What if I told you that there are a couple of alternatives to Google AdWords Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising that could only cost you between 10% and 33% per click? How can this be?



It's no secret that Google has the vast majority of click traffic on the internet - and as unhealthy as that is, its not going to change anytime soon. Most PPC specialists will tell you if you're not advertising on Google, you're history.

But with some clicks going for more than $15 each, for high-end and lucrative products and services such as computer servers and credit card merchant accounts, isn't it time to look for effective alternatives? Serious advertisers should consider alternative pay-per-click services.

Two that I have been trying recently for my own advertising are and Enhance Interactive and 7Search (disclosure; I am in no way affiliated with either of these companies).

Enhance Interactive

Based in Provo, Utah, Enhance Interactive's partner network receives more than one billion queries each month. I've found their program to be an easy, effective way to purchase PPC (pay-per-click) advertising.

You can pick both the keywords for your ad and the price you're willing to pay for someone to click on it (as little as $0.03). Like Google, you only pay when your ad is clicked on.

Enhance Interactive's Guaranteed Inclusion service allows you to submit URLs which are guaranteed to be in the database of highly visited search engines such as Excite and Dogpile, as well as smaller directories.

What's more, you can set your click price on any keyword that's significantly less than other large pay-per-click search engines. Enhance's system allows you to see your competitor's bids, something Google does not allow. That's handy.

Your first deposit at Enhance Interactive is a minimum of $50, all of which is directly applied to clicks. There is no minimum monthly spend at Enhance Interactive. One disadvantage is that you have to pay in advance, whereas Google allows you to make a $5 deposit and they charge you two weeks or a month for past clicks.

An interesting feature available on Enhance, which is not available on Google, is a feature called 'LogoLink' where you can upload an 80x40 pixel image that's no larger than 8KB in size. Animation is not accepted. This image will then be displayed alongside your PPC ad. Very cool. Feedback from users who use this feature is positive.

While not as sophisticated as Google, conversion tools are available on Enhance, after you've installed some simple html code into your web pages you wish to track.

Overall, I'm impressed with Enhance Interactive's service and prices, which I've found to cost only 20%-30% what a Google click would cost for the same keyword. I suggest you give them a try on a small scale. You won't have to stop your Google campaigns completely - just cut back a bit and purchase some clicks from Enhance to give them a try.

7Search

Moving a little down the click quality scale, yet still worth a try, is 7Search.

With over 1.5 billion searches per month and no minimum keyword bids (starting at one cent per visit) the 7Search product is an enticing alternative for advertisers weary of Google's high bid prices. Like Enhance, Chicago-based 7Search allows you to see your competitor's bids, and select the ad position you wish to take.

One major potential `fly in the ointment' is this; you can't select what countries your ads will be shown in, on the 7Search network. That can be a real deal-breaker for an advertiser who wants to target a particular region or country. Why?

Click fraud and useless clicks are likely to increase. But remember; on 7Search, click prices are also a lot cheaper than Google, so it may be worth a try. As with Enhance, you pay in advance for clicks.

The 7Search interface feels a bit 'clunky' when compared with Google or even Enhance Interactive. But if you're willing to slog through it for 30 minutes or so, you'll likely be able to figure out what to do. Your effort should pay off with low cost clicks delivered to your landing page.

While 7Search does not provide a conversion tool, Google Analytics will track clicks that come from other search engines, so if your Analytics code is installed correctly, you can track a 7Search click, or most other search engines for that matter.

Summary

Let's not desert Google entirely - it's still a good (if more expensive) tool. As always, even if you decide to choose Google alternatives, remember you can track most, if not all, the clicks arriving at your site with Google Analytics.

OK, that's it for now. Towards becoming a more efficient business give some thought to Google PPC alternatives. One more thing -- it's important. Using proper PPC ad writing and construction strategies is vital on the cheaper PPC service providers. The proven secrets apply on these cheaper services, as much as they do on Google.