anning lotion” then be sure to have the words “sunless tanning lotion” in the title line of your ad. Google high-lights the keyword in your ad if you do this and that will make your ad stand out from the rest.

In closing I would like to ask the “do-it-yourselfers”; would you take the chance on doing your own corporate tax return based on a little bit of knowledge you may have acquired about the tax code? Would you defend yourself in court if you thought you could win? The answer is NO, you woul

On any given day I am constantly digging for the latest and greatest information on Google as it relates to search engine marketing, specifically search engine advertising (aka “pay-per-click” or “ppc” advertising), and other related industry news. During the course of doing this, every now and again I click the sponsored links. It never ceases to amaze me just how many businesses try to navigate the uncharted waters of a pay-per-click advertising campaign themselves. I applaud their efforts however in most cases, they have no clue what they are doing. Case in point: you click on an ad that advertises a specific product and you are taken directly to the homepage of the advertiser’s website. I don’t know about you but to me (as a consumer looking for something), that’s irritating.

Rule number 1 of pay-per-click advertising: Never have your text ad pointing directly to the homepage of your website especially if you are trying to sell something. Only in very (and I mean very) rare cases would you do this. When someone clicks on your ad, you want them to be taken to one of two places. Either a precise landing page that was created specifically for the product or service you are promoting with a link to your website OR to a specific page on your website, pointing them again in the direction of the specific product or service your text ad was promoting. But NEVER take them to the main homepage of your site! Rather than focusing on what makes sense to you, (and it might have made sense to you to have them land on the homepage so they can see everything you offer) the key is to focus on what makes sense to the consumer and to them, they want to find exactly what they are looking for and FAST! Within 5-8 seconds if they don’t find what they are looking for, BOOM their gone! They leave your site and you just gave that sale to your competitor on a silver platter.

Another common mistake I see all the time is not having the actual keyword in the actual ad. If you are selling “sunless tanning lotion” then be sure to have the words “sunless tanning lotion” in the title line of your ad. Google high-lights the keyword in your ad if you do this and that will make your ad stand out from the rest.

In closing I would like to ask the “do-it-yourselfers”; would you take the chance on doing your own corporate tax return based on a little bit of knowledge you may have acquired about the tax code? Would you defend yourself in court if you thought you could win? The answer is NO, you would

n most cases, they have no clue what they are doing. Case in point: you click on an ad that advertises a specific product and you are taken directly to the homepage of the advertiser’s website. I don’t know about you but to me (as a consumer looking for something), that’s irritating.

Rule number 1 of pay-per-click advertising: Never have your text ad pointing directly to the homepage of your website especially if you are trying to sell something. Only in very (and I mean very) rare cases would you do this. When someone clicks on your ad, you want them to be taken to one of two places. Either a precise landing page that was created specifically for the product or service you are promoting with a link to your website OR to a specific page on your website, pointing them again in the direction of the specific product or service your text ad was promoting. But NEVER take them to the main homepage of your site! Rather than focusing on what makes sense to you, (and it might have made sense to you to have them land on the homepage so they can see everything you offer) the key is to focus on what makes sense to the consumer and to them, they want to find exactly what they are looking for and FAST! Within 5-8 seconds if they don’t find what they are looking for, BOOM their gone! They leave your site and you just gave that sale to your competitor on a silver platter.

Another common mistake I see all the time is not having the actual keyword in the actual ad. If you are selling “sunless tanning lotion” then be sure to have the words “sunless tanning lotion” in the title line of your ad. Google high-lights the keyword in your ad if you do this and that will make your ad stand out from the rest.

In closing I would like to ask the “do-it-yourselfers”; would you take the chance on doing your own corporate tax return based on a little bit of knowledge you may have acquired about the tax code? Would you defend yourself in court if you thought you could win? The answer is NO, you woul

you do this. When someone clicks on your ad, you want them to be taken to one of two places. Either a precise landing page that was created specifically for the product or service you are promoting with a link to your website OR to a specific page on your website, pointing them again in the direction of the specific product or service your text ad was promoting. But NEVER take them to the main homepage of your site! Rather than focusing on what makes sense to you, (and it might have made sense to you to have them land on the homepage so they can see everything you offer) the key is to focus on what makes sense to the consumer and to them, they want to find exactly what they are looking for and FAST! Within 5-8 seconds if they don’t find what they are looking for, BOOM their gone! They leave your site and you just gave that sale to your competitor on a silver platter.

Another common mistake I see all the time is not having the actual keyword in the actual ad. If you are selling “sunless tanning lotion” then be sure to have the words “sunless tanning lotion” in the title line of your ad. Google high-lights the keyword in your ad if you do this and that will make your ad stand out from the rest.

In closing I would like to ask the “do-it-yourselfers”; would you take the chance on doing your own corporate tax return based on a little bit of knowledge you may have acquired about the tax code? Would you defend yourself in court if you thought you could win? The answer is NO, you woul

u to have them land on the homepage so they can see everything you offer) the key is to focus on what makes sense to the consumer and to them, they want to find exactly what they are looking for and FAST! Within 5-8 seconds if they don’t find what they are looking for, BOOM their gone! They leave your site and you just gave that sale to your competitor on a silver platter.

Another common mistake I see all the time is not having the actual keyword in the actual ad. If you are selling “sunless tanning lotion” then be sure to have the words “sunless tanning lotion” in the title line of your ad. Google high-lights the keyword in your ad if you do this and that will make your ad stand out from the rest.

In closing I would like to ask the “do-it-yourselfers”; would you take the chance on doing your own corporate tax return based on a little bit of knowledge you may have acquired about the tax code? Would you defend yourself in court if you thought you could win? The answer is NO, you woul

anning lotion” then be sure to have the words “sunless tanning lotion” in the title line of your ad. Google high-lights the keyword in your ad if you do this and that will make your ad stand out from the rest.

In closing I would like to ask the “do-it-yourselfers”; would you take the chance on doing your own corporate tax return based on a little bit of knowledge you may have acquired about the tax code? Would you defend yourself in court if you thought you could win? The answer is NO, you would probably leave it in the hands of a professional right? Well pay-per-click advertising is no different. It simply boils down to this - some things in business demand total expertise and a pay-per-click advertising campaign (as well as corporate tax returns and legal representation) is one of them (smile & a wink).

For valuable advice and tips on pay-per-click advertising campaigns such as with Google AdWords, sign up to receive my newsletter at www.ppcbydesign.com.

Article by JoAnn Zarick

http://www.ppcbydesign.com