The Pay Per Click (PPC) markets have generated quite a level of wealth the past few years. PPC ads can now be added to nearly any type of digital content there is, including mobile, RSS feeds, dynamically in the middle of content, as well as the typical text ads we are used to seeing on the side of nearly every website we can think of. If you plan to jump into the PPC world, however, you must be sure to plan your campaign well or the results will be unsuccessful.

Google AdWords allows you to choose locations for your ads to appear (they call it “positioning”) either based on a website URL you provide, or recommended sites based on key words and phrases. You will want to research websites where your target market network often. These are the sites for you to focus your PPC efforts on.

Targeting locational advertising gets you results far faster as long as you know exactly what your message is and what target market your products or services will appeal to.  If you need a large branding campaign, or one that will reach any market, then specifying key words and phrases works better, but even still, Google AdWords are losing their vying power with all the options available.

AdWords that still hold their footing in the PPC market are well-designed graphic ads, typically leaderboard (horizontal 60 pixel tall ads) or skyscrapper (vertical 160 pixel wide by 600 pixel high). Visual ads seem to get a much higher click rate, but will cost you more to develop and run.  Some movement in the ad will help also, just don’t make it flash annoyingly or it will be ignored faster than a herring in goldfish pond.

As an example, if your target market is a younger crowd between 18 and 26, or a stay-at-home-mom type between 35 and 50 years of age, then a perfect ad campaign will include a graphic ad on FaceBook. FaceBook has taken off in the past several months and now obtains more hits than Google itself! There are some campaigners making millions off this market. The interface is clumsy and doesn’t follow a typical up-and-down layout format, so ads appear to get noticed more as people figure out what is what.

The bottom line - PPC campaigns can still be very successful, but given the social media movement, and the overall ability of users to completely ignore typical advertising efforts, you have to think outside the box, plan a campaign strategy that fits your target market, then focus in on where those markets network.