.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 12px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 12px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 12px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} tr.d0 td { background-color: #ccccff; color: black; }
Google ad words, search engine optimization or SEO, sponsored links. What does it all mean?

In the broadest terms, here’s the scoop. For mere pennies, you can get in front of your potential customers based on how they use search engines. How? You “buy” certain key words from a search engine like Google or Yahoo. When those key words are typed in, depending on what you are willing to pay per instance, a link to your Web site appears as a sponsored link or in a higher position in the regular listings.

Sounds great, eh? It sure can be. But it can also be an expensive experiment gone bad. Here are some things to keep in mind.

• Be specific. If you choose a generic word or term – like “health insurance” – you could be paying a ton of money for clicks that are completely irrelevant to your business.

• Keep modifying. You will get statistics that show which words or word combinations are working. Experiment with different combinations or synonyms for critical words.

• Listen. When you talk to your customers, pay attention to how they talk. Do they call it financial aid? Student loans? College loans? Use their language. They search the same way they talk.

There are very few truly trackable marketing techniques. Search listings can be a powerful and inexpensive tool to drive customers right to your door.

The best part? You don’t have to be a huge player to make listings work for you. With a little bit of forethought, big or small, local or national, you can attract just the right customers at just the right time – when they are already looking for information about what you sell.

Drew McLellan is Top Dog at McLellan Marketing Group and blogs at www.drewsmarketingminute.com. He can be reached at Drew@MclellanMarketing.com. © 2007 Drew McLellan