Pay Less Per Click, But Rank Higher

Yes, you can do this.

First, and most importantly, you must understand how your ad gets to the top of the ad rankings on Google…

Instead of simply being based on how much you pay, it is based on a combination of your clickthrough rate (or how popular your ad is) and the amount you're willing to pay for each click.

Your competitor may pay more per click, but you can actually pay less and still outrank them by getting a higher clickthrough rate (CTR).

For example, let's assume your competitor has 1.0% CTR (their ad is clicked on once in 100 searches) and they're paying .49 cents a click for that keyword…

Now you may be only bidding .25 cents on the same keyword, but you have a 4.5% CTR. Well, you will likely rank higher and do so for a much more profitable price!

How cool is that?

This means if you want to succeed on more competitive terms, then you must tweak you ad until your CTR is above your competitors.

It's as simple as that.

Since your ads appear on Google almost instantly (you can also display ads on their search network and/or content network), you should monitor your campaigns throughout the day and fine tune as needed.

You also have the option of turning off search network and content network sites in Edit Campaign Settings to see if you are able to close more sales and increase your CTR. This is often the case, but you need to test this yourself to find out.

Remember, you must maintain a minimum CTR of .5% with Google’s entire network. If you fall below this for a keyword after 1,000 views by searchers, then the keyword will be disabled.

When this happens, and it probably will, don’t get discouraged. Be thankful.

These keywords often are not profitable in the first place, since they are not being searched by somebody interested in what you have to offer.