How to Choose the Best Pay-Per-Click Search Engine

Google has cornered the market on pay-per-click advertising with Adwords. However, just because they are the biggest, they may not be the best for you. With all of the other PPC search engines out there, how do you decide which one to will work for you?

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Time to analyze your customers’ needs
• PPC campaign
• Time to study the search engine market
• PPC campaign budget

1. Determine your budget. If you don’t have a lot of money, you may not be able to compete on the top engines like Google or Overture. If your budget is tight, you may want to begin with a smaller search engine to start converting clicks into sales that will increase your bottom line.
2. Think about your customers. Do you know which search engines they use as well as which terms they use in a search ? If your customers only use one of the big engines, you probably won’t draw them in if you only advertise in smaller venues.
3. Study the PPC search engines themselves. Do you know the costs and benefits of each of the search engines? Take the time to join forums where other PPC advertisers compare notes. Learning more about other people’s experiences will help you determine which search engines are good investments and which might be a waste of your time and money.
4. Consider the costs and benefits of different search engines. While using one over another may seem like a big risk, you need to know whether or not it’s worth taking the risk.
5. Try your campaign on two different search engines (if you can afford it). Set a time limit and evaluate your campaign daily. This way you can analyze for yourself the benefits of each search engine.
6. Make a final decision. When you know which search engine your customers use, which search engine fits your budget and where you get the best return on your investment, launch your campaign on it exclusively.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember, the best search engine for someone else might not be the best search engine for you.
• Look to sites like Search Engine Watch to evaluate the effectiveness of search engine advertising on all levels–from the biggest to the small ones that should not be overlooked.
• Don’t get caught up in thinking that bigger is better; do your research to make sure you get the best return on your investment regardless of which search engine you choose.