Tired of adverts getting in your way? Ad breaks in your favourite series, ads in the middle of the magazine article you’re reading, ads popping up in the middle of your favourite freeware game and even ads on signposts blocking your view of the road? Well, it seems that Google agrees.

Technology today allows us to fast-forward through the ads on TV, so why should we still have to scroll through them to get to the info we are looking for on a website. Google has decided to change their algorithm that is used to rank websites. Websites with too many adverts on the top of the page, thus causing users to scroll down in order to get to actual content, will be penalised in their rankings.

Google states:

“We understand that placing ads above-the-fold is quite common for many websites; these ads often perform well and help publishers monetize online content. This algorithmic change does not affect sites who place ads above-the-fold to a normal degree, but affects sites that go much further to load the top of the page with ads to an excessive degree or that make it hard to find the actual original content on the page. This new algorithmic improvement tends to impact sites where there is only a small amount of visible content above-the-fold or relevant content is persistently pushed down by large blocks of ads.

This algorithmic change noticeably affects less than 1% of searches globally.”  Read the post here.

This has resulted in many people questioning whether or not Google will penalise themselves as their results pages have so many ads. Seriously?! Google’s ads are not really ads in the traditional sense. When you use Google, you are looking for links to sites with relevant information; Google’s ads are mostly links to relevant information. People are so worried about what is fair; wonder if while they sit writing or reading these blogs on their iPad or laptop they consider the children in underdeveloped countries who can’t even get a book to read. Such a fuss made over a possible 1% of searches that may be affected. I say go for it Google!

You have done your research & have decided that running a pay per click campaign may be the next logical step in your marketing strategy.

You will need to have your ducks in a row before you get started, so see the list below, and make sure that you have the following in place before you get going with your campaign:

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CPC – Cost-per-click. The maximum amount that you are willing to pay per click.

CPM – Cost-per-impression. The maximum amount you are willing to pay per 1000 impressions.

Impressions – The number of impressions is the number of times an ad is displayed on the Google search and display network.

Keyword – A keyword is a word, which is included in an advertisers “keyword list” within his/her pay per click campaign. It is a word that is relevant to his/her ad campaign, website content, products & services. When a user performs a search query for one of these words, the advertiser’s ad will be displayed within the SERP’s.

SEM – Search engine marketing is a blanket term which covers the many forms of internet or online marketing, including search engine optimisation (SEO) and search engine advertising (SEA). The aim of SEM is to improve a website’s visibility on the web and in the search engine results pages (SERP’s) via the many online marketing methods available to us today.

SEO – search engine optimisation is the ongoing process of improving a website’s organic search engine rankings. This process is ongoing and usually requires professional help. The results are not immediate and SEO should rather be seen as a long-term investment, and not a quick fix.

SEA – search engine advertising is basically the placement of ads on the web, particularly in the search engines. Most of the major search engines offer advertising products to the public, enabling literally anyone to make use of “paid search”.

Organic listings – these are your search results which appear in the left hand side of the page. These results are organic, because they appear there “naturally”. You cannot pay Google to have your website appear on the first page of organic results, and the only way to improve your web rankings, is through the use of SEO.

Paid listings – are the search results that appear in the top left and right hand side of the search engine results pages (SERP’s). These results are placed there by advertisers, who have paid or are paying to have them there.

SERP’s – Search Engine Results Pages

PPC – Pay Per Click advertising. Web advertising whereby an advertiser pays for each click that his/her ads receive.

The web design and development process can be a lengthy one. Between working on the right look, the layout, and functionality of your website, the time it takes to get all this done, not to mention the costs, can put a person off anything else even remotely web related.

Unfortunately, I have to say that merely having a website is not enough these days, most especially if you are counting on using your website to get more customers or clients.

If you are wanting your website to be a major source of business for you, then this article is for you.

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