The PPC Guide
The Pay Per Click Guide is the beginning of a
series of reviews about promotional tools on the
Web.If you want to find out more about affordable
advertising opportunities you have come to the
right place. In this guide:
- What
is a Pay Per Click (PPC) search
engine
- Why
is it a smart way to promote
yourself on the web
- What
advertisers need to be careful of
- What
to look for in a search engine,
and
- What
PPC search engines are on offer?
What
is a Pay Per Click search engine?
A Pay Per Click
(also known as Pay Per Ranking, Pay Per Placement
or Pay Per Position) search engine enables you to
list your site at the top of the search engine
results.
You pay only
when a searcher or clicker
(I use these terms interchangeably) clicks on
your listing and connects to your site. You
don’t pay to list, you only pay for clicks
or click throughs.
You list your
website by selecting keywords that refer to your
product or service. For each keyword you
determine how much you are willing to spend. The
higher you bid the higher you will appear in the
search results.
PPC search
engines usually combine paid listings with unpaid
listings to ensure any given search produces
sufficient results. Typically, unpaid listings
(also known in the industry as
‘fodder’) are provided by another
search engine such as Inktomi, Google or the DMOZ
project.
Most of the PPC
search engines list the bid price in the results
pages, but I believe it is more effective to keep
bids off the results page. Listing bid amounts
detracts from the perceived quality of the
results and can unnecessarily bias a
searcher’s behaviour.
It’s
a smart idea.
An account with
a PPC search engine is a great way to drive
targeted traffic to your site because you only
pay for actual clicks to your site. It is risk
free and a cheaper alternative to listing with
the bigger search engines. Search engines like
AltaVista, Yahoo and Google get lots of traffic
but they are expensive. For example, with Google
it will cost you $1500 for keywords per month
with a three month minimum, so that’s $4500
with no clicks guaranteed.
But
be careful….?
Advertisers
need to be wary of PPC search engines that offer
clickers money or incentives to click through
their results. My advice is to steer clear of
these search engines as the clicks you pay for
are probably not genuine.
What
to look for.
When choosing a
PPC search engine consider its functionality as a
search engine. Several of the PPC search engines
reviewed fail to produce a useful search engine
for a combination of reasons.They are either too
slow, have distracting interfaces, poor
navigational guides or just don’t have a set
of results at all.
It is in your
interests as an advertiser to sign up with a
functional PPC search engine. Searchers
won’t come back to a PPC if they can’t
find what they are looking for. That’s why
in my overview, I have commented on speed, search
results, and usability of the site. If you would
like to learn more about bid strategies and how
to maximise your return on investment, I suggest
you read Steve Harrison's insightful book Mastering the PPCs.
So let’s
take a look at what’s on offer. If you know
of any other PPC search engines please tell me.
Since beginning this guide, some engines have
already dropped out of the market. It appears
Simple Search, 4MyNet and Zcoolweb have all
bitten the dust. If you know of any others that
have closed shop let me know. In addition please
let me know your opinions on the PPC search
engines and I will post them on the site. Let me
know how they rate as a marketing tool and as a
search engine. Also if you are the owner of a PPC
search engine and you would like to advertise on
this site, just drop me a line to discuss the
opportunities.
Thanks,
|
Pay Per
Click Guide
Gazabo
This new kid on the
block promotes itself as the affordable PPC engine and
offers up to 1000 free clicks when you join.
| Price |
Minimum Account: No
minimum starting amount. Minimum Bid:
$0.01 |
| Speed |
Good speed. |
| Results |
Bid amounts are
displayed. Powered by: DMOZ Directory |
| Interface |
Shows up to 20 results
per page. Easy to use. |
| Extras |
They offer $10.00 worth
of free clicks just for signing up. If
you put a link back to them they will
offer you up to $25.00 worth of free
clicks. |
|
Gopile
Shame about the name,
makes me think of a something a dog left behind. This one
is just starting out. Looks like it might be connected
with a pay to click program……paypile.com which
pays people to listen to mp3 music.
| Price |
Minimum Account: Accepts
any amount Minimum Bid: $0.01 |
| Speed |
Given that it
doesn’t have many results to present
it is pretty slow. |
| Results |
Bid amounts are not
listed in the results. Powered by:
Doesn’t seem to be any fodder as
yet. |
| Interface |
Looks simple. Good to see
no annoying banner ads. |
| Extras |
Can add a listing for
free. |
|
Turbo 10
This is my favourite.
