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I recently did a Pay Per Click (PPC) study where I compared two different Adwords ads to see where I could get the highest Click Through Rate (CTR). Not surprisingly, the ad where I bid on the actual product name was the winner!

Four techniques can be used to help people using PPC advertising increase the CTR.

First, try to use a name as close to the name of the actual product as the seller permits. Frequently, you will not be allowed to use the company's brand name when you are using PPC. Despite this, you may still be able to place a bid on the product's name.

Use whatever keyword tool you have at your disposal to make sure people are actually searching for the keyword. For example: Your merchants name could be WidgetMaker, with a bestwidget product. When you do PPC keyword research, you may find that there are very few people searching for that particular keyword because not many people have heard of the bestwidget. In this case, it will not do a bit of good to set up a campaign for the bestwidget. PPC is only profitable if people are actually searching for the item you have for sale.

Creating several different Ad Groups will yield the greatest CTR. Using Adwords, organize 'Campaigns,' and then develop 'Ad Groups.' The name you choose to select for your campaigns is not particularly relevant. This category is useful mainly for the purpose of organizing data. In comparison, the structure of your Ad Groups is highly relevant to your success! Target highly specific keywords and use closely related phrases. Ensure that each of the ads in every group target a location on the website that is optimally designed to feature that keyword.

For example: I have a Gardening site at www.squarefootgardening.com. It has a lot of information on Square Foot Gardening, Container Gardening, and Landscaping. For this site, my Adwords Campaign name is Gardening.

This is subdivided into three unique ad groups, each focusing specifically on the three individual areas of interest. Only the keywords specifically pertinent to container gardening are contained in the Container Gardening ad group. The advertisements that are in this section direct shoppers toward the specific area on that site that focuses directly on container gardening.

I also make sure my web-page is highly optimized for one or two specific keywords that I'm bidding on in the ad group. This method gets a much higher CTR than when I was just starting out, and lumped everything into one Ad Group.

Despite the fact that more time is required to develop unique ad groups, it costs less because I receive a higher CTR.

Experiment with various keywords and related phrases until you have achieved the greatest possible CTR. People familiar with the Adwords System are aware that advertisers who receive the highest CTRs pay the least amount for each click. Use the following basic structure to design each ad:

(1) Try to use the keyword in the ad's headline. (2) Offer the searchers some benefit on the first description line. This technique assures them that they will find the desired information at your site. To illustrate using the gardening example, use the description 'Learn how to Garden in Small Spaces.' (3) Use capital letters to highlight the first letter of each important word, as I have shown in Tip #2. (4) Finally, tell them what benefit they receive from actually visiting your website. Provide them with a specific feature of the site. Some possibilities include free eBooks, or possibly even unique information or special trial offers.

Now that you've got your ads set up properly, what will the visitor see when they click on your ad and get to your site? What they should see is very precise, pre-sales information that will make them want to click again - to the Merchants site.

Evelyn Grazini has been an Affiliate Marketer for over five years. Her specialty is finding Exclusive Niche Markets for Profitable Affiliate Ventures. Find Niche Marketing information at: http://www.bestaffiliateniche.com and Get Your Free Copy of The Niche Code!