2.07 Paying for it

You can't, at the moment, directly improve your search engine ranking by waving your credit card around. Any search engine trying this would soon found their reputation plummeting. There are, however, several ways you could spread your marketing budget around online.

Global
None of the options we list here are ideal for marketing UK veterinary practices. The various approaches are designed for web sites with a global, or at least national, client base. The area served by most practices is much smaller. Most options are the equivalent of a small animal practice advertising its services on national television.

PFI - Pay for inclusion
Some search engines will fast track a review of your site in order to get it indexed more quickly. This doesn't generally guarantee inclusion, just that someone will look at your site within a day or two. The sites that offer this service know that, if they only show sites that have paid for inclusion, they will lose credibility so they also provide free listings. It just takes more time. It is unlikely that paying for inclusion will prove cost effective for a practice web site.

PFP – Pay for placement
Several search engines accept payment to place an additional "sponsored link" above the normal search results. You select which search phrases you want to target and, when someone searches using those words your link is prominently displayed – and your account is charged a few pence. If someone clicks on your link a further charge may be added. Paying for placement is valid for highly competitive search terms where a large number of web sites are trying to capture traffic. In the main, the kind of keywords that someone would use when looking, specifically, for your practice should be easily optimised within your web site so that you appear in the top few links anyway.

Agency banners
Banners are the rectangular ads you see all over the internet. They are unpopular with users because too many examples use garish colours and distracting flashing effects in order to encourage people to click on them. Software is available to prevent at least some being displayed. Banner advertising is generally arranged through an agents and can leave you with little control over where your banner is displayed or what other content the link to your site is alongside. There is usually a set up fee then a PPV and/or PPC charging model. Banners, in their usual manifestation, are unsuitable to promote a practice site.

Individual banners
You may be able to place individual banners on suitable sites through direct negotiation with its owners.

PPC – Pay per click
Each time someone clicks on a paid link or banner you get charged – anything from pence to pounds.

PPV – Pay per view
Each time your paid link or banner is presented to a viewer you get charged – though generally a bit less than for a PPC

PopUps
With similar set up and running costs as banners, these open the link to your site in a new browser window. They annoy lots of web users and there are lots of software packages available to hide them or prevent them being displayed.

AdWords
This is Google's advertising program. You “bid” for specific keyword combinations. When a web page containing those words is viewed, if the web master of the site has set the page up to present AdWords, then a link to your site appears on that page. If someone clicks on your link then you get charged a fee.

Selecting an ad campaign
None of these options are likely to provide your site with much useful traffic – but could give your credit card a good toasting. AdWords may be viable if you have sites serving your local area that carry AdWords and you carefully select your keywords to appear on that site.

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