These trends will continue. And many have been aware of this for years. My own site provides a good example of results.

A Question Overlooked

A fellow called a while back asking about services I offer. When he asked how my web pages ranked on search engines, I said I didn't know, that I had never checked. I guess that wasn't what he wanted to hear, for he hung up.

But it is fact. Why would I care what positions I have? My log files show I'm getting less than 20% of hits from search engines. Given competition for keyword phrases such as "site promotion," it is no surprise I don't get more.

Answering The Question

Still, call triggered action of sorts. I ran Web Position on my major keywords. The results were startling.

I asked program to go 99 listings deep. It found only 4 pages of over 700 on my site listed for keywords entered, and none at all above 50th position. So how am I'm getting hits?

The Mystery Of Search Engines Unanswered

All above report means is that I am not getting many hits on keywords I felt were appropriated for a particular page. For example, site promotion brought up my Tips page as #86 at AltaVista. And this in itself is startling, for page changes every week! (It's also entirely in size 1, something some experts believe AltaVista considers spam.)

Web Editorial Service was #73 at Lyris, but page is not an article I wrote. Web Site Promotion Services was #52 at Google. Site Promotion Services was #6 at Overture.com, but I paid for this position.

In opening STAT, I followed advice that proved to be bad info. I developed a massive set of targeted keywords for site. Most of terms I began with have disappeared since exploring with them. And with but few exceptions, I now have only clues as to keywords on a given page that actually bring a visitor.

Google's Pricing Model

Google charges you on a CPC ("Cost per Click") basis - you only pay for each clickthrough to your web site from Google's, no more no less. You don't pay for "impressions" (number of times someone views your add) like many first generation Internet advertising models - it's truly a results driven marketing process.

Keywords costs can vary tremendously ranging from $.05 to $11. USD or more per keyword - Google assigns a "minimum cost per click" for specific keywords based on "market value" and "performance history" via Google's AdWords Select program history. Be prepared to pay a much higher rate for very popular keywords and this is a moving target all of time - more popular this program becomes more you will be forced to pay for selected popular keywords.

Creating your Sponsorship Ad

Your Ad's position is based on a combination of CPC ("Cost per Click") you selected and relevancy of your ad - if your ad and keywords are relevant and drive clickthroughs, then your ad will rise in position on sponsored column versus your competitors. This is an innovative feature and helps to distinguish Google's program from all other PPC ("Pay per Click") campaigns (Overture and their primary competitors) - most of these programs have an "economic bias" built into them; i.e. whoever pays highest fees gets top placement.

Dynamic Ad Placement

Google's unique AdWords Discounter keeps track of your costs per click versus your competitors. You select maximum amount you want to pay for your keywords and ranking algorithm keeps track of your keyword costs, ensuring you only pay one cent above CPC ("Cost per Click") cost you specified when you setup campaign versus your competitors.

Setup Process - Sponsored Link Ad and Keywords