Google Pay Per Action PPAWell, it has been a couple of weeks since Google’s release of its new pay per action (define) advertising business model and this online marketing blog’s verdict is weighing in.

If you’re an online marketer, you probably are aware of all the content networks available from your favorite search engines like Google, Yahoo, and MSN.  However, expert options vary on the effectiveness of search engine advertising on content sites versus those of search engines.

For myself, since most marketing budgets are limited, I’ve always been a little stand-offish when considering extending my reach on content sites I have no control over.  But Google’s pay per action (PPA) is a totally new realm.  What could be better than only paying for sales or leads?  Exactly!

Unlike regular content network ads, publishers of PPA choose the sites that they whish to promote giving them more control on the advertising they wish to display.  Personally, I like this system because it encourages advertisers to match their advertisements with the content that they endorse.  If it doesn’t work for them, they can always go back to the well and choose others that might be a better fit.

As a publisher, pay-per-action ads are only available through Google’s referral network, which at the time of this writing is typically only given to publishers with an upgraded account.  If you already have an Adsense account and are unsure if you are able to display PPA ads, just look to see what kind of referral products you can display.  If they are all Google products and services like Google apps, Firefox, etc, then your account has not been upgraded yet.

Once upgraded, you can view advertisers by product and service categories or do a search to pinpoint your industry.  Choosing advertisers is as easy as looking at who much they are will to pay, adding them to cart, and making sure that their creative will fit in your chosen ad units.  Most of which that I have seen are text ad advertisers but advertisers are allowed to display image ads and text links.

As an advertiser wishing to take part in Google’s new PPA, you must have a Google Adwords account that has access or request an invitation to participate in the program.  If your familiar with the whole adwords system, set-up should be a piece of cake.  However one interesting thing to note when your setting up your account is that you have two main objectives to keep in mind.  First, you need to fill out your company’s details very carefully because this is the information that other publishers will use to find you in Google’s system.  Make sure that you use keyword rich copy in your company’s title, description, and use keywords (up to 50).  It is also recommended that you use your company logo.

Secondly, your advertising creative is what other advertisers will use to judge your ads besides how much you are willing to pay.  I recommend that you have one creative for every ad unit size: banner, leaderboard, square, small square, large rectangle, inline rectangle, skyscraper, and wide skyscraper.  And don’t forget to add a “text ad” unit as well because not every advertiser wants to display image ads.  Google also recommends that ads should be written with more “action friendly” keywords such as buy, order, purchase, etc. and to also use your product name in the title.

Ensure that your conversion tracking is set-up properly, for this is how Google knows if a sale occurred and how to charge accordingly.  Additionally, if you use more than one conversion tracking code in an account, make sure you link the right one with your PPA ads.

PPA bids and budget as always are left up to the advertiser.  Setting your PPA bid high will certainly attract more publishers but may not be best for your ROI goals.  I recommend reviewing your current CPA goals and slightly low balling your estimate. Or if you're lucky enough to have an upgraded Adsense account, you could simply check on some of your competitors and see what they are willing to pay.  Your budget on the other hand wont influence your PPA bids, but it will influence how frequently Google will show your ads and potentially how many clicked you receive.  Remember that Google wants to maximize its revenue, so if you set your budget to low, other advertisers will get the higher hand.

Lastly, test, test, test!  As an advertiser or a publisher, its unlikely that you will have perfect results out of the gate.  Testing multiple ads units, CPA bids, ad placement, and other variables will give you a better idea as to how your advertising is working.  With a little luck, we may be able to break the search engine content network barrier!