It is the first search engine I’ve seen that reduces
browsing time. Using a search-o-meter,
as they call it, you can instantly jump to anywhere in
the search results. This is a powerful search engine that
puts the user in control.
| Price |
Minimum Account: £25
Minimum Bid: £0.03 |
| Speed |
Fast. This search engine
certainly gets through the results
quickly. |
| Results |
Bid amounts are not
listed in the results. Powered by: DMOZ
– human edited listings and a
variety of others. |
| Interface |
Very clean and easy to
use. Good to see no annoying banner ads. |
| Extras |
You also get the added
exposure from their results being
displayed on Dogpile.co.uk. They have
taken the scroll bar out of searching.
Unique functional buttons to flick
quickly through the results. |
|
Metamission
It's your mission to
check this one out. Enables you to advertise on a
metasearch engine.
| Price |
Minimum Account: $50
Minimum Bid: $0.01 |
| Speed |
Average speed. |
| Results |
Bid amounts are listed in
the results. Powered by: DirectHit, MSN,
WebCrawler, Excite. |
| Interface |
Looks simple and easy to
use. No flashing banner ads in the
results set. |
| Extras |
When you sign up you will
receive 1000% on top of your first
credit, so if your first deposit is
$50.00, you will get $500 worth of clicks
free. |
|
GoClick
It is easy to get going
with this one with its helpful beginner's guide and
reasonably priced first time sign-up fee.
| Price |
Minimum Account: $10 to
start, $25 after that. Minimum Bid: $0.01 |
| Speed |
Fast |
| Results |
Bid amounts are listed in
the results. Powered by: DMOZ and
FindWhat |
| Interface |
Simplistic. Easy to
navigate through the site. |
| Extras |
Offers a cool
BidMaster(tm) bidding tool that
intelligently raises or lowers your bids
to the highest position possible, limited
by a maximum bid amount you enter. |
|
Splut
Sounds like a butterfly
just met with a nasty accident. Search results are really
lacking on this one. Doubt whether searchers will want to
come back.
| Price |
Minimum Account: £50
Minimum Bid: £0.01 |
| Speed |
Needs more speed. |
| Results |
Bid amounts are listed in
the results. Powered by: Looks like they
are relying only on their own fodder.
Limited results. |
| Interface |
Nice to see a banner free
search results page. |
| Extras |
If you put a splut link
on your site you will get a favourable
listing towards the top of the search
results. |
|
Pointcom
This PPC engine points
you in the direction of safe surfing...just follow the
pointed finger.
| Price |
Minimum Account: $25
Minimum Bid: $0.01 |
| Speed |
Good speed. |
| Results |
Bid amounts are not
listed in the results. Powered by:
Doesn't say. |
| Interface |
Very simplistic homepage
interface. I like their fingerpointing
logo. |
| Extras |
You can also sign up for
targeted banner advertisements and
affiliate search programs to gain
additional revenue to your site. |
|
Work at Home
Search Engine
This is a good PPC
engine especially if you are looking to promote 'work
from home' related goods or services. When you sign up
they give you $10 US worth of free clicks.
| Price |
Minimum Account: No set
minimum amount. Minimum Bid: $0.01 |
| Speed |
Good speed. |
| Results |
Bid amounts are displayed
in the results. Powered by: DMOZ - Open
Directory Project. |
| Interface |
Lists up to 20 results
per page. |
| Extras |
When you top up your
account you also receive bonus credit.
Also the top 10 featured sites are listed
on the front page for extra exposure. |
|
MyGeek
This a specialist
shopping PPC engine which brings together buyers and
sellers in a unique way.
| Price |
Minimum Account: $20
Minimum Bid: $0.01 |
| Speed |
Good speed. |
| Results |
Bid amounts are listed on
the site. Powered by: own listings |
| Interface |
Basic, easy to use
design. Good to see no annoying banner
ads. |
| Extras |
Cool feature -
Shop-By-Request: Enables a shopper to
submit a specific shopping request and
sellers answer with personal replies. |
|
Page sponsored by:
Brainfox
You definitely need a
brain to figure out your bids with this one. Brainfox is
positioning itself as one of the budget PPC search
engines with bids starting at $0.001.
| Price |
Minimum Account: $5
Minimum Bid: $0.001 |
| Speed |
Good speed. |
| Results |
Bid amounts are not
displayed. Powered by: DMOZ Directory |
| Interface |
Very plain. Easy enough
to use. |
| Extras |
Offer free 500% top up on
your initial deposit. Actively support
missing children fund through their site. |
|
Pageseeker
Claims to be the
world’s first new media search engine. You can
select the design of your site. I like the disco design
and cool disco tune. But after the gimmick wears off and
you want to get down to some serious searching it becomes
very annoying. No Saturday Night Fever happening with
this one.
| Price |
Minimum Account:
Couldn’t find it. Minimum Bid: $0.01 |
| Speed |
Slow. It is really
difficult to quickly scan the results. |
| Results |
Top 5 results are listed
twice on the page for no good reason. Bid
amounts are not listed on the site.
