Getting an ROI through your PPC campaigns

I just received this email from a reader asking, "Can I really make money through PPC?"

I think this is a great question.  It is not only a great question because it relates to PPC, but it is very honest with an easy and complex answer.

This person most likely has ventured into online advertising, but not deep enough to get into PPC.  If that is you, read on.

The easy answer is, "Yes", and very much of it.  The more complex answer can only be determined by knowing your product or service market and demographic.

If, for example, you sell widgets.  In this market you sell widgets to women who ware 60+.

If you can make widgets for $10 (including labor, parts, overhead, offline advertising, etc) and you sell them for $12 then you have a margin of $2 to make a profit.

If you look at Google AdWords and Yahoo! Search Marketing and adCenter and the minimum price per click is $3.00, you have a problem.

In this industry of selling widgets to 60+ women for $12 you can't make a profit with PPC unless you can sell widgets for more than $13, or lower cost to below $9.

So can you make a profit with PPC?  Yes and now!