SEO: Search Engine Optimization Bible

P

ay-per-click (PPC) is one of those terms that you hear connected to

keywords so often you might think they were the conjoined twins of

SEO. They’re not, really. Keywords and PPC do go hand in hand, but it

is possible to have keywords without PPC. It’s not always advisable, however.

Hundreds of PPC services are available, but they are not all created equal.

Some PPC services work with actual search rankings, whereas others are

more about text advertisements. Then there are the category-specific PPC

programs, such as those for keywords, products, and services.

The main goal of a PPC program is to drive traffic to your site, but ideally

you want more out of PPC results than just visits. What’s most important is

traffic that reaches some conversion goal that you’ve set for your web site.

To achieve these goal conversions, you may have to experiment with differ-

ent techniques, keywords, and even PPC services.

PPC programs have numerous advantages over traditional search engine

optimization:

 No changes to a current site design are required. You don’t have

to change any code or add any other elements to your site. All you

have to do is bid on and pay for the keywords you’d like to target.

 PPC implementation is quick and easy. After signing up for a PPC

program, it might only take a few minutes to start getting targeted

traffic to your web site. With SEO campaigns that don’t include

PPC, it could take months for you to build the traffic levels that PPC

can build in hours (assuming your PPC campaign is well targeted).

 PPC implementation is also quick and easy, and it doesn’t require any

specialized knowledge. Your PPC campaigns will be much better tar-

geted, however, if you understand keywords and how they work.

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IN THIS CHAPTER

How Pay-per-Click Works ..................................................................................................

Pay-per-Click Categories ....................................................................................................

Understanding How PPC Affects SEO ................................................................................

Conducting your competitive

research

Choosing Effective Keywords ..............................................................................................

Creating your first keyword list ................................................................................

Pay-per-Click and SEO

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