There are a lot of different ways to make money online, but search engine PPC (short for pay-per-click) is one of the most effective and least understood of those ways. To be honest, a lot of people have lost money trying their hand at PPC. Whether you have never tried PPC, or if you have previously tried and failed, you should know that there is money to be made if you go about it the right way.

Search engine PPC is a method of advertising that is displayed by the search engines, and you only pay for it when someone clicks on the link in your ad. However, there are a lot of variables that go into creating an affordable and effective ad.

1. Know your target market. You need to know exactly who you're selling to and what triggers them to buy. Remember, you are going to be paying every time someone clicks on one of your PPC ads, so you need to know how your market and how to sell to them. The more targeted your ads, the better your odds of success.

2. Choose keywords carefully.  The keywords you associate with your ad will determine what search engine results your ads are placed with, your level of competition, and how much you will pay per click. You can use free keyword research tools or paid options to get an idea of what people are searching for.

3. Write effective ad copy. Keep in mind that you are placing search engine PPC ads so people will click on them, and it's your ad copy that plays the biggest role in getting people to click. The tricky part is that the number of characters you can use in your ad will be limited, presenting an additional challenge in writing your copy. 

Pexels António Ribeiro

4. Pre-qualify with your ad. Now, you want a lot of people to click on your ad, but not everybody. What you are really after are the people who want to take you up on your offer. If your ad is too vague, you may get a lot of clicks, but not enough people to follow through on your desired action. That may not be a big deal under normal circumstances, but it can put a huge dent in your budget when doing pay-per-click marketing. An example of pre-qualification would be using the word "discount" in your ad, as that will attract people wanting to buy.

5. Use bidding strategies to maximize your returns. This is where things get really interesting, and also where a lot of people get lost. You can follow any proven strategy, but the basic idea is that you pay as little as possible for the most effective keywords possible, and get a high rate of return.

6. Test and track carefully. You should always be testing different ads when doing search engine PPC. Each ad should have its own link so you know which ads produced which results. Go with the ads that perform best, and then set up another ad to see how well it does. Over time your results will get better and better.

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