Here are some tips that will help you with adwords and other forms of Pay Per Click Advertising:

1. FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD TO BID

This might sound obvious, but it needs to be said: Don't bid more than you can afford! A lot of businesses make this mistake.

Before you pay for advertising of any sort, calculate the value of a single visitor to your web site. Once you know what ONE visitor is worth, you'll know the maximum amount you can afford to pay per click.

2. "NUMBER ONE" ISN'T ALWAYS BEST!

You don't always need to be ranked #1 for keywords to attract visitors. Sure, it helps if your ad appears in the top 10 results. But people click on listings featured on the second and even third page of results for competitive keywords.

So run some tests! Vary your bids so that your listing appears higher and lower on the page and see what effect the ranking has on your profits. You may actually find that for more costly keywords, a slightly lower ranking is more profitable.

3. BID ON LOW-COST VARIATIONS AND COMMON MISSPELLINGS

Frequently, you will see businesses bidding as much as $5.00 a click for popular keywords -- while NOBODY is bidding on common misspellings and similar keywords that cost just pennies per click!

Use Wordtracker http://www.wordtracker.com to locate keywords that relate to your business and are frequently searched by your market, but that none of your competitors are bidding on.

4. BID ON HIGHLY TARGETED PHRASES WITH LESS TRAFFIC

Rather than bid on a handful of "general" keywords, which tend to be more expensive because they get the highest number of searches, bid on dozens -- or even hundreds -- of highly "targeted" keywords, which tend to be cheap.

For example, instead of bidding on "pet supplies," you might bid on "red dog leash," "oversize dog kennel," and "cat toys with bells."

You'll see better sales conversions on the more targeted keywords because they attract more qualified buyers. And since no one is bidding on these keywords, your advertising costs associated with this traffic are extremely low!

Another benefit of this strategy is that you can direct these qualified visitors to a page that gives them exactly what they're looking for. In the above example, your listing for the keyword, "oversize dog kennel" could link directly to your dog kennel catalog page, rather than the home page of your pet supply store.

5. CREATE SEPARATE ADS FOR EACH PRODUCT OR SERVICE YOU SELL

This is an extremely effective strategy, but very few businesses are using it: Write ads specific to each keyword and phrase you bid on.

For example, instead writing an ad for "sporting goods,"
write one for "quality leather soccer balls," another for "discount ladies' tennis shoes," and so on.

These customized ads will attract more attention (and clicks!) from qualified buyers. And of course, you'll be able to convert more of these visitors to buyers if you direct them to a page on your site with the exact product or service they're searching for.

6. GET LISTED IN RELEVANT SPECIALTY SEARCH ENGINES

Did you know that there are specialty PPC search engines that target different markets -- like brides, pet owners, antique collectors, car owners, etc.?

Check out http://www.PayPerClickSearchEngines.com to see if there are any relevant to YOUR business that might be worth getting listed in.

How to Keep Clicks HIGH and Costs LOW!

PPC search engines are constantly looking for new ways to improve their services -- and your results. After all, they WANT you to keep purchasing advertising from them (not their competitors).

Here's an overview of some great tools they're offering to help you better target your ads and keep your campaign costs
down:

1. KEYWORD MATCHING OPTIONS
(Offered by Google AdWords, Overture and MSN )

Overture and Google AdWords both offer options that allow you to fine-tune the way your keyword is matched to the phrases people type into their engines.

Their options differ slightly, but here's a rough breakdown:

- EXACT MATCH: A listing is triggered by the exact keyword
phrase and nothing else. Example: "fishing rods" will match
"fishing rods" but not "fancy fishing rods."

- PHRASE MATCH: A listing is triggered by the keyword phrase
as it is written, though it might be included with other
terms as well. Example: "fishing rods" will match "antique
fishing rods and reels" but not "rods fishing."

- BROAD MATCH: A listing is triggered by the keyword phrase
or slight variations of it, even if the words are out of
order or separated by other words. Example: "fishing rods"
will match "Rod's Alaskan Fishing Adventure" and possibly
even "Rod's Fish & Chips."

[WARNING: The Broad Match option can work well for highly
specific queries, such as brand names or serial numbers,
but can result in a lot of poorly targeted click-throughs
for general terms -- especially terms that have more than
one meaning, such as "dolly," "tackle," or "nails."]

- NEGATIVE MATCH: When words identified as "negatives" are
typed into the search engine along with the keyword phrase,
the listing will not appear. Example: "fishing rods cheap"
will match "fishing rods and tackle" but not "cheap fishing
rods."

2. CONTEXTUAL TARGETING

Contextual targeting places your PPC listing on web sites where the content somehow relates to your ad. Obviously, this can be a great way to increase the exposure of your ad.

However, if you decide to try contextual targeting, be sure to monitor where your ads are being placed, because the effectiveness of contextual targeting can vary widely. Your ads may end up featured on web sites that have little to do with your advertisement -- and therefore attract unqualified click-throughs.

For example, a recent USnews.com article about starting a business had a series of "Hermosa Beach Vacation" Google Ads listed beside it -- because the first person interviewed in the story happened to live in Hermosa Beach!

These wasted clicks can quickly drain your bank account if you aren't careful.

3. GEOTARGETING
(Offered by Overture and Google AdWords)

"Geotargeting" allows you to choose which countries or
geographic regions your ads appear in. This feature is best
suited for businesses that offer local services or products
that are useful only in specific regions.

For example, if you're a landscaper who lives in Washington
state, you probably don't want to pay for click-throughs from
out-of-area visitors. After all, Texas-area residents aren't
likely to request your services!

4. DAY PARTING
(Offered by Kanoodle)

Right now, Kanoodle is the only search engine we know that
offers this option. "Day parting" allows you to choose the
time of day your ads will appear in different regions, so
they're only available during "prime viewing times."

For example, if your market testing shows that most people
click on your ads to make a purchase in the early evening,
you can make sure that your ads only appear at that time in
the different regions where your potential customers live.

5. KEYWORD RESEARCH TOOLS
(Offered by Overture, Google AdWords, FindWhat,Kanoodle,
LookSmart, Enhance Interactive)

The most popular keyword phrases are always the most expensive.
Keyword research tools help you find common variations and
misspellings of the more popular keywords so you can keep
costs down while still generating traffic.

More sophisticated keyword research tools let you see how much
you need to bid to achieve a particular ranking (i.e. the
#1 spot, the #7 spot, etc.) prior to finalizing your bid.
They may also provide you with traffic estimates for the
different keywords and phrases you bid on.

6. MULTIPLE ADS FOR THE SAME KEYWORD
(Offered by Google AdWords)

Google AdWords allows you to "split-test" different ads for
the same keyword so you can see which ad attracts the most
paying customers.

This can save you a lot of time, and enables you to make sure
your ads will yield the highest possible return on your
investment.

7. "AUTOBID" SOFTWARE
(Offered by Overture, Google AdWords, FindWhat, Kanoodle,
LookSmart, and Enhance Interactive)

"Autobid" software is a bid management program that tracks
the bidding activity on your different keywords and
automatically adjusts your bidding amount so that you can
maintain your ranking.

The more sophisticated bid management programs allow you to
"cap" your bids so that you never spend more than you want.

They also eliminate "bid gaps" that occur when the bidder
below your listing drops their bid -- your bid is
automatically reduced so that you maintain your position
without spending more per click than necessary.

Contact Fireworks To Discuss a Managed Adwords Campaign