What is a Pay per Click Search Engine?

By Alice Seba
April 2004

Pay-per-Click search engines are popping up all over the place. A pay-per-click search engine shows your ads and you pay only when someone clicks on your ad. This differs from paying for a text ad or banner where you pay-per-impression or you pay for a specified period of time.

Pay-Per-Click is a viable option when you realize that you are paying for results only. When I mention pay-per-click to some people, they immediately say they prefer to participate in free traffic exchange programs or using other free traffic generators. Yikes...I always ask them to reconsider...
 

Something to keep in mind is that the traffic you receive from those free programs is completely untargeted (they tell you it's targeted, but let's be serious. Unless those visitors elect to click a link or enter your URL into their browser AND they really wanted to see your site, there is no targeting). In addition, some of the traffic exchange programs can be very time consuming.

A well-worded and detailed pay-per-click campaign ensures that people who visit your site are interested in your site. This is targeted and QUALITY traffic. You can target your traffic to people who want to buy your product, to sign up for your newsletter...whatever. Once your campaign gets going, you only need to dedicate a small amount of time to maintenance.

Examples of a Pay per Click Search Engine

There's tons of pay-per-clicks out there. The largest include:

Google AdWords 
Overture

Some medium-sized ones include:

FindWhat
Enhance Interactive (formerly Ah-Ha)

And if you search around, you'll find plenty of specialized pay per click directories. Here's a couple:

- HomeDesign-Directory.com - For house plans, construction, real estate agents, building materials, landscape design, home decor.
- BridalClicks.com - For bride and wedding related sites.
- CraftAdventures.com - For all things crafty
- FindGift.com - for gifts

Other Pay Per Click Articles

> What is a Pay per Click Search Engine?
> Who Has the Best Pay per Click?
> Pay per Click Tips
> Pay per Click Comparison : Google AdWords vs. Overture