Being a smart traffic buyer...

Pay per click advertising is just another way of buying traffic. For some reason, however, we often to treat it as a completely unique concept.

That's why you'll see people happily recommending arbitrage strategies where the only goal is to flip traffic from clicking cheap ads into clicking more expensive ones to post Adsense earnings. That's why people spend so much time trying to develop workarounds to Google's policy not to allow Adwords ads to link directly to sales pages.

That's also why some other important parts of what makes traffic so darn valuable get overlooked. Too many PPC gurus are spot-on when it comes to campaign building but are clueless when it comes to knowing how to use and treat that traffic.

Remember, all of those visitors voluntary clicked on your specific ad for your specific product or service. To let them walk away in exchange for a 5-cent ad click just doesn't make a lot of sense.

You should be capturing email addresses with a tempting offfer and/or an opt-in form. You should then be nurturing and building that list for the future.

PPC is fast. It's easy (when done right). It's a short-cutter's dream, to be honest. Maybe that's why those in the PPC field often neglect considering the long-term profit potential of list-building and how Adwords and other similar programs can help.

Those pennies can add up...

One of the most common reasons for PPC problems is a failure of the advertiser to stay on top of his or her campaign. Adwords and the other other major PPC players have nice little "set and forget" systems. You build your campaign and can then leave it on "autopilot."

The problem is that many people use that option a little too much. They let their campaigns run and don't check the regularly. It doesn't seem like a big deal when you're buying traffic for a few pennies, a nickel or a dime. It doesn't rate a CODE RED on the to-do list.

Those small expenditures, however, have a way of building up. Too often, one checks a campaign only to find that costs are higher than anticipated or near the pre-set cap while sales are still way too low. Meanwhile, the Google bill has been growing with each useless click.

You don't need a PC dedicated to PPC management and you don't need to check your stats obsessively in five minute increments.

You do, however, need to check your numbers regularly and to be prepared to step in at a moment's notice if it looks like things are going south. If you keep running a faulty campaign in the background, those pennies can add up!

Isolating PPC trouble spots...

Have you ever ran a PPC campaign that just didn't seem to be performing as well as you had expected? Have you ever felt like you could sense that something was wrong, but you just couldn't put your finger on it?

That's a frustrating situation. You just KNOW that a little adjustment here and there could turn a loser into a winner, but you aren't sure where to start and you may not have the time or energy to test a series of individual changes.

It'll make you pull your hair out after awhile.

There is one way around many of these problems. If you start with a strong guide to PPC advertising that contains a good checklist of how to handle every part of the process, you can "test" your work against the recommendations in the reference material.

In many cases, you'll quickly find the area that needs improvement and you may be able to salvage a once seemingly doomed PPC campaign.

It's just another reason to make sure you have the best possible information to make your business a success.

Check the date on that guide...

If you're relying on old information to help you in your PPC advertising decisions, it may be time for an upgrade.

No, Adwords hasn't undergone a complete overhaul. At its core, it is the same program it was a few years ago.

Wrapped around that core, however, are some substantial changes that can play a huge role in whether you make money with Adwords or lose your shirt.

Case in point? Landing page quality assessment changes. Did you know that Google is going to charge you more per click if they don't think your landing page is up to par? Do you know what Google has said about how they assess landing page quality? Is your landing page up to snuff?

Even if you DO know about the LPQ adjustments, it's still a perfect example of how much can change in a short period of time.

Anyone using an informational resource to help them navigate Adwords should make sure they're looking a new or updated material. Those who try to make it with a copy of a two year-old guide are taking a completely unnecessary risk.

Check the date on that guide!

Writing winning Adwords ads...

When you only have three lines with which to work, it might seem impossible to write a great ad.

Many people have approached Adwords with just that mindset--and they've paid the price.

Those three lines may not offer a great deal of flexibility or room to cover every feature and benefit in which you think your customers may have an interest, but they're all you have. You can't afford not to make the most of them.

Here are a few ways to turn your three-line Adwords ad into a mini-masterpiece.

Remember, Headlines Matter: You have to have a knockout headline. This isn't like a long sales letter where you might be able to make up a little bit for a weak opening with later material. Your headlines must be P E R F E C T. If they aren't, you're losing money. Write them. Edit them. Adjust them. Re-write them. Take them seriously.

Resist Shorthand: Don't go crazy with the abbreviations or shorthand to make up for the lost space. It doesn't convey more or make your ad enticing. It looks confusing and unprofessional. Whittling your message down into three lines is tough, but you'll just have to make some choices. You can't abbreviate your way into squeezing more into the ad.

Perfection Required. A typo or two may disappear into a long sales letter, but they will shine like neon in a Adwords ad. Edit and proofread. Then, do it again. Then, do it again. Then, look it over again. You get the idea. There's no room for error.

If you can write a killer headline, avoid shorthand and use impeccable grammar/spelling, you'll be on your way to a great ad.