Adwords Isn’t the Only PPC Game in Town

Any time someone says “pay per click”, people start thinking about Google’s Adwords program–and for good reason.  In the world of PPC, nothing matches Adwords both in terms of reach and relevant analysis.

Adwords is the undisputed king of the pay per click world, but it isn’t the only option at your disposal.  There are other PPC networks you can use to drive traffic to your sites.  They may not be as big (or as flexible) as Adwords, but they can get you visitors and, in many cases, you’ll pay less per click than you would if you bought your visitors from the Big G.

Here are five other pay per click networks you may want to consider.  You don’t need to use them instead of Adwords, you can use them in conjunction with the top system.

Yahoo and MSN.  Google’s way out in first place, but Yahoo and MSN are still on the track.  They both have their own PPC programs.  Some people find these options to be cheaper than Adwords because neither makes use of landing page quality score when determining necessary keyword bid levels.

Ask.com.  Ask.com is still alive and kicking.  So is its sponsored listings program.  Ask.com has a minimum bid value of $.05 and you’d be surprised how many decent keywords for which you can get a #1 or #2 slot in exchange for a nickel.

Bidvertiser.  Bidvertiser’s ads look a lot like Google’s.  Their network isn’t massive and unlike the first few options on our list, the ads are served up exclusively on publisher sites and not as an ancillary to search results.  Clicks are cheap.

Adbrite.  Adbrite claims to have over 90,000 sites in its network.  They seem to be putting a new emphasis on providing quality tracking information and targeting resources lately.

Adwords may be the best PPC game in town, but it isn’t the only one.  If you’re relying on PPC traffic, you may want to experiment with one or more of these options.  You might find that you can keep your traffic levels high while spending a little less.