Pay Per Click – It’s Not All About Google and Overture
Posted on 25 August, 2009 | No Comments
For a long time – as long as PPC campaigns have been around for that matter, two names have been dominant – Google and Overture. Marketers had a choice of the two giants, and little else.
That’s all changed however, with the entry of MSN’s version of pay per click, and the advent of social networking sites like Facebook, and their own in house marketing campaigns. What this means is that advertisers now have greater choice, but it could have other benefits too.
Accessing New Markets
Google may be the reigning champion, as far as search engines go, and no one can argue that running a pay per click campaign there is a great way to get any online marketing campaign started – and the range of tools they offer make it quite simple to monitor and track results.
However, with MSN, soon to be followed with Yahoo, also jumping on the bandwagon, and both being major contenders for the title of top search engine, discounting these platforms may mean missing out on millions of potential clients! With social networking fast becoming the new big thing, and with Facebook alone having in excess of fifty million users at last count too, they’re also definitely well worth a look!
Targeting Possibilities
We all know by now that the process of converting clicks to sales depends on targeting your ads to the people who are ready to buy. This is why sites like Facebook and their competitors, and new functions on old favorites like Google Ad Words are so popular.
Being able to target your ads by geographical area is one thing. Being able to choose what gender, marital status, interests and a whole lot of other things your ads are shown to takes targeting to a whole new level.
Which means that while Google may offer the highest potential return in terms of sheer numbers, some of the other, newer platforms may be a better bet in terms of reaching the people who are actually likely to buy the products and services you are promoting.
A Healthy Mix
If you’re still convinced that Google and Overture are your best bet for online marketing success, maybe it’s time to just dip a little toe into the waters of possibility. Keep your existing campaigns, if they’re working, and do a little testing on some of the other options out there.
Try out the functions and features, play with the targeting options, and see whether your keywords have as much, or more impact there. Remember – with online marketing, as with everything else, adaptability is key, and just because something worked for a long time, which does not mean that it will continue working, or that you might not get even better results somewhere else.
As the old saying goes “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Do a little research, try out a few of the newer PPC options, and you might just be pleasantly surprised at the results.
