Features and Feature Combinations: Your company might have different requirements
from other companies. Look at the different features and feature combinations that are
offered by your target PPC provider. Some of the services that should be available are bid
management, education, reporting, link submission, copywriting, and even some elements
of research. Determine what features you must have and then find the vendor that can pro-
vide them.
Number of Campaigns: Some PPC providers have restrictions on the number of PPC cam-
paigns you can run at any one time. Others have restrictions on the types of campaigns you
can run (that is, global versus local). Be sure to ask about limitations in this area, because
you’ll find later on that it’s an important issue to address up front.
Average Spend:Can your prospective PPC company give you an estimate of the average
spend for companies that use their services? This average helps you to quickly determine
if your budget is sufficient.
Client Referrals:Client referrals are an often overlooked aspect of PPC company research.
What are other clients saying about the service? You can look for these comments online
or ask the company specifically for referrals. However, if you’re asking the company to
provide referrals, keep in mind they will point you onlyin the direction of good referrals.Google AdWords
Google AdWords is the PPC company you’ve probably heard the most about. AdWords is one of
the top search engine marketing programs, and Google is one of the biggest providers of search,
and many other services as well.Being biggest doesn’t always mean being the best, though. When you’re evaluating the PPC compa-
nies you may use, be sure to check not only the traffic rate, but also the conversion rate if possible.
It’s great if your ads receive lots of impressions, but if those impressions don’t turn to clicks, you’ll
find your PPC campaign is not at all effective.Google AdWords. You may have heard the name so often that you think there’s nothing else — and
certainly it’s one of the most diverse PPC companies out there. It not only offers search engine mar-
keting, but also includes marketing by radio and even a telephone service that potential customers
can use to call you. Google will soon begin offering purchase of TV, newspaper, and embedded video
advertising. Even the radio and phone models of AdWords are charged on a bid-per-keyword basis.
Additionally, AdWords is linked to Google’s AdSense program, which is an advertisement publishing
program in which web-site owners place ads on their web sites; when users click through those ads
and make purchases, the web-site owner gets paid a small amount. Many web-site owners use this
service to help offset the cost of having a site.AdWords ads are shown when someone searches on Google, AOL Search, Ask.com, and Netscape.
This gives Google AdWords one of the largest markets for keyword advertisements. However, a
larger market doesn’t guarantee a higher quality lead, so when using AdWords, it’s essential that
you pay attention to the details that help your ads place when they’re most effective.152
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