Google AdWords (http://adwords.google.com/), Yahoo Search Marketing (http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/) and MSN adCenter (https://adcenter.microsoft.com/) are the main three programmes affiliated with the search engines. All programs work in fundamentally the same way. You choose a keyword (or keywords) and set a price you are prepared to pay per click when a user searches using that keyword they get the usual search results and are also presented with your ad at the same time. Pretty simple. If they click on it you are charged a price (up to the limit you set? the way the system works out how to charge you can be based on many factors but you won’t pay more than your limit).

Before starting work on PPC here are a few tips to remember.

• Start with a low bid (price per click) amount and work up once you have got a good campaign running and you know how much you can afford.
• Use the tools available to you in the admin areas, especially the keyword suggestion tools, these will help you find more keywords you haven't thought of but that are applicable.
• Don't forget common spelling mistakes of words and product names, you can get the edge on your competitors here as people will quite often misspell words.
• Use your search keywords in the text of your ads because they are quite often made? Bold? To stand out this will draw attention to your ads. For example if you are selling teapots you want your ad to be shown when the user searches for? Teapot? If you include the word? Teapot? In your ad it will be shown in a bold typeface? Teapots for sale?
• Use the conversion tracking where available, it gives you extra information on what results your ads are generating. It can tell you what keywords are resulting in sales and can help you target accordingly.