Success with Search Engine

WHAT IF YOU HAD A WEB SITE AND NO ONE CAME?

Thomas Bogle started the Las-Vegas-based Hands On Message (http://www.handsonmessagelv.com/) eight years ago, primarily relying on hotels to send him customers when their spas were overbooked. The business grew. Two years ago, Bogle built a small spa and started seeking customers on his own. He spent the bulk of his advertising budget on traditional print ads, which failed miserably: US$ 25,000 of local newspaper advertising netted US$ 200 in business.

Now Bogle advertises on the Web and gets great results. He advertises mainly on Citysearch and also through Powerphrase, a search-engine optimization service that places ads on AOL, Google, MSN, and Yahoo! and guarantees continuing placement in the top three results.

"Citysearch is a great way for people to find us, and lots of people research travel over the Web," says Bogle. The day after Hands On Message increased its spending on Citysearch to US$ 600 per month (from US$ 100), business exploded. "The receptionist asked me what I had done. She said the phone was ringing nonstop from customers who saw us on Citysearch.

HOW YOU CAN DO IT TOO

Pay-per-click ads, the sponsored links you see alongside search results online, are an easy and low-risk way to find new business. You choose keywords, and when a user searches on the keyword, your ads appears as a sponsored result; you then pay an amount, based on the keywords, for each click-through to your site. Rates for keywords vary based on demand.

START SMALL, THEN EVALUATE.

You've prepaid for each click-through to your site, and when your money runs out, the search engine will stop servicing your ad. If you use up your money because the campaign is driving customers to your site, think about investing more so you can drive more traffic.If you don't use up your money and you find that customers aren't being driven to your site, think about switching keywords or pay-per-click companies.

SHOP AROUND

Companies to consider are AOL, ASK, Citysearch, Google, MSN, and Yahoo!. (Also think about advertising on trade-specific sites.)Compare prices for the keywords you want from site to site.

PICK THE RIGHT KEYWORDS.

The search-engine report of a Web analytics solution such as VisiStat 4.0 (http://www.visistat.com/) or Index Tools Web Analytics 9.0 (indextools.com) will list the most common keywords that people use to find your site. Determine how many links a search engine has for that keyword and how much it charges for a pay-per-click ad using that keyword. Get the best bang for the buck by selecting the keyword with the fewest links per dollar to increase your chances of being at the top of the list. Don't be too vague or too specific - focus on what your customers want and they'll click their way to your site to get it.

TRACK REFERRAL SOURCES

This tells you which advertising or marketing campaign brought the visitors to your site. It's best if you can track a customer all the way through your sales process. That way you'll know exactly how much revenue comes from a specific campaign for calculating ROI.

VERIFY REPORTS

The reports you received from your advertising provider should match up with the referrals listed in your Web site analytics package. Also, be on the lookout for click fraud: If you repeatedly see the same IP address referred by the same pay-per-click link over and over again, someone is trying to run up your bill. Alert pay-per-click provider immediately.