6. Create separate ads for each product or service you sell. This is an extremely effective strategy, but very few businesses are using it: Write ads specific to each keyword and phrase you bid on. For example, instead of writing an ad for "sporting goods," write one for "quality leather soccer balls," another for "discount ladies' tennis shoes," and so on.

These customized ads will attract more attention (and clicks!) from qualified buyers. And of course, you'll be able to convert more of these visitors to buyers if you direct them to a page on your site with the exact product or service they're searching for.

7. Get listed in relevant specialty PPC search engines. Did you know that there are specialty PPC search engines that target different markets such as brides, pet owners, antique collectors, car owners and so on?
Check out PayPerClickSearchEngines.com to see if there are any relevant to your business that might be worth getting listed in.

Targeting Your Campaigns

PPC search engines are constantly looking for new ways to improve their services?and your results. After all, they want you to keep purchasing advertising from them and not their competitors.

Here's an overview of some great tools they're offering to help you better target your ads and keep your campaign costs down:

1. Keyword Matching Options (offered by Overture and Google AdWords). Both of these search engines offer options that allow you to fine-tune the way your keyword is matched to the phrases people type into their engines. Their options differ slightly, but here's a rough breakdown:

·  Exact match. A listing is triggered by the exact keyword phrase and nothing else. Example: "fishing rods" will match "fishing rods" but not "fancy fishing rods."

·  Phrase match. A listing is triggered by the keyword phrase as it's written, though it might be included with other terms as well. Example: "fishing rods" will match "antique fishing rods and reels" but not "rods fishing."

·  Broad match. A listing is triggered by the keyword phrase or slight variations of it, even if the words are out of order or separated by other words. Example: "fishing rods" will match "Rod's Alaskan Fishing Adventure" and possibly even "Rod's Fish & Chips." Warning: The broad match option can work well for highly specific queries, such as brand names or serial numbers, but can result in a lot of poorly targeted click-throughs for general terms, especially terms that have more than one meaning, such as "dolly," "tackle" or "nails."

·  Negative match. When words identified as "negatives" are typed into the search engine along with the keyword phrase, the listing will not appear. Example: "fishing rods - cheap" will match "fishing rods and tackle" but not "cheap fishing rods."

2. Contextual Targeting (offered by Overture, Google AdWords, Kanoodle and Enhance Interactive). Contextual targeting places your PPC listing on websites where the content somehow relates to your ad. Obviously, this can be a great way to increase the exposure of your ad.
If you decide to try contextual targeting, however, be sure to monitor where your ads are being placed because the effectiveness of contextual targeting can vary widely. Your ads may end up featured on websites that have little to do with your advertisement?and therefore attract unqualified click-throughs.
For example, a recent USnews.com article about starting a business had a series of "Hermosa Beach Vacation" Google Ads listed beside it?because the first person interviewed in the story happened to live in Hermosa Beach! These wasted clicks can quickly drain your bank account if you aren't careful.

3. Geotargeting (offered by Overture and Google AdWords). Geotargeting allows you to choose which countries or geographic regions your ads appear in. This feature is best suited for businesses that offer local services or products that are useful only in specific regions.
For example, if you're a landscaper who lives in Washington state, you probably don't want to pay for click-throughs from out-of-area visitors. After all, Texas-area residents aren't likely to request your services.

4. Day Parting (offered by Kanoodle). Right now, Kanoodle is the only search engine we know that offers this option. "Day parting" allows you to choose the time of day your ads will appear in different regions, so they're only available during "prime viewing times."
For example, if your market testing shows that most people click on your ads to make a purchase in the early evening, you can make sure your ads appear only at that time in the different regions where your potential customers live.

5. Keyword Research Tools (offered by Overture, Google AdWords, FindWhat, Kanoodle, LookSmart and Enhance Interactive). The most popular keyword phrases are always the most expensive. Keyword research tools help you find common variations and misspellings of the more popular keywords so you can keep costs down while still generating traffic.

More sophisticated keyword research tools let you see how much you need to bid to achieve a particular ranking (for example, the No. 1 spot, the No. 7 spot and so on) prior to finalizing your bid. They may also provide you with traffic estimates for the different keywords and phrases you bid on.

6. Multiple Ads for the Same Keyword (offered by Google AdWords). Google AdWords allows you to "split test" different ads for the same keyword so you can see which ad attracts the most paying customers. This can save you a lot of time, and enables you to make sure your ads will yield the highest possible return on your investment.

7. "Autobid" Software (offered by Overture, Google AdWords, FindWhat, Kanoodle, LookSmart and Enhance Interactive). Autobid software is a bid management program that tracks the bidding activity on your different keywords and automatically adjusts your bidding amount so you can maintain your ranking. The more sophisticated bid management programs allow you to "cap" your bids so you never spend more than you want.

They also eliminate "bid gaps" that occur when the bidder below your listing drops their bid?your bid is automatically reduced so you maintain your position without spending more per click than necessary.

Final Thoughts

If you haven't tried a PPC search engine campaign yet, I'd recommend doing it soon. There are still tons of cheap, targeted keywords waiting for your bids?but they may not be around much longer. More and more online businesses are realizing that?done right?a PPC campaign can be a fabulous source of cheap, instant, highly qualified traffic.

The best advice I can give you is this:

·  Bid on lots of cheap, targeted keywords and phrases, including misspellings, and avoid the expensive general words that everyone is bidding on.

·  Never bid more per click than what a single visitor is worth to your site?it's the best way to make sure your ads remain profitable.

·  Get listed in the "other" PPC search engines. You may be able to bid on popular terms you can't afford in Overture and Google AdWords.

·  Whenever possible, get ranked in the top 3 listings in Overture and Google AdWords. These ads appear on an extensive network of sites (including Yahoo!, MSN, AltaVista, Excite and more) and can reach up to 80 percent of all active internet users, so you get more bang for your buck.

·  Target your ads as much as possible. Write "custom" ads for each keyword and use the various bid management and targeting tools offered by the different PPC search engines to reduce your costs and increase your clicks.

·  Design your landing pages so they convert qualified visitors to buyers. If your ads promise "cat toys with bells," make sure they actually direct visitors to a page where it's easy for them to buy these items.