Pay-Per-Click Advertising: The Importance of the Fold

On a website, the “fold” is the area of screen available to anyone who visits that site without them needing to use the scrollbars. Essentially, “above the fold” is the area that can be seen without using the mouse or the keyboard to navigate through the site – and it usually includes things like the header or the logo. “Below the fold” is the subsequent content, that you need to use the mouse or keyboard to reach. The “fold” appears at different levels depending on screen size, and it’s a surprisingly important aspect of choosing where to locate pay-per-click (better known as PPC) adverts.

Most Internet Marketers who use PPC systems are aware of the importance of the fold, but it isn’t something you want to overlook. While providing good content that people want to read is an essential aspect of internet marketing, that doesn’t mean everyone will read the content when visiting through a search engine results page. Some people will click through a link, having a quick glance around and never bother the scroll down to read the actual content. You can even view how often this is happening with your stat counter, which should display a “time spent on site” for each visitor.

If you rely on PPC methods as part of your monetisation strategy, these visitors are a waste if you only use PPC adverts in the content. To ensure as many people see your adverts as possible, try and have one banner ad in the ‘header’ section of the page, above the fold. That way, even those visitors that only last a couple of seconds will see some of your adverts – and hopefully, will click on them, too.

The Importance of Obeying PPC Terms & Conditions

Pay-per-click (often abbreviated to PPC) is one of the most reliable forms of online income, and a great tool for Internet Marketers to utilise. The most popular PPC method, Google’s Adsense platform, has created a sustainable online income for many a savvy marketer – and other methods have enjoyed similar success.

When you register with any PPC company, you will be required – like with most sign up processes for anything online – to agree to a set of terms and conditions. While most of us will just tick the terms and conditions box and not give it a second thought, it is well worth reading through any PPC terms and conditions. The reason is simple; without knowing what you can and can’t do, you can’t make any money.

Every PPC company is different. Some will allow you to display their adverts on any type of website, while others will not allow their ads to be used on sites that contain references to gambling, the adult industry or any other less than ‘safe’ industry. While you may think it is worth the risk, and you can gain greatly from displaying PPC adverts on such a site, this is not a risk worth taking. In fact, it’s a risk that could cost you a lot of money.

Buried in those terms and conditions will not only be the restrictions for what type of websites the company adverts can be used on, but the penalties for breaking that rule. The penalty is usually swift, absolute and irreversible: closure of your account, with any money in the account becoming forfeit. Don’t risk it; read the T&Cs and stick to them, without exception.

Common PPC Mistakes #10: This Product Is Not Tested – At All

One thing that is now common to all the major search engines is that they will allow you to have multiple ad copies which can have a great deal of individual utility. For example, one copy of your ad can be linked to a different landing page than the other, have different wording within the ad itself, and will have its own statistics as laid out by the provider you use. This makes it possible to test your ads in the early days of a campaign – and to choose whichever ad has given you the best results when making a decision going forward. This kind of live testing can, if used correctly, work very well for you.

If you are clear and certain of the advertisement that you want to use, sure of your landing page and have no alternative wording to play around with, then maybe you shouldn’t bother with testing. But you should give some thought to the matter if there is any doubt in your mind that you are running the right advertisement. Don’t just assume that you’ve got it right first time. Keep an open mind and you can maximize your potential income from PPC sales.

When there is so much data out there that can feed into the best eventual result, it is essential to keep your options open. The last thing you want is to let other people pick up sales you could be getting, so it is worth running two or even three ads simultaneously with subtle differences between them all.