 |
Search Engines
Every major search engine with significant traffic accepts paid listings. This unique form of search engine advertising means that you can be guaranteed to appear in the top results for the terms you are interested in within a day or less. Given this, paid listings are an option that should be explored by site owners who wish to quickly build visibility. They may also be a long-term advertising option for some.
Overture (GoTo)
Overture, formerly known as GoTo (as of mid-Oct 2001), allows sites to "bid" on the terms they wish to appear for. You agree to pay a certain amount each time someone clicks on your listing. This is why it is sometimes called a "pay-per-click search engine."
For instance, let's say you wanted to appear in the top listings for "running shoes." You might agree to pay 25 cents per click. If no one agrees to pay more than this, then you would be in the number one spot. If someone else later decides to pay 26 cents, then you slip into the number two position. You could then bid 27 cents and move back on top, if you wanted to.
While some people go directly to the Overture web site to search, most people encounter Overture's paid listings via other search engines. For example, the very top listings for "running shoes" at Overture would also appear in the "Sponsored Links" section at the top of AOL Search's results.
If your goal is to build visibility on search engines quickly, then Overture is an essential option for you to explore. No other route can put you in the top results of many major search engines in such a short period of time.
I think it is well worth it for anyone to open an Overture account and experiment with how paid listings may help them. An account requires a $50 minimum deposit, and you must spend at least $20 per month. By carefully selecting targeted terms, you can stretch that money out for one or two months and get quality traffic.
When your initial deposit has expired, you may find that the editorial listings generated by your submissions to directories and crawlers have kicked in. This may mean that you can eliminate your ad spend with Overture entirely. On the other hand, you may find that you want to continue spending and perhaps even increase your budget, to target terms where you don't receive good editorial placement.
You can sign-up for Overture's paid listings via the URL below:
Overture (GoTo) Sign-Up Form
http://www.goto.com/d/about/advertisers/
FindWhat
FindWhat is a pay-per-click search engine similar to Overture. It lacks the distribution that Overture has, however. This isn't necessarily bad. You may find that the smaller distribution base still brings in quality traffic and perhaps at less expense than with Overture.
The main reason to consider FindWhat in terms of the major search engines is that its listings appear on Excite's search results page. Because of this, if you want quick visibility at Excite, paid listings with FindWhat are the easiest way to do this.
FindWhat requires an initial deposit of $25. However, there is no monthly minimum spend, so you may be able to stretch this money out for several months, if you carefully target your terms.
You can sign-up for FindWhat's paid listings via the URL below:
FindWhat Sign-Up Form
https://secure.findwhat.com/signup/signup.asp
Google
Google sells paid listings that appear above and to the side of its regular results. Since it may take time for a new site to appear within Google, these advertising opportunities offer a fast way to get listed with the service. Also, as with Overture, they may be a continuing option you may wish to explore.
Google's self-service "AdWords" program requires no initial deposit, but $25 ought to last you at least one month, if you've carefully selected your terms.
Unlike the pay-per-click search engines of Overture and FindWhat, Google's paid listings program operates on a "CPM" or "cost per impression" basis. That means you pay a small amount for each time your ad appears, rather than for how often someone clicks on it.
You can sign-up for Google's AdWords program via the URL below:
Google AdWords
https://adwords.google.com/AdWords/Welcome.html
Top of Page
|
|
|
|
| Search |
|
|
|
