Foreword

Advertisers pay millions to put their messages out on the traditional broadcast systems of television, radio, and print. These systems let advertisers reach a wide audience. The drawback, aside from the expense, is inevitably the message reaches a large number of consumers who simply aren't interested.

Search engines are also a form of broadcast, but a unique system where the normal rules are flipped around. Instead of advertisers broadcasting their messages to consumers, the "reverse broadcast network" of search engines lets millions of consumers each day tell advertisers exactly what they want. These consumers needn't be convinced to buy a particular product, such as a new car, DVD player, or washing machine. They're already in "buy mode." When they search, they're looking for someone who stands ready to fulfill their needs. As an advertiser, you simply need to know how to tune into this consumer desire . This great new book from Catherine Seda shows you how.

Catherine is a veteran of the search engine advertising industry. She spoke at our very first Search Engine Strategies Conference back in 1999 and has been coming back to educate attendees ever since. In 1999, Google had yet to become a household word, and search engine advertising was still in its infancy. Paid methods of getting top placement directly from search engines were few. But where they existed, Catherine uncovered them and got her clients successfully involved.

Search engine advertising has greatly progressed since those early days, and the wealth of information Catherine's compiled in this book is remarkable . You'll learn how to get started with search engine advertising at a very basic level, yet you'll find a full education about advanced issues available to those who want them. If you progress to a major campaign, you'll appreciate topics such as monitoring click fraud and the use of trademarks in ads.

Though search engines are a broadcast network, they don't require millions of dollars to get started. Any business can