Getting an ROI through your PPC campaigns

This series is called "Pricing Strategies".  In this series, we will look at different techniques for bidding.  These bidding strategies dictate when you bid, how you bid, and where you bid.  You'll probably find that you already fit into one of the categories, but instead of just staying with what is comfortable, think about your industry, and see if one of the other strategies might help make some extra money!

For the "Always #1" bidding strategy to work, you need to have some cash available.  If you don't, this bidding method isn't for you.

Always #1 works like this.  If you want to be number one and your nearest competitor is bidding near $1.50 then you would bid at least $3 (twice as much as #2).  When you do this, you will almost always guarantee the number one spot for your campaign.

To see this in action try search for these terms, 'Corvette' 'MacBook' or 'Xerox'.  You will notice that they company site is almost always #1.  They always employ the "Always #1" pricing strategy.

This can work for non-trademarked items as well, but it might get expensive.

This is a great bidding strategy if you are new to the market and need to make your presence known right away.  Keep in mind though, if you still need to maintain a positive ROI then you'll need to keep a sharp eye on your stats every day.

If you are #1 for a highly searched for term this could cost you thousands per day, so make sure you have a daily budget set in the beginning!

Is "Always #1" right for you?  Possibly, but that is for you to decide!

If not, check out:

Steady Eddie
Vulture Bidding
The Cheapskate
Always #1
Quick Spender