A pay per click (PPC) advertising campaign creates the instant exposure that an organic search engine optimisation (SEO) cannot. A PPC service set ups and maintains an effective, reasonably priced paid search advertising campaign to gather exposure and increase conversions of online retailers, websites and blogs. A conversion refers to the behaviour of a visitor matching the goals of the campaign - i.e. the visitor may register with a website, purchase a product or request a service.

The first step in the Pay-per-click process is to make sure the campaign is not hurried or disorderly at the set-up. Ensure that a novice is not handling a PPC campaign for Google or Yahoo! The AdWords program for Google made the company $16.4 (£ 11) billion in 2007, and with bidding on some keywords higher than £20 per click makes this no child's play.

Here are the essential guidelines for setting pay per click advertising campaigns to ensure smooth sailing from the start.

Ad Copywriting

Finding the right advertisement is a key element for promotion of your product or service in addition to correctly targeting your consumer group. Testing the copy ensures that only the most effective ads are used, maximising the return on investment (ROI).

Keyword selection

Selecting and then testing keywords is an integral part of setting up a PPC ad campaign. When the right set of words are identified, quickly move to group them to make the campaign effective as a whole.

Smart keyword bidding

Bids are truly tricky sales mechanisms. After spending time and effort identifying keywords, making a final bid for these keywords can be difficult especially with the fierce competition across the globe. Experience allows PPC firms to know when to hold back and when to be aggressive with bids on keywords.

Landing page specification

When the potential customer arrives at your site, the landing page is their first experience and should remain unforgettable. Optimisation of the landing page must be a careful exercise in good web design and good marketing.

Set clear targets

This oft-repeated line cannot be more important. Carefully budgeting for your paid search advertising is necessary, since every keyword costs. A good financial plan can ensure that tweaks and fixes can be made without worry if certain ads fails, ROI is low or conversion rates are down.