RSS FeedBidding on Pay Per Click Keywords
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This is an ongoing series about making money on the Internet. In the last section we gave some background information concerning Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising. This section discusses bidding on keywords. Here is the article:
Not all keywords are created equal in Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising. For quite a while, the highest paying keyword was“mesothelioma”, a form of cancer that is almost always caused by exposure to asbestos. Other keywords, like “ring tone” may not pay as well.
Currently the highest bid for an advertisement on ring tones is $3.48. The highest bid right now for Mesothelioma is $83.74. This means that someone is actually bidding $83.74 for one click with that keyword or string of keywords. The next highest bidder is $74.57. Lawyers looking for clients are usually bidding on this keyword.
Where to look-up keywords
You can see what others are bidding on a keyword by visiting this website: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal. This is a free tool Google has provided for their Adwords customers. After you log in and begin to use the tool, choose “show all” from the drop down menu. Then pick $100 (or more) for the maximum CPC bid. This will provide you the actual dollar bids. You can then sort according to dollar amount by clicking on the “Estimated Avg. CPC” column header.
So now you know how to determine what others are paying per-click for your widget. The next step is to pick a keyword and make your bid. You don’t have to match the highest bid, but doing so would likely bring you to the top of the search engine results page (SERP).
What determines advertisement position
In most instances, the more people that bid higher than you, the fewer people will see your ad. Google uses an algorithm to maximize their profits. The text of the ad matters. Google may place a lower bid above a higher bid if the ad is clicked on more.
How can lower paying bids outperform the higher bid
Let us say you bid $60 per click but the highest bidder paid $70. For every 1000 page views (PV) you may get 4 clicks, but the $70 bidder may only get 1 click. This means that Google is profiting $240 per 1,000 PV from your ad while the other bidder only makes Google $70. With the right ad you could improve your listing position. You could show up above the higher bidder.
Choice of keywords
If you looked up mesothelioma in the Adwords keyword look-up, you will notice that the single word “mesothelioma” is not the highest cost word. “Mesothelioma survivor” is the highest cost keyword (right now) followed by “mesothelioma applied research foundation”.
Picking Keywords
You may want to target specific customers. For instance, you might want to target people in the market for an HP printer, or a color laser printer. In the store, the HP laser-jet printer will be sitting next to the Epson laser-jet, not next to the HP ink-jets.
The Google Adwords look-up will also display the “Advertiser Competition” and the “Search Volume” for the keywords. This is important when choosing a keyword or string of keywords. High advertiser competition may discourage you, but you should consider the search volume as well.
How many people are searching for the keywords “inkjet printers” compared to “discount printers”? Fewer people are searching for discount printers but the advertiser competition is still high. You should consider pointing specific model keywords (like “Epson R220) to your specific product pages.
Trademark Issues
Like everything in life, there will companies and people who complain. American Blind & Wallpaper Factory, Inc brought a lawsuit against Google Adwords complaining of trademark infringement because Google allowed competitors to bid on their name. In other words, other blind and wallpaper suppliers bid on their trademarked name.
Google’s Terms of Service (TOS) states:
You agree that you are responsible for your own conduct and communications while using the Service and for any consequences thereof. You agree to use the Service only to send and receive messages and material that are legal, proper and related to the particular Group. By way of example, and not as a limitation, you agree that when using the Service, you will not… post any Content that infringes any patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret or other proprietary right of any party (the "Rights"), unless you are the owner of the Rights or have the permission of the owner to Post such Content…
There are many issues to consider when signing-up for Google Adwords, Yahoo’s Search Marketing or Microsoft’s AdCenter. Read their terms of service and go back and re-read them from time to time because they may change.
By Mark Williams - Best Syndication News Science Writer