4 Creative Ways to Use Pay Per Click Advertising

Pay per click advertising is a great way to spread your message quickly, but there are those who have taken to this relatively new method of marketing rather atypically.

Landing your ideal job

In mid-2010, New York based copywriter Alec Brownstein wanted out of his current job. His strategy for doing so was quite ingenious. Alec decided to buy the keywords for the names of top Creative Directors (and potential bosses). He relied on the hope that these Creative Directors would perform “ego searches” i.e. Googling their own names, and sure enough they did. Each time they Googled their own name a link to Alec’s portfolio appeared. It worked so well that he landed 4 interviews and was offered 2 positions. The entire strategy cost him $6. Watch the video for more on Alec’s strategy.

Test-Marketing Book Titles

A title can often make or break a book. Author Timothy Ferris discovered a great way to get an accurate assessment of how people would react to his potential book titles. He purchased relevant keywords and tested 6 book titles including Millionaire Chameleon and 4-Hour Workweek. The latter had the highest clickthrough rate, he used it, and wound up with a New York Times Bestseller!

Damage Control

During the disastrous gulf oil spill of last year, BP found themselves in a PR nightmare. To combat negative sentiment the company bought popular keywords and displayed an ad that linked to their Response Page which contained information on how BP is working to clean up the spill.

Finding Love

Just Recently an Arizona man decided to use the precise demographic targeting capabilities of Facebook ads. At 75 cents per click 30 year-old Matt Simpson took out ads searching for a date with local women. So far he has generated thousands of impressions and several “leads.” Compared to the monthly cost of an online dating site, Matt seems to have made a very wise investment.