Choosing Your PPC Real Estate
Posted on 25 August, 2009 | No Comments
When it comes to PPC, you probably already know that just writing a great ad is not enough. It’s all about when, and where, your ad displays, and where that displays depends on your bid.
Let’s look at Yahoo for example.
Full Ads, Above the Fold
The holy grail of PPC, spots one to three are those three full ads that appear at the top of the page. They’re also the most expensive, which means you’re going to be paying a pretty penny for spot number one. Why bother though? If you can get your ad into spot number three, which is still at the top of the page, and still above the fold, you’ve got some great space!
Full Ads, Bottom of the Page
On Yahoo, bidding for spots 4 and 5, which are full ads at the bottom of the page, may seem like a bad idea – at first glance. However, if you do this, you not only get the full ads at the bottom of the page, but a brief ad on the side too – above the fold. There’s also usually a big different in cost between spot three, and four and five, so it’s well worth a look at these two prime spots.
Brief Ads on the Side
Brief ads, which occupy the side bars on your browser page, may not seem like a wise idea, however, consider that for a much lower fee than spots one to five, you can get your brief ad into spot six. Still above the fold.
Then there are spots seven to eleven – and it’s here that bidding becomes intense – a few cents make the difference in position of your ad. There are also usually no bidding gaps to exploit, so for a couple of cents more, it makes sense to bump your ad up a spot or two.
Testing, Testing
Again, it’s all about testing. Figuring out what your ROI is depending on where your ad is placed, based on your click through rate, and your conversion rate, will be the determining factor in your final ad placement. You may find that there is no difference between spots two and three, or that you actually do better with another placement.
When you embark on a testing exercise, you are going to need to spend a little money trying out different ads in different placements, before settling on your final choice. Write a few short or brief ads, and a few full ads. Try the top of the page, then the bottom. I would probably not recommend anything below spot eight, which would be pretty far down the right hand side bar, but if your budget is tight, you may even want to explore that possibility.
As you can see – writing a killer ad is only the beginning, and finding the perfect placement will make a big difference between a successful, high earning campaign, and a mediocre campaign that will have you tearing your hair out.
