Pay Per Click Campaigns

Google Adwords (Google) and Yahoo! Search Marketing (Yahoo, Alta Vista, Lycos, Wanadoo and MSN) allow advertisers to place adverts above and next to the free ('organic') results for a search. The adverts feature a link to the advertisers web site.

Advertisers bid for the top spot on individual search terms and these can range from just a few pence to several pounds. The advertiser is charged their bid fee each time the advert is clicked and their web site is visited. If the advert is displayed but is not used there is no charge.

Use the Bids Tool available from Yahoo to research how much competitors are paying to advertise on relevant search terms.