But with literally hundreds of choices, how do you pick pay- per-click engine with best visibility that has potential of giving you a higher return on your investment?

And, just as important, what are some strategies for working with pay-per-click engines, and how do they operate?

How do Pay-Per-Click Engines Operate?

With pay-per-click engines, you bid on keywords that describe your business, your products, or your target audience. Then, you’re charged your bid price every time someone clicks on your ad, which is displayed when a searcher types in keyword you’ve chosen into search box at an engine. Whoever is willing to pay most for keyword or keyword phrase will be at top of rankings.

There are many benefits to working with pay engines, which we’ll cover in this article.

Important Pay-Per-Click Engines and Directories

Overture: http://www.overture.com

Overture is certainly pay-per-click engine that most people recognize. It’s also one of most expensive and competitive.

However, visibility of Overture is impressive, to say least. It provides top two or three results to “big boy” search engines and directories like Yahoo!, Lycos, HotBot, and MSN Search. In fact, Overture claims to reach 80% of all Internet users.

Overture listings are generally found at top of regular search results in an area called “Sponsored” results or sites.

Overture’s pay-per-clicks operate under one premise: whoever has deepest pockets and is willing to pay most gets on top.

The minimum bid is $.10, and there’s a minimum charge of $20 per month. A $50 initial deposit is non-refundable and will be applied to click throughs or to minimum monthly spend. When your account is depleted, they’ll contact you to see if you want to add additional funds to your budget.

Google AdWords http://www.google.com/ads/

Google AdWords have fast become extremely important in pay- per-click arena, with results being shown at search engines like Google, AOL Search, Ask Jeeves, and Teoma.

Google AdWords operates differently than Overture in a number of ways. Your click-through rate and cost per click together determine where your ads are shown, so better ads rise to top. That means no one can lock you out of top position.

Google AdWords are shown on right-hand side of regular search results in a pink shaded area called “Sponsored Links.”

Because your click through rate has an influence on placement of your AdWords ad, your ad’s title and description must be captivating and designed to pull in traffic.

With Google AdWords, there’s a $5 activation fee, and minimum bid amount is $.05. You decide on maximum cost per click that you’re willing to pay and set your daily budget. You don’t have to spend a certain amount per month, and you only pay for clicks you actually receive.

FindWhat http://www.findwhat.com

Another popular pay-per-click engine that is generally much less expensive than Overture is FindWhat.

With FindWhat, whoever bids most gets on top. The minimum bid is $.05, and they require a $25 minimum amount to open an account.

FindWhat provides results to 200 different partners, including many of big meta engines like Dogpile.

Lycos InSite AdBuyer http://insite.lycos.com/searchservices/adbuyer/overview.asp

A fairly new pay-per-click program that’s displayed on both Lycos and HotBot is Lycos InSite AdBuyer.

Again, it operates similarly to way that Overture and FindWhat operate, with top results being those who bid most for their target keywords.

The minimum bid is $.05 with a $50 minimum to open an account.

LookSmart http://www.looksmart.com

LookSmart is a pay-per-click directory where you pay a flat $.l5 per click through. It claims to reach 77% of Internet users through partners that display LookSmart results.

Some of those partners include MSN Search, About.com, Netscape, and AltaVista.

With LookSmart, you don’t bid for listings. Everyone pays a flat $.15 per click through, and your ranking is determined by how relevant your site is to search term, according to LookSmart’s ranking criteria. To get started with a LookSmart listing, initial investment is $29.

Other Pay-Per-Click Engines http://www.payperclicksearchengines.com/

1. Manage expectations on initial Search Engine placement:

Do NOT tell your prospect that you will get their web site placing in top 10 search results right away. Don't guarantee that you you'll get them thousands of visitors right away. I tell my prospects that I will do my best to position them within top 30 search results initially. As you know, in this business there are no absolute guarantees, but even if you can often position a client within top 10 search results on at least a few of Majors right away, think about what you say before you say it.

People are tired of hearing a lot hype. Many firms make mistake of pedaling a lot of trumped up claims, even before they learn and understand a prospects business. With so many people out there, who will promise world to get a sale, a little realism goes a long way to establishing your credibility. Setting a client's expectations low initially, only enhances effect of achieving a high-ranking result. Why not initially tell your client something that is EASY to believe.

I like to teach client to expect top placement over a period of 3 to 6 months. It's much easier for them to believe and for each time you immediately place within top 10 quickly, client has another exciting surprise! Learn to under promise and really over deliver every time! Focus on educating your clients and teaching them truths that others only gloss over (or are not aware of themselves).

2. Blow away old misconceptions

While some web firms talk about huge volume of "Hits" to their customers sites, I teach my prospects very early, that "hits" are irrelevant. Hits are not best means of determining site activity. A hit is NOT a visitor. A hit can be any action from server. For example a page that displays 1 image, 10 buttons, 1 logo and plays music in background, might generate up to 14 hits for every visitor to site. This is best explained by showing client an activity report and pointing out difference between hits (any action from server) and User Sessions (actual visitors). Eliminating any of common misconceptions about traffic right from start, will serve you well in a marketplace where others are selling nothing more than hype. Set yourself apart from rest. Instead of letting customers believe old ideas, educate them and help your customer to grasp how things work.

3. Teach your client about time required for initial indexing:

I tell my client not to expect much site activity right away. I like to prepare them for time it takes robots to visit their site for first time. Once again, this a great opportunity to set your client's expectation a little lower. If we give them an expectation of waiting approximately 6 weeks after registration, before traffic commences, we know that some search engines will probably begin to visit in 3 to 5 weeks. Indeed a few may occasionally even visit within just 48 hours from time you register. However, creating an expectation of 6 to 8 weeks allows you to out-perform yourself every time. If you really must exaggerate...then under promise and over deliver.

Success Principle: Teach your client's truth and learn to manage your client's expectations. If you deliver above average results and communicate well, you will have a client for a lifetime.

4. Tip on Mass Search Engine Registration: