page, and the ad results (called “Sponsored Links” in Google AdWords) display on top center and down the right side column. While both results are triggered simultaneously by the same search, the mechanisms behind the two types of results have many differences.

In our experience with search engine advertising, one of its unique aspects is that, in addition to directly generating online sales or leads, its robust settings provide an excellent tool for business research and planning. In the creation and management of search engine ads, the campaigns, ad groups, and more granular settings gather a great deal of useful data. This is particularly true for Google AdWords. When specifically set up for testing, the potential is a marketer’s dream. For example, we control the following primary variables:

Since pay per click (also known as PPC) ads on the top and side of a search engine results page appear simultaneously with natural or organic results in the center of the page, there is a lot of misunderstanding about them. The processes behind the two are very different, but both complex. The fact list below help you begin to understand PPC better:

• Focus on return on investment. Understand that fully before drilling into the details of how PPC works. ROI is the best comparison tool for all online or direct response marketing efforts.