• by Jeremy Chrysler , December 8, 2008

New pricing models and platforms are opening the eyes--and budgets--of PPC advertisers looking beyond Google for traffic, responses and sales, no buts about it.

Although alternatives to Google AdWords abound, many advertisers have difficulty getting past the "buts" attached to each of them.

The other major engines, for example--Yahoo Search Marketing, MSN Ad Center and Ask Sponsored Listings--offer lower prices, less competition and personalized account service. BUT they often suffer from less intuitive interfaces and lower traffic, both in terms of quantity and quality. The same argument also applies to any of the second- and third-tier search engines.

Content networks like AdBrite and Quigo give you the advantage of placing your ads in related text, taking you beyond keyword searching into contextual advertising. BUT you have less control than you do when buying keywords, and your exposure to click fraud is greater.

Vertical search engines--like GlobalSpec and Business.com--give you highly targeted, well-qualified audiences, BUT they offer limited keyword choices and effectiveness, as well as much lower volume than the big search engines.

Local search, social networks and mobile all offer PPC advertisers promising ways to successfully engage with qualified buyers, BUT they are relatively new and largely untested.

So how do you get past the many "buts" that prevent you from executing a Google-only PPC strategy?

New tools for both advertisers and publishers are leveling the PPC field and giving advertisers the confidence they need to add non-Google media choices to their PPC programs. Dynamic pricing models are emerging, for example--based on click-conversion scores and real-time click-fraud prevention--to provide advertisers with an open, quality controlled PPC marketplace. Advertisers can also syndicate their PPC buys via networks that offer placement on search engines, shopping comparison sites, and other partner sites and networks. ValidClick AdExchange provides an example of these pricing and syndication solutions.

On the other side of the equation, publishers are competing more effectively by using new PPC platform technologies that enable them to offer advertisers click-fraud protection, dynamic pricing, and easy set-up and administration, while enabling the publishers to earn higher commissions, gain access to an expanded universe of advertisers and take advantage of new syndication opportunities.

Apart from considering the new tools and technologies, advertisers evaluating non-Google media for PPC placements should define clear objectives in terms of budget, audience and desired click-through rates. This exercise will likely lead some marketers to move even more budget dollars into paid search from other parts of their ad spend, and as paid search budgets expand, advertisers should negotiate with their agencies or media-buying services to cap their commissions and technology fees. This can help protect an advertiser's bottom line, while still providing fair compensation to service providers.

You now have the tools, technologies and strategies to experience the PPC world beyond AdWords. BUT you won't know for sure until you give those non-Google media a try.