Your Guide to Buying Keywords In Pay Per Click Programs and Browser Bar Keywords

Have you ever wanted a fast easy way to buy your way to the top of the search engine results for a specific keyword? Well, in most places you can. Simply break out your credit card, use the results of your keyword research and strategy, open up an account, place your bids and you'll be up and running in 5 days or less; sometimes within just a few minutes.

If buying keywords is so easy, why pay someone else to do it?

If you can buy clothes you can buy keywords. Just as it takes a little fashion sense to buy the right clothes and complete an outfit, it takes a little marketing sense to get the right keywords. Only through on-going analysis of visitor behavior and conversion rates associated with individual keywords will enable you to find the golden nuggets. You'll need to implement a tracking system (tracking systems) and experiment with the words you choose, the descriptions that go with them, and the programs you choose to utilize.

The most reputable major ad vehicles where you can buy keywords (often referred to as Pay Per Click programs) include Google AdWords Overture. Secondary keyword buying and pay per click programs include FindWhat, 7Search, GoClick, and finally iGetNet, which is different from all the rest.

What should you expect when you buy keywords?

Unlike banners where the amount you pay is based on the number of times the banner is displayed to a visitor (CPM - cost per thousand impressions in agency speak), virtually all search engines that sell keyword listings charge you only when someone clicks on your listing. If no one visits your site, your cost is zero. For this reason they are commonly referred to as cost per click search engines.

The cost per click (CPC in agency speak) search engines listed above include Overture, FindWhat, 7Search and GoClick. Each has different account setup requirements, monthly minimums, relevancy requirements, and distribution partners.

Pay Per Click Search Engines

When you setup an account with any of these search engines your ranking for each keyword is determined by the amount you are willing to pay per click- for each visitor delivered to your site from one of your keyword listings. The higher you bid, the higher you will rank. You can set a different bid price for each keyword. When you first start your campaign your bids will be somewhat of a crap shoot because you won't know what percentage of clicks result in conversion events (sales, leads, newsletter signups or other important event for your business). Once your campaign runs for a while and your been tracking the ROI, you'll start to get a feel for what works and what doesn't.

Google AdWords

The AdWords program offered by Google is a pay per click program of a different breed. When you participate in the AdWords program your bid and click through rate determine where you appear in the results. The ads that generate the most revenue for Google (bid price * click through rate) rise to the top. AdWords appear in the colored boxes to the right of the actual search results, which Google does not sell. It takes a lot of strategy, testing, and analysis to create a successful AdWords campaign. Like the pay per click search engines you only pay Google when someone clicks on your listing no matter how many times it is displayed. Campaign setup, strategy, testing, analysis and optimization of a Google AdWords campaign is covered in the Google AdWords Superstar report.

iGetNet Keywords

Buying keywords through the iGetNet program is a completely different program. There is no search engine, no bidding, and no pay per click program. IGN keywords as they are known are purchased at a flat rate.

In order for IGN keywords to work for your customers, they must download a plug-in (software program) from the IGN site (why anyone would want to do this is a mystery) that will install the software in their browser. When this plug-in is installed on a computer, keywords entered into the address bar of Internet explorer will automatically take the searcher to the site of the advertiser who has purchased the keyword or keyword phrase. In all likelihood, less than 10% of Internet users search this way and it remains to be seen how many people will install the software required for these keywords to actually work. At this time, this is not a recommended program. The IGN keywords page provides a more in depth analysis of this option. If you have a website, chances are you've already been contacted by email or phone by someone selling something like this.

Before you get started buying keywords

Be sure to read the in depth reviews, analysis, and explanations within Keyword Marketing Superstar of how each of these keyword programs work. It's easy to burn through a small fortune if you don't take the time to learn the ins and outs of each of these programs.