Copyright 2005 Log Cabin Rustics

In this age of speed dialing, T1 lines and other forms ofhigh-tech instant gratification, many webmasters find themselvestempted to engage in pay-per-click advertising. After all, ifyou’ve just designed a state-of-the-art website, there’s nothingquite as gratifying as a steady stream of traffic right from thestart. Webmasters with open wallets have found thatpay-per-click can provide traffic within hours or even minutesof a website’s launch.

Pay-per-click Pros

Before considering the perils and pitfalls of pay-per-click,it’s worthwhile to remember that in some instances,pay-per-click is a good market strategy. A number of reputableSEO firms combine pay-per-click management with search engineoptimization as a method of getting their clients the clicksthey need. Pay-per-click can be an especially effective strategyfor:

•companies trying to beat a competitor to market with a newproduct who want to garner substantial traffic while waiting fortheir SEO efforts to kick in •webmasters with deep pockets whoare more concerned about establishing a quick presence thanlong-term return on investment •webmasters who are reaping areturn on investment high enough to justify expenditures onpay-per-click

Significant Drawbacks

Although there are valid reasons to engage in pay-per-clickadvertising campaigns, there are also enough drawbacks to giveany webmaster pause.

Companies considering pay-per-click need to determine theprimary purpose of their marketing campaign—whether it beimmediate sales, building website value, or a combination of thetwo. If immediate sales is the goal and a worthwhile return oninvestment is being achieved, pay-per-click may be the strategyof choice—at least until good search engine positioning can beobtained.

Webmasters seeking to build a valuable web-based business shouldremember that whenever the money “spigot” for pay-per-clickstops, so do the clicks. In contrast, clicks resulting from aninvestment in search engine optimization will continue formonths and possibly years to come.

Monitoring ROI

Return on investment (ROI) is another key factor to monitorduring the implementation of any pay-per-click marketingstrategy. ROI can drop dramatically as market forces change. Anincrease in competition, when combined with risingcosts-per-click and plummeting product prices, can quickly spelldoom for a previously profitable ad campaign.

Computing ROI for pay-per-click can be a bit tricky. Since mostsites receive “free” traffic resulting from SEO efforts, it’simportant to try and ferret out what percentage of sales areresulting from pay-per-click and what percentage are resultingfrom your other SEO efforts.

Choosing which sites and search terms to allocate advertisingdollars to can also be somewhat daunting. Rapid changes inper-click charges can also be challenging to manage well. Ifyour bid is #1 and our competitors lower their bids, you may beleft paying a higher price than necessary to maintain toppositioning. This is the webmaster’s equivalent of throwingmoney down the drain. Unless you plan to sit by your computerwatching per-click charges on an hourly basis,



some type ofpay-per-click management is, in my opinion, an absolutenecessity.

In running a successful pay-per-click campaign, there are alsoquestions to be answered about whether to try for toppositioning or settle for some lesser spot, and whichpay-per-click ads pull the best.

While I have learned “never to say never”, I am not presentlyusing pay-per-click for any of my websites. Though I have usedit in the past and may resort to it again, my website is doingbetter than ever without it. Pay-per-click is just one morething to manage, and, if not managed well, can become afinancial drain in a hurry. I’m a pretty busy person, andprobably a tightwad as well. As a result, pay-per-click isn’tpart of my current marketing arsenal.

That doesn’t mean, however, that it might not be right for yoursite. Do some testing, study it out, and consider the “cons”described in this article. In the words of an old adage, “ifsomething is worth doing at all, it is worth doing well.” Thisis especially true for things that cost money. My advice is tokeep that thought firmly in mind whenever you open yourwebmaster wallet.

About the author:Cari Haus has been successfully selling rustic log furniture andbeds on the Internet since the late 1990’s. Copyright 2005 byCari Haus, website http://www.logcabinrustics.com/. Permissionis granted to reprint this article, either online or in writtenpublications, as long as the copyright information, thisparagraph, and a link address or a link to the Log Cabin Rusticswebsite is attached at the end of the article.