With so much going on with the internet today it can be difficult to keep up. You may know a little bit about Pay Per Click Advertising but looking to learn more. This article is intended to help you fill in the gaps, learn how it works, and learn whether you or your company should take advantage of this type of advertising.

We all know that there are millions of people online everyday using the internet for everything you could ever imagine...personal banking, finding a nanny, shopping for a new TV, learning how to scrapbook...the list just goes on and on.

I think it’s safe to say that everyone on a computer has probably used the Google search engine. You simply type in a query into the search box, and "poof" it’s like magic, the page fills up with relevant information about what you just typed in. As someone that uses Google, you couldn't be happier. Everything that you were looking for is just a mouse click away.

Here is where the lesson starts. Let’s say someone is getting married and needs to find a photographer so they type in the word "wedding photographer" into the Google search box. A new page will load and you will be looking at what is called "organic" links or website listed down the middle of the page (in black type) and you will also see links on the top (sometimes), and always on the right hand side 4 line ads in blue that you can also click on. The blue text ads are what is called "paid advertising" or "sponsored ads". No one is telling you which link to click, it is completely up to you. The power of PPC is that anyone in a matter of hours can be advertising on the first page of Google using paid advertising. This is not the case with "organic" websites. "Organic" placement can take months, and sometimes even years to get on the first page. In essence you are paying your way onto the first page of Google when you use "paid advertising".

That brings me to the next point. Who pays and how does that all work? Well, the person who is responsible for placing that ad (the blue one) is the one paying. Every time someone decides to click on your ad, you (the advertiser) will pay for that click. Let’as say no one clicks on your ad, then you pay nothing. The only time you will pay is when someone actually clicks on your ad and they are taken to your website. You are essentially paying a small price to ensure visitors to your website (so make sure you have a killer website that closes the deal for you!).

What is the cost per click? Well, there is a range that people pay and it all depends on just how competitive the keyword is that you are bidding on. The range can be as low as .20 cents a click all of the way up to 6, 7, 8 sometimes 12 dollars a click on some very, very competitive keywords. I would say a realistic range is .60 cents to $2 a click if you don't have a wide open budget. The bottom line is you decide what keywords to bid on, and if a keyword is too expensive, just go and find a new one. The best part is there is an interface or a back-office that helps you stay organized and keeps track of the cost, the numbers, the keywords, your bid price, etc. The system, whether it be Google or someone else will provide all of its advertisers with a management area where all of your numbers will be tracked and secure. You just have to decide what keywords you want to bid on and what the maximum amount you will pay per click. (More on who offer PPC Advertising soon).

Now, the question is, "Is this a good way to spend advertising dollars?" Well, that is highly debatable. The undeniable truth is you will have laser targeted views of your advertisement. What I mean is, as a photographer you are only going to bid on keywords that are relevant to your industry. For example: photographer, professional photographer, wedding photographer, best photographer, etc. When you bid on those specific keywords your ad will show up when someone types any of those words into the search box. That is what I mean by a laser targeted view. There really is no other type of advertising out there that provides this sort of "supply and demand" advertising platform. The person that has typed in "wedding photographer" is clearly looking to find a wedding photographer, and what better place to have an advertisement if you in fact are a wedding photographer. It doesn't get much better than that!

Now Google is not the only place that you can do paid advertising. There are other search engines like MSN and Yahoo that also offer the same advertising opportunity. And more recently, Facebook and YouTube have joined the game and offer Paid Advertising space.

Pay Per Click is growing in its popularity, but the most important advise I could possibly provide is to educate yourself. You now know the basics...the difference between "organic" and "paid" and where to find them. You also understand that you can bypass the challenges of website SEO (search engine optimization) and pay to get on the first page of any search query. And you understand that Pay Per Click means exactly that. You have officially been exposed to the unique power of PPC Advertising. This is just the first step, don't make the mistake of jumping into PPC too quickly, that is how you will lose serious advertising dollars. Learn the skills necessary to maximize your ad dollars and increase your sales accordingly.