Pay-Per-Click: The Ultimate Advertising Method?

50 years ago, it would have been impossible to launch a nation-wide advertising campaign with just $50. Now, you can not only do that, but also rigorously test your message for effectiveness - and only show ads to people actively looking for a business like yours.

The technology making this possible is pay-per-click (PPC) marketing. The concept was pioneered by Jeffrey Brewer and Bill Gross of Goto.com in 1998, but only started gaining popularity in 2002, allowing advertisers to show ads inside search engine results pages. The premise is powerful: people that view your ad are already searching for what you offer.

Because of this, pay-for-performance advertising brings several very strong advantages to your promotional toolkit:

1) You only pay for results. Your investment is directly tied to the number of visitors to your website. This greatly reduces the risk of running an expensive campaign and getting no results.

2) Your campaign goes live quickly (often with 15 minutes). You can open an AdWords account to quickly test an idea or concept in the market. By bypassing the traditional ad campaign development cycle, you can enjoy first-mover advantage.

3) It's easy to test for results. Pay-per-click marketing is very analytical. You can track and test a number of important benchmarks and see which message performs best.

4) You can start on a small scale. With $50 (or less), you can launch a pilot campaign to determine if the format works for you.

5) You can target specific demographics or regions. AdWords and other PPC platforms make it easy to only show ads to a highly targeted group of people or places. This accuracy helps you deliver your message to the right people.

Josiah Mackenzie offers Adwords campaign management services through ProAdwordsManagement.com. For more ideas, visit the Adwords PPC Tips Blog or receive daily tips on Twitter @AdwordsAdvice