Pay-per-click search marketing is a critical part of the integrated marketing plans of small businesses and big corporations alike due to the emergence of Google and Yahoo as the preferred source of information by a stereotype customer. Brand marketers, online retailers, trading companies and B-to-B service agencies are only a few of the companies that are recognizing the power of paid placement links in Google, Overture-Yahoo, MSN and others. Shopping search, contextual marketing and paid directory inclusion play a strategic role when implemented with best-in-breed technology and proven strategies.

The astonishingly fast and targeted access to information provided by these search engines, coupled with the pre qualified audience that makes use of it (they searched for it in the first place), make PPC advertising one of the best ROI media available today. And to make optimum use of adspend budget in the long run, this needs to be combined with the other conventional methods of web promotion, including email marketing and natural search engine optimisation.