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Affiliate marketers often hear of how much money a competitor is making from PPC.

However, done the wrong way, PPC can chew up all your available budget in a day. Done right, you really can profit, and profit big over the long haul, from PPC advertising.

PPC (Pay Per Click) is familiar to everyone now. It’s nothing more than those small text ads on the right that you see on Google or Yahoo when you search for something online.

The hope (validated every day) is that someone will click on an ad rather than, or along with, one of the organic results.

The sad fact is, though, that unlike a newspaper, you can pay, but you are not guaranteed placement. Ads can slip off to a later page or off the search site entirely.

Paradoxically, some marketers find that one the best ways to maximize their PCC dollars is not to aim at a sale at all. Instead, they aim at generating a relationship.

Here are four ways you can encourage your visitors to come back to your site:

#1 – Aim at Creating Relationships, Not One-Time Buyers

A person who clicks on your ad is, almost by definition, a good prospect. They are looking for something they think you are selling, as evidenced by your ad.

Suppose they do click and you hit them right away with sales copy and a picture of the item with its price prominently displayed. Great! You have made the product they seek easy to buy and they can make an immediate buying decision.

Now, what happens if you don’t have exactly what they are looking for at the price you’re offering? They will probably look elsewhere. You have just blown your one chance to make that sale. The money you paid to place that ad is wasted.

Yet by including an opt-in box on your site, you might very well capture that visitor’s name and email.  You can then build a relationship through follow up offers.

#2 – Product Reviews

When you shop for an HDTV, you want to know all about the product, not just its price next to a photo. You want to know the screen size, the resolution, and much more that will help you decide if that price is too much or just right. And you probably want a comparison between that product and those of its competitors.

Well-written product reviews provide visitors with that crucial information. The same ideas apply no matter what product is for sale.

Instead of making a sales pitch right away, think about providing more valuable information. People will be more likely to return to your site for that product and others in the same category.

#3 – Testimonials

Believable testimonials offer another way to provide great content for visitors who arrive from a PPC ad click. They’re expecting to be hit with a blatant sales pitch and instead you lay it in more subtly. Offer them trustworthy opinions on the product or service.

If you are selling an ebook, for example, both these methods work well. Unless you are a recognized author with a track record, you need others to brag about the benefits of your book. When lots of ordinary people say they bought it and are happy they did, you are one leg up on the competition. If a “big name” does so, you’re two steps ahead.

#4 – Get Opt-In Subscribers

Opt-in is a stellar way to profit from the majority of PPC ad clicks. Many people who click a PPC ad are just like you. They are not buying, per se; they are shopping.

The more regular subscribers you have, the more chances you have to put your pitch in front of them. A PPC ad click represents one chance to make a sale.

The way many affiliate marketers use it, a PPC ad provides a searcher with a way to purchase one product.

But by establishing an ongoing relationship, complete with integrating some of the above tips, you have many more opportunities to sell not just one product or service, but many: a subset of all searchers — those who are interested in what you offer. They are predisposed to buy your product.

By offering them information and establishing a long-term relationship, you turn a possible one-time buyer into a probable ongoing customer.

Following these ideas will result in more sales over the long run, and not very long at that. At the same time, you will stretch and multiply your PPC budget dollars. That’s something we could all be happy about.

NOTE: For more information on mastering the power of PPC and maximizing your ROI, visit ppcclassroom.com!