Powered by: Doesn’t say |
| Interface |
Its design makes it an
ineffective search engine. Visually
toxic. |
| Extras |
Enables the user to
tailor the look and feel of the site
using skins. |
|
Sabril
Don’t touch this
one. Their slogan is: Search that pays.
It pays alright but not for the advertiser. Sabril is one
of those PPC search engines that pay searchers to click
through their results. This site unashamedly states at
the top of their results: Note: You must remain
on each site for at least 20 seconds. You are allowed up
to 15 visits per day.
| Price |
Minimum Amount Account:
$25 Minimum Bid: ? |
| Speed |
Slow |
| Results |
Bid amounts are not
listed in results. Powered by: Sabril.com |
| Interface |
Extremely amateurish. Not
easy to navigate through results. Paid
results are not integrated within the
rest of the results. |
| Extras |
Paid listings tell the
searcher how many credits they will gain
by clicking on the link. |
|
Godado
It took me a moment to
work out how to pronounce this one. Gives you the
opportunity to personalise your search results by
changing the font size and colours, more trouble than
it’s worth.
| Price |
Minimum Account: 50 Euro
Minimum Bid: 0.02 Euro |
| Speed |
Could be quicker. |
| Results |
Bid amounts are listed in
the results. Powered by: Mamma.com |
| Interface |
There is a large distance
between the search field and the search
results which detracts from the results.
This is quite annoying. |
| Extras |
Ability to list in Italy
and France. Soon to come Spain and
Germany. This PPC search also enables you
to search on MP3 and includes a
thesaurus. |
|
espotting
These guys have
developed a good network of partners in the UK, including
Yahoo, Lycos, and UKPlus
| Price |
Minimum Account: Minimum
starting package at £99 Minimum Bid:
£0.05 |
| Speed |
Fairly Slow |
| Results |
Bid amounts are listed in
the results. Powered by: Inktomi |
| Interface |
Looks good. |
| Extras |
Offer a sign-up service
for £100. They will create your keywords
and descriptions. |
|
FindWhat
This PPC engine has
been one of the first and is worth a look at.
| Price |
Minimum Account: $25
Minimum Bid: $0.01 |
| Speed |
Good speed. |
| Results |
Bid amounts are listed in
results. Powered by: DirectHit |
| Interface |
Very clean interface.
Easy to navigate. The back end account is
very easy to use. |
| Extras |
Offers banner advertising
on their site. |
|
Sprinks
I like the look of this
one. It is easy to use.
| Price |
Minimum Account: $100
Minimum Bid: $0.05 |
| Speed |
Good. |
| Results |
Bid amounts are listed in
the results. Powered by: Inktomi |
| Interface |
Clean, simplistic design.
Easy to navigate. Offers a related
searches section for every search. |
| Extras |
Offers advertisers the
ability to get listed on About.com. |
|
Search Cactus
Search Cactus is
certainly no desert for clickers using this search
engine. Unfortunately, this one pays searchers to click
through their results. Not only do they pay for clickers
they also pay $2.00 for signing up with them.
| Price |
Minimum Account: $25.00
Minimum Bid: $0.02 |
| Speed |
Good. |
| Results |
Bid amounts not listed.
Powered by: Google |
| Interface |
Easy to search. |
| Extras |
Also allows advertisers
to send targeted direct e-mails to their
paid members. |
|
3Apes
This pay per click
search engine is in beta-testing.
| Price |
Minimum Account: $0
Minimum Bid: $0.01 |
| Speed |
Slow |
| Results |
Not well integrated. Paid
results are listed as Partner sites,
unpaid listings are headed by a topics
box. Not listed in consistent numeric
sequence. Powered by: Looks like DMOZ |
| Interface |
Cute Ape but where are
the other two? Looks like it is still
under construction. |
| Extras |
It would appear no up
front account fee is required, instead
you have to link 3apes.com to your site.
They will pay you $0.25 per click for
traffic from your site. This goes towards
your 3apes credit. |
|
CleanSearch
As the name suggests,
CleanSearch focuses on providing porn free results. This
is a family oriented site.
| Price |
Minimum Account: $25
Minimum Bid: $0.05 |
| Speed |
Average |
| Results |
Bid amounts listed in the
results. Powered by: Inktomi |
| Interface |
Straightforward to use. |
| Extras |
I like the scrub brush
idea, which allows a searcher to click on
a scrub brush icon next to a listing and
have it reviewed for not being a
‘clean’ result. |
|
Ah-ha
With this one you can
also include a small graphical banner logo next to your
text listing. This is free but only for the first 10
days. After 10 days it costs $10.00 - $19.95 a month
after that.
| Price |
Minimum Account: $25
Minimum Bid: $0.01 |
| Speed |
Good, but not easy to
navigate through the results. No list
numbering or page numbers. |
| Results |
Bid amounts are not
listed in the results. Powered by: Fast |
| Interface |
Clean and easy to use. |
| Extras |
Money can be refunded
within a 30 day trial period. |
|
Search Galore
Search Galore offer Quality
vs Quantity Searching, not much quality here.
Doubt whether searchers would come back to this site.
| Price |
Minimum Account: $25
Minimum Bid: $0.01 |
| Speed |
Quite slow |
| Results |
Bid amounts listed.
Result sets not integrated. Powered by:
Yahoo. |
| Interface |
Lacks professionalism. |
| Extras |
Offers pay per click
banner advertisements as well. |
|
Searchhound
This PPC search engine
is just sniffing for advertiser’s money. I
can’t see why this one is so expensive with accounts
starting at $100.
| Price |
Minimum Account: $100
Minimum Bid: $0.01 |
| Speed |
Average |
| Results |
Bid amounts are listed in
the results. Results ranked by: Neural
Network Intelligence. |
| Interface |
The page is divided up
into 5 paid results and then 5 unpaid
results, rather than listing all the paid
results first. |
| Extras |
Each results page has a
save function that enables you record the
results. |
|
Overture
Originally called Goto,
this one offers shopping and auction sites. You’ll
need money to get in the top rankings. Bid prices have
skyrocketed on this one. Also you need to spend a minimum
of $20 per month in click throughs to keep your account.
| Price |
Minimum Account: £25
Minimum Bid: $0.05 |
| Speed |
Good |
| Results |
Bids amounts are listed
in the results. Powered by: Inktomi |
| Interface |
Results page is clean.
Easy to navigate. |
| Extras |
Has links with America
Online. |
|
Win4Win
Offer a chance to be
included in a TV commercial but this offer was made
months ago. They haven’t updated their website
lately.
| Price |
Minimum Account: $25
Minimum Bid: $0.01 |
| Speed |
OK. |
| Results |
Bid amounts are listed in
the results. Powered by: It was once
powered by Google but not sure now. Looks
like their fodder is from another PPC. |
| Interface |
Smart. Looks busy. |
| Extras |
Express sign-up service
offered for $100 and will help to select
your key words. When you sign up you get
a free $5 worth of credit. |
|
Kanoodle
This is a very busy
site. As well as PPC search engine it is also a portal
site for music groups, personals, ecards, love and advice
columns, and horoscopes.
| Price |
Minimum Account: $25
Minimum Bid: $0.01 |
| Speed |
Quite slow to show
results. |
| Results |
Bid amounts are listed in
the results. Some listings appear twice
in the results. Powered by: Looks like
fodder from other PPC search engines. |
| Interface |
Too much is happening on
the site. Visually toxic. |
| Extras |
Offers an $85 express
sign-up and will help you select your
keywords. You also get free banner
impression if your search term is within
the top 3 bids of the search results
page. |
|
efind
You’ll find no
genuine clicks here. efind has a slot machine spin on
every search results page. By clicking on the paid
listings (with a jackpot icon), searchers can search
and win up to 20 times daily.
| Price |
Minimum Account: Not
sure. Minimum Bid: $0.01 |
| Speed |
Good |
| Results |
Bid amounts are listed in
the results. Powered by: Inktomi |
| Interface |
Too much is going on. The
slot machine detracts from the search
experience. |
| Extras |
Jackpot pull symbol is
placed next to the top three paid
listings, as if this is an enticement to
have to pay for non-genuine clicks. |
|
theinfodepot
This PPC search engine
has a heart. They donate a penny to Unicef every time a
person searches.
| Price |
Minimum Account: $25
Minimum Bid: $0.01 |
| Speed |
A bit slow going through
the site. |
| Results |
Bid amounts are listed in
the results. Powered by: DMOZ |
| Interface |
A lot is going on. Easy
to use back end account. |
| Extras |
Join now and get 50%
added on to your initial deposit. |
|
businessnation
Difficult to get
searching with this one.
| Price |
Minimum Account: $25
Minimum Bid: $0.01 |
| Speed |
Slow |
| Results |
Poor search capability.
Bid amounts are listed in the results.
Powered by: DMOZ |
| Interface |
Confusing front page. |
| Extras |
Is also a small business
resource centre. |
|
searchbidder
I am a little worried
about this one. There is a section under construction:
Earn $$$ Fast....could they be planning to pay people to
click through the results? I hope not!
| Price |
Minimum Account: $25
Minimum Bid: $0.01 |
| Speed |
Good |
| Results |
Bid amounts are listed in
the results. Powered by: Doesn't say. |
| Interface |
Clean interface and easy
to navigate. Easy to use back end
account. |
| Extras |
You can open an account
and receive $25 free. |
|
ultimateresourcesite
Nothing really ultimate
about this one.
| Price |
Minimum Account: $25
Minimum Bid: $0.01 |
| Speed |
Good |
| Results |
Bid amounts are not
listed in the results. Powered by: Not a
search engine |
| Interface |
Difficult to navigate.
Difficult to open an account. Appears
messy and has a poor layout. |
| Extras |
Good way of targeting
consumers interested in technology
resources. |
|
Hotways
This looks like it is
just starting out.
| Price |
Minimum Account: $25
Minimum Bid: $0.01 |
| Speed |
Good speed. |
| Results |
Bid amounts are listed.
Paid listings are not integrated with
other search results. Powered by:
Doesn’t say. |
| Interface |
Very basic. Easy to
navigate. |
| Extras |
You can select a search
category e.g. pictures, discussion
groups, videos. |
|
Netflip
Flip over this one.
Netflip is another PPC search engine paying searchers to
click through their results.
| Price |
Minimum Account: $25
Minimum Bid: $0.02 |
| Speed |
Slow moving through
results. |
| Results |
Bid amounts are listed.
Powered by: Not sure. It looks like the
unpaid results are from another PPC
search engine – goto |
| Interface |
No cues to navigate
through results. |
| Extras |
Offers a Cash-Back
Shopping Solution allows you to reward
consumers with cash back for purchasing
products and services from your site. |
|
7search
This PPC search engine
also allows you to submit your site for free.
| Price |
Minimum Account: $25
Minimum Bid: $0.01 |
| Speed |
Slow moving through the
results. |
| Results |
Bid amounts are listed in
the results. Powered by: their own
listings and DirectHit. |
| Interface |
A lot is happening on the
home page. |
| Extras |
They currently have over
1.5 million unique visitors and 400
million searches. Also offers a 7search
metasearch capability. |
|
Bliznetwork
This one is just
starting out.
| Price |
Minimum Account:$10
Minimum Bid: $0.01 |
| Speed |
Seems to be fairly fast. |
| Results |
Bid amounts are listed in
the results. Powered by: Raging.com. |
| Interface |
Average looking site. |
| Extras |
MP3 and Auction search.
Advertisers get an extra 200% credit when
making a first time deposit. |
|
Bigwhat
A big what? It is
supposed to be a map-based search engine, no maps come on
any of my global searches. This will be good when it
develops.
| Price |
Minimum Account: $25
Minimum Bid: $0.01 |
| Speed |
Good Speed. |
| Results |
Bid amounts are listed in
the results. Powered by: Doesn’t
seem to be any fodder as yet. |
| Interface |
Nice colours, but the
banner ads are really annoying in the
results. |
| Extras |
Can add a listing for
free. |
|
Bay9
Bay9 is an extremely
messy site. The home page is a collection of featured
links dumped together, raising the bid prices in the
process. This site has a lotto program rewarding
searchers for clicking on some paid listings.
| Price |
Minimum Account: $25
Minimum Bid: $0.01 |
| Speed |
Pretty good. |
| Results |
Bid amounts are listed in
the results. Powered by: Can’t tell.
Difficult to navigate the results with no
numbering or page numbers. |
| Interface |
A really annoying looking
site. Banners flashing, information
packed in, it is too much. |
| Extras |
Offer pay per click
banner advertisements. |
|
Onesearch
Overall this is a
fairly standard looking PPC search engine.
| Price |
Minimum Account: $25
Minimum Bid: $0.01 |
| Speed |
Needs to supply results
faster. |
| Results |
Bid amounts are listed
under Featured Sites. The unpaid listings
are not integrated with advertised site.
Powered by: Fast |
| Interface |
Average looking site.
Home page is too busy. |
| Extras |
Offers free email. A user
can search on MP3, Web, News and Usenet. |
|
|
|
If you would like a
second opinion on PPC search engines take a look at
Troy's Payperclickanalyst.com.
|