paid search

Paid search refers to the "sponsored" links that appear in search engine results. They're essentially brief text ads that marketers pay the search engines to place when users enter certain keywords. You bid on those keywords, and the price of your bid reflects the ranking of your ad in the results. Each time a user actually clicks on your ad, you pay the search engine the cost of your bid — which is why these efforts are known as "pay per click", or PPC, marketing. Natural search listings may get more clicks, but research shows that PPC marketing is 2-3 times more likely to yield valuable user conversions — such as purchases and registrations.

The Benefits of Paid Search

• Low financial risk: you only pay when a user actually clicks on your ad, and you set monthly limits on how much you spend
• Precise control over many elements of your search ad, including which keywords trigger it, what messages (i.e., ad copy) users see, and where it ranks
• Ability to geo-target so ads are only displayed to users in specified locations
• FAST results — often within just a week (vs. several weeks or months for natural search enhancements)
• Precise fine-tuning of ROI per keyword, campaign, language, search engine, user action, and more
• Allows quick, iterative testing of keyword success, which can then be used in natural search efforts

How We'll Help You

PPC marketing is highly competitive, but campaigns are highly effective when done right, so an experienced partner can help you get the most out of your marketing budget.

As a Google AdWords Certified Ambassador, GTO Search has a proven track record of successfully managing clients' PPC initiatives. And our relationships with and knowledge of all the key search players means we can customize paid campaigns for your business's specific needs.

We'll also recommend ways to pair paid search efforts with natural search tactics so they feed one another and generate better overall results — for instance, ensuring consistent brand awareness across all results, sharing keywords found to be successful, and more.

Our PPC services include:

• Keyword research to step into users' shoes and understand their search behaviors and practices, and then define the keywords you should pursue for the greatest ROI
• ROI analysis to quantify the value of different keywords, bid rates, and search engines and develop a profitable PPC strategy
• Bid management to map out your budget, reduce costs by focusing on the most strategic and effective keywords, and negotiate bid rates with the search firms
• Reporting and analysis for calculating such granular data as profit per keyword, campaign, search engine, ad copy, user action, and more
• Ongoing monitoring and enhancements so your strategies and campaigns evolve to remain effective under changing circumstances

Want to discuss strategies and enhancements for improving your site's search performance? Submit an RFP

Key Partners and Tools

• SEMDirector
• Atlas Search
• DART Search
• Google Analytics

For the best results, include paid search placements as part of a broader search marketing strategy. GTO Search can also help you with:

Natural Search
Analytics Dashboard
International Search
Reputation Management
GTO Search Frontier
Search Marketing Resources