Promoting your business in the search engines allows you to laser-target your audience in a way that may not be possible online otherwise. A direct way to advertise in the search engines is by using the search engines' sponsored ad program, where you pay for ads in the sidebars of search results. However, a free, longer-term marketing strategy involves search engine optimization, which uses website optimization techniques to influence where your site is ranked in search results.
Instructions
1. Register an account with one or more of the pay-per-click advertising programs of the three major search engines Yahoo, Microsoft Bing and Google. These pay-per-click (PPC) programs allow businesses to advertise in the sponsored sections in the search engine results.
2. Click the "Start a Campaign" or new campaign button to begin setting up your search engine business advertisements. Enter details such as a name and the start and end dates for your advertising campaign.
3. Enter the business ad campaign details such as geo-targeting and ad network options. Select the countries, states, and cities to which you want your business advertisements shown. Choose the times of the day and days of the week during which you want to advertise, if available. Select the "Search" network to specify that you want your ads shown in the search engine's sponsored ads.
4. Modify the budget part of your search engine ad campaign. Input the daily budget for your business advertising campaign. Enter the maximum per-click cost that you want to pay for ads.
5. Modify the ad groups of your search engine advertising campaign. Enter a name for the first ad group. Write a compelling headline for your business advertisement. Enter the text descriptions for your ads. Input the URL for your business website or landing page to which you want the search engine to direct traffic. Save your ad groups when finished.
6. Enter the keywords for which you want your business ads shown. Use the pay-per-click program's keyword tool, if available, to help you find keyword ideas related to your business that are often searched and that you may want to use in your campaign. Save your keyword settings when you have finished entering them.
7. Monitor your search engine advertising campaign using the pay-per-click program's advertiser tools. Watch for spikes in the number of impressions your business ads receive. Monitor the number of clicks you're business ads are receiving as well as how much you are paying per click. Adjust your business ad campaign as needed, modifying ad groups, descriptions and making keyword changes when necessary.
