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Not long ago, I completed a Pay Per Click (PPC) survey, comparing two separate advertisements through Adwords, trying to determine which would yield the highest Click Through Rate (CTR). Interestingly, the winning ad was the one in which I bid on the product name.

Four techniques can be used to help people using PPC advertising increase the CTR.

First, work to develop a name as similar to the real name of the product as possible. In most cases, the business responsible for selling the product will prohibit you from PPC advertising with the brand name of the company. Regardless, however, it is possible that you will be permitted to bid for the actual name of the product.

Use whatever keyword tool you have at your disposal to make sure people are actually searching for the keyword. For example: Your merchants name could be WidgetMaker, with a bestwidget product. When you do PPC keyword research, you may find that there are very few people searching for that particular keyword because not many people have heard of the bestwidget. In this case, it will not do a bit of good to set up a campaign for the bestwidget. PPC is only profitable if people are actually searching for the item you have for sale.

Get the highest CTR by setting up a variety of Ad Groups. In Adwords, you set up "Campaigns" and then "Ad Groups." It doesn't make much difference what you name your campaigns. That section is primarily to help you stay organized. However, how your set up your Ad Groups makes all the difference in the world! Each Ad Group should target a very specific keyword and related keyword phrases. Make sure the ads in each group point to a page on your site that is optimized for that keyword.

Consider this example: I maintain a site on gardening at www.squarefootgardening.com. This website features a wealth of knowledge about the process of Square Foot Gardening, as well as techniques for Container Gardening and information about Landscaping methods. I have chosen the name Gardening for the Campaign portion on Adwords.

Then I have three separate ad groups that focus on the individual areas. The Container Gardening ad group has just the keywords related to, you guessed it, container gardening. I point the ads in this group to a specific page on my site that deals with container gardening.

In addition, I ensure that the website is specifically targeted to focus on one or even two primary keywords on which I have made a decision to bid. Using this process, I receive a much higher CTR than in the beginning, when I organized everything into only one Ad Group.

Even though organizing separate groups is more time-intensive, I pay less because the CTR is much higher.

Experiment with various keywords and related phrases until you have achieved the greatest possible CTR. People familiar with the Adwords System are aware that advertisers who receive the highest CTRs pay the least amount for each click. Use the following basic structure to design each ad:

(1) Use the keyword in the headline of the ad if you are able. (2) Offer the searcher a bonus on the first line of the description. Make sure they know that your site offers the information they are seeking. Continuing the previous example, place a description like Learn How to Garden in Small Spaces on the first line. (3) Use capital letters to highlight the first letter of each keyword, as done in the previous tip. (4) Offer information about the site on the last line of the description. Provide visitors with features of your site. Some suggestions to offer include free eBooks, information, or trial offers.

After your ads are properly organized, consider the information actually seen by the visitor who clicks on the ad to reach your site. Very specific, sales-related information should be immediately apparent that leads them to click one more time - this time on the site of the product's seller.

Evelyn Grazini has been an Affiliate Marketer for over five years. Her specialty is finding Exclusive Niche Markets for Profitable Affiliate Ventures. Find Niche Marketing information at: http://www.bestaffiliateniche.com and Get Your Free Copy of The Niche Code!