If you are the #1 for your major key words in the major search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc) then skip this section. You can expect your click-through rate to decline rapidly after position 1. (Click-through rate, or CTR, is computed by dividing the number of times a listing or ad was clicked by the number of impressions, or times it was viewed.) For example, with Overture, if you receive 100 clicks per day for a number 1 position on "strawberry cheesecake," then according to recent study, you could expect to receive about 77 clicks in the number 2 position. A number 3 position drops to about 59 clicks. By the time you reach position 10, you would receive only 7 or 8 clicks. The relative percentages vary between Overture and Google AdWords, but the conclusion remains the same: You can literally double your traffic by simply improving your rankings by a few positions.
You can jump from number 10 position or not having a position on the first page to the number 1 position with paid search engine advertising. Most search engines call these paid ad "Sponsored Links" or "Sponsored Sites". You are buying a place on the page for your business. Prices vary depending on search terms but you only pay when your "ad" is clicked on not by the number of people who see your ad.
Paid clicks start at $.10 per click and can go for as high as $6.00 or more for the more popular key words. Your position on the page is usually determined by your bid amount per click and the daily limit you set for your ad campaign. There is a secrete to bidding low and placing high on the page and that is a very high click-through rate. The search engines are interested in maximizing revenue not their revenue per click. Think about it, they want the most money. How do you do this? By carefully crafting your ad to make it more appealing that the business that have bid a higher rate. If your site is new and not yet in the search engines or if you want to increase your traffic, then a paid search engine ad campaign is right for you. We can establish a campaign for you and teach you how to manage it or manage it for you.
