The holiday season is quickly approaching and it’s time to start thinking about how you’re going to get a piece of that $30 billion dollars in predicted online sales. I’m not going to lie to you. That’s a small increase in comparison to the growth of 19% the previous year in 2007. What’s important to note, is that traditional brick-and-mortar businesses can expect a 1.5% growth (the smallest since 1991), while online retailers are predicted to see a 9% increase. If you don’t already have a Pay-per-click campaign in place for the next 6 months, then read on.

What is Pay-Per-Click (PPC) and how does it work?
Let’s see the Wikipedia entry for this one:

Pay per click (PPC) is an Internet advertising model used on search engines, advertising networks, and content websites, such as blogs, where advertisers only pay when a user actually clicks on an advertisement to visit the advertisers’ website. With search engines, advertisers typically bid on keyword phrases relevant to their target market. When a user types a keyword query matching an advertiser’s keyword list, or views a webpage with relevant content, the advertisements may be displayed. Such advertisements are called sponsored links or sponsored ads, and appear adjacent to or above the “natural” or organic results on search engine results pages, or anywhere a webmaster or blogger chooses on a content page. Content websites commonly charge a fixed price for a click rather than use a bidding mechanism.

Although many PPC providers exist, Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing, and Microsoft adCenter are the largest network operators as of 2007. Minimum prices per click, often referred to as costs per click (CPC), vary depending on the search engine and the level of competition for a particular phrase or keyword list—with some CPCs as low as US$0.01. Very popular search terms can cost much more on popular search engines. The PPC advertising model is open to abuse through click fraud, although Google and other search engines have implemented automated systems to guard against abusive clicks by competitors or corrupt webmasters.

Now I know what it is. How do I get started?
Running an effective and affordable PPC campaign requires research and diligence. You may want the help of a PPC Consultant and there are many in the Asheville area. Email me for references. But whether you decide to use a hired gun or try this yourself, you’ll want to be able to:

• Define your business goals and objectives for the PPC campaign
• Perform an in-depth analysis of your website and goals to generate a keyword list that your customers are most likely to use when searching for your products
• Prioritize the keyword list based on cost and popularity
• Write successful ad copy to lower overall costs
• Generate and analyze reports on at least a monthly basis and make appropriate adjustments to your campaign

Holiday PPC Campaign Schedule

• August/September – Establish your goals and define success (ROI – Return on Investment). Plan out your PPC strategy from August to January including a reporting schedule and sets of prioritized keyword lists. Launch your campaign and refine your keywords through testing. The early birds start holiday shopping during these months even if all they’re doing is price comparison. Watch your site analytics to see which products are most heavily visited.
• October – The season is in full swing and it’s time to play with your bids and determine what you’ll need to spend to make the return that equals success. Make sure that your website is up-to-date with all of your holiday items and don’t forget to add related products to your product listings.
• November – Track and analyze your results so far and make any needed adjustments to your campaign. Traffic will be heavy by Thanksgiving. With more traffic, there will be more clicks costing you money but giving you leads. So keep an eye on your budget.
• December – Pay close attention to your budget and continue to refine. You may need to increase your budget in the first two weeks to maximize your results. These first two weeks are the final guaranteed days for shipments to arrive before Christmas, so orders will be heavy.
• January – Continue to market during the after holiday shopping period as many of your customers may have received gift certificates. Consider putting some items on sale to offer good deals for those who have post-holiday dollars to spend.

A Final Word
If you decide to enter into a PPC campaign, be sure you are committed to it for a reasonable amount of time…at least 6 months. Whether you hire a professional or do-it-yourself, you’ll make mistakes, need to make adjustments, and analyze reports. So be patient. The beauty of a PPC professional is that they can take you from 0-60 faster and more cost-effectively than you can accomplish on your own with no prior experience. However, if paying a professional isn’t in the budget and you can devote some time, then be prepared to learn, research, and attend to your PPC campaign to give it the best chance possible of increasing your qualified traffic and online revenues. It’s September now and it’s not too late to get started on having a record breaking Holiday season.