Pay Per Click Search Engines
Which PPC is Right for You?

What's PPC?

If you are in a category that's too competitive to get a top ranking in, or if you just want every bit of additional exposure that you can get, paying to be in search results may be an option worth considering.

There are generally three places that "PPC" results are shown:

• Supplemental. Often, PPC results are shown on popular search engines in addition to the regular results. The revenue from these listings is what allows a search engines to be a free service. To see an example, search for games on Google. The listings on the far right are paid for by the site owners (even though it's free to be in the main listings).
• Exclusively. Some search engines, such as FindWhat or Search123, only show paid results. However, they usually receive a relatively small number of searches compared to normal search engines. These engines typically generate most of their revenue from putting listings as advertisements on content sites (see the next bullet).
• As Advertising. Almost all PPC engines allow website owners to become affiliates, and to show the paid listings on their websites in return for a cut of the advertising revenue. This has been done for years by companies like FindWhat, but has recently become even more attractive with Google accepting affiliates (this is called their "AdSense" program).

PPC stands for "Pay-Per-Click." This means that you set an amount that you're willing to pay for a unique visitor, and then you pay that amount per click that is sent to you. In most cases, you either deposit funds into an account or set a monthly (or daily) budget so that you aren't surprised with a huge bill at the end of the month.

For each phrase that you would like to be listed under, you set the price that you're willing to pay per click. People willing to pay more get higher positions within the sponsored listings, and get more clicks.

This article will compare each of the major PPC engines, and help you decide which is right for you.

The Two Big Players

The two major options for PPC search listings are Google AdWords and Overture. They together control the vast majority of PPC search listings. They tend to be much more trustworthy and deliver a significantly higher quality of traffic. Google and Overture can give you almost any number of clicks that you might need, which is good for phrases getting fewer searches.

However, this all comes at a cost. It almost always takes a higher bid to be visible on Google or Overture.

Google AdWords
https://adwords.google.com/select/

Where the Ads Appear: Mainly in Google's results, which tend to give a relatively high quality of traffic. The people searching on Google are looking for a site like yours and are ready to make a purchase. They also appear as advertising around the web, though you can opt out of this if you would like.

What it Costs: There is no minimum, though there is a $5 activation fee. The minimum bid is 5 cents, which will get a listing for most smaller terms. However, expect to pay more for more popular phrases.

The Good, The Bad: The traffic quality is very high, and they can deliver large quantities of visitors. The advertisers' interface is one of the best. Up to eight ads are shown at a time, so lower bids can still be shown. Nevertheless, more popular keywords can easily cost $1 per click just to be visible.

Overture
http://www.overture.com/

Where the Ads Appear: Overture is owned by Yahoo, so it powers the sponsored listings in searches on all of Yahoo's engines, which includes Yahoo itself, AltaVista, and AllTheWeb. It also powers the sponsored listings of some other engines and provides a program similar to AdSense. However, unlike Google, they don't work with smaller sites (their minimum traffic levels are difficult to meet).

What it Costs: $50 to open an account, with a $20 minimum spend per month. The minimum bid is 10 cents. The typcial cost-per-click on Overture tends to be higher than on Google.

The Good, The Bad: It also has a high quality of traffic, and the quantity is impressive (though slightly smaller than Google). However, almost all of the clicks go to the first two or three listings on Overture, so it can take a substantial bid to be in the results. On a term like hosting, you could find yourself paying as much as $10 per click (or more).

Other Options

If you have a high-traffic term and can't afford Google or Overture, you might want to consider another PPC engine. You may also want to use other engines in addition to Google and Overture to increase your market reach.

FindWhat
http://www.findwhat.com/

Where the Ads Appear: A few people use FindWhat to search. However, most traffic comes from smaller search engines such as SearchHippo (which include FindWhat results in their sponsored results), as well as a small number of content sites.

What it Costs: $25 to open an account, and a minimum bid of 5 cents. The typcial cost-per-click is lower than Google or Overture, but higher than smaller PPC engines.

The Good, The Bad: The quality of traffic is good, though not as great as Google or Overture. They don't have nearly much traffic as the major players--though still more than "second-tier" PPC engines--but the bid prices are manageable.

Kanoodle
http://www.kanoodle.com/

Where the Ads Appear: They mainly put ads on smaller search engines and content sites. Smaller than FindWhat, but still a respectable size.

What it Costs: Free $5 credit to start, and the minimum bid is 5 cents. The typcial cost-per-click is about the same as FindWhat.

The Good, The Bad: The same as FindWhat. The traffic is good, but not great. The traffic is smaller, but still enough to get your dollar's worth on reasonably large terms.

Search123
http://www.search123.com/

Where the Ads Appear: Mainly on small search engines and content sites, but since they were recently acquired by an advertising firm they are expected to start focusing more on content sites.

What it Costs: A $25 deposit is required to open an account, and the minimum bid is then 5 cents. Typical costs are clost to FindWhat and Kanoodle, though it depends greatly on the term.

The Good, The Bad: The traffic is of a respectable quality, but they don't quite have enough of it to provide the same oppurtunities as Google or Overture. Nevertheless, you shouldn't have any problems on more popular terms.

Everyone Else

There are hundreds of other PPC engines. However, they in general should be avoided. Most have little or no traffic, and may sometimes use "bots" to send fake clicks to their listings. If you're unsure, search around for reviews and forum posts of the site that you're interested in.

Conclusion

If you have a relatively high-cost term or phrase that you want to list your site under, Google and Overture will be expensive, but if you can afford it they're the best option. If that's successful, you should consider FindWhat, Kanoodle, and Search123 to broaden your reach. If you're budget's smaller, then the "runner-up" PPC engines may be your only options.

If you have a lower-cost term, then you should really only focus on Google and Overture. Try Google first, and then Overture.

Good luck!