Pay Per Click Wars (PPC Wars)...

Google (Adwords)

Everybody knows Google to be the king of search.  Recently, however, the growth of Google Adwords, Google Adsense, and many of their other programs have made Google a force in the online advertising scene.  Google Adwords is Google's PPC - Pay Per Click - advertising program and is their single greatest source of revenue generation.  Pay per click advertising involves a payment to the host - in this case Google - for each time a visitor clicks on a link that leads them to your site.  For the Google Adwords model, these links can vary in cost from $.05 up to $100 a click!  Clearly, the more competitive a term is the more likely a premium price must be paid to compete in the rankings.  With the seemingly infinite number of possible keyword strings, however, every online program can find a suitable market to target and bid for.

While many thought the introduction of ads to the Google search page would diminish the appeal of the industry giant, the opposite has held true.  The Google Adwords program presents filtered and clean results deemed relevant to what is being searched for.  Moreover, ad text and content advertisers are constantly monitored for compliance to ensure that keyword/ad matching is relevant and that any spam-type behavior is caught before the results go live.  This monitoring includes link checking to see if what is being advertised is correctly reflected in the page that follows and that advertisers aren't tricking Google users into visiting pages they don't want to see.  With such a sophisticated and involved system, Google has made paid advertisements as relevant as natural SERPS.  Searchers have queued into this as well and the pay-for-placement market has taken off.  This makes it possible for all companies to compete on a level playing field where the level of control is entirely up to the advertiser.  Natural SERPS and 'free' positioning may be elusive to even the most experienced SEO, but Google Adwords placement is simply a function of how much you're willing to pay and how successful those ads are.  While Google does know the value of a buck, satisfaction is still their primary concern so click-through percentages - a sign of relevance - does also play a role.

Included with the Adwords suite, Google provides many tools to the advertiser including a keyword suggestion tool and a built-in ROI tracker.  The keyword suggestion tool can be used to hint toward relevant searches in your target area or to see statistics on how important a certain keyword is.  The ROI tracker can easily integrate into most online shopping carts and will output relevant information including conversion percentages and customer acquisition cost numbers.  Each of these is broken down by keyword and campaign so a complete analysis can be made.  Sophisticated budgeting tools also let you control the highest price paid per click, maximums by day, and date ranges for which your campaigns are valid.  Google also includes a tool to let you select your target language market/region for best relevancy results and lets you know the average position number of your listing by keyword.

The Google Adwords program ties in directly to the highly successful Google Adsense program and includes one of the largest networks on the internet.  This network includes sites such as AOL, Netscape, AskJeeves, Shopping.com, About.com, Lycos, and more.

Google may be a relatively new player in Pay-per-click market, but they have definitely ascended to the top of the ranks quickly.  What's better is that their system only stands to evolve with time (doesn't every Google program?).  Their 5-star rating is the standard by which all other PPC systems are measured.  A major downside to the Google system is the fact that they don't reveal any information on competitor bids.  Look for some sort of information release in this area in upcoming program changes.

BOTTOM LINE - Google Adwords means results.  Definitely the best search engine PPC system around today.  Be careful with your budgeting, however, as your advertising expenses can run up quickly (Google is HUGE and your ads will be clicked on).  For the first few weeks of every campaign, monitor your results and use the conversion tracker extensively.  At the end of this period, eliminate keywords you feel are underperforming and update your bids on the ones you see returns on.

Yahoo Search Marketing - (Formerly Overture)

In an attempt to fully realize the revenue generating potential of its search market, Yahoo officially purchased their PPC provider (Overture) and changed the company moniker to 'Yahoo Search Marketing'.  While the Overture network delivered its PPC content to some of the biggest names in search and media (including MSN, Altavista, CNN, and Infospace), Yahoo was and remains their single largest marketing partner so the change seemed appropriate

Source: Yahoo SM Statistics

The key component in Yahoo Search Marketing is their Sponsored Search functionality, Yahoo's name for their PPC program.  Sponsored Search listings on Yahoo start at a minimum $.10 per keyword ($999.99 max) and each bid is set to a value $.01 above your very next competitor.  Ie- if Company A bids $1.00 for a keyword listing and Company B bids $.50 for that same keyword, Company A will be listed in the first search position at a $.51 value (and Company B will go in at the $.50 value they bid at).

Much of the functionality of Yahoo Search Marketing is similar to that provided through Google Adwords so this analysis will focus mainly on the differences between the two programs.  For starters, companies that market to different regions, countries, or languages will have greater difficulties using the Yahoo program.  The reason for this is that Yahoo Search Marketing requires a new registered account for each.  This becomes quite a hassle to control and establish.  This is especially true as Yahoo Search Marketing will not allow for bulk uploads of keyword lists (such as a spreadsheet of keywords) until you have established an account with their company and have a consistent revenue stream going back and forth.  Search Marketing keywords also take quite a while to pass through their approval procedures so this can be a discouraging proposition.

While Yahoo's sponsored search listing program may seem inferior, they are attempting to make up ground through other integrated program offerings.  One such offering is the Yahoo Content Match program.  This program allows for content-specific targeting of your list advertisements to higher-quality information sites (ie - Yahoo News, CNN, ESPN, etc.)  Targeting here may focus on the material on the immediate page or may also be focused around the interests of the users as perceived by the system - ie- if the user demonstrates an interest in clothing, apparel specific ads may be delivered to him/her to maximize the likelihood of a click-through.

Yahoo is also attempting to target a new market that is still raw and developing: the local advertising scene.  Since the beginning, PPC online advertising was generally thought of as an effective means by which an online company could advertise their site to the masses.  If your ad was only relevant to your local market, you would be paying for a great percentage of people who clicked through and had no possibility of becoming a customer.  Yahoo is now trying to change that with the Yahoo Local Advertising program. 

The Local Advertising program includes Local Enhanced Listings and Local Sponsored Search.  An Enhanced listing will cost $9.95 a month (Basic Listings are free) and will allow for a business tagline to help your listings stand out.  Your listing will also include two links (one to a coupon section and one to a special offers section) to your site to further improve your chances of a click-through.  The aim of this program is to target users in your area in a searchable online phone-book format.  Your listing also includes an enhanced business profile with up to 10 images, a reporting feature that lets you track your listing effectiveness, and a free 5MB website.  All in all, worth a try for only $9.95 a month.

Local Sponsored Search allows you to target a particular geographical area with your promotions and a link to your 'Locater Page'.  The locater page includes information about your location, a map to your office, and more.  This type of advertising is setup on a Pay-Per-Click basis and is highly recommended for B&M and office locations looking to attract people offline (or through service calls).  The implementation is still raw, but Yahoo may have found a gem of an idea in targeting the local scene.

BOTTOM LINE - While Google is still the king, any serious PPC advertiser must also look at Yahoo Search Marketing.  Failing to do so would eliminate a great deal of online advertising potential (including some big names like Yahoo and MSN) and diminish your market reach.  While most advertisers will say that better results can be obtained through Google, Yahoo's search network can still be a force used to drive shoppers to your site.  Our recommendation would be to try both together and then allocate funds as necessary.  Be careful here too as Yahoo's high visitor counts can definitely drive up your advertising costs.  The minimum bid on Yahoo is also twice that on Google so you may want to leave less-relevant search terms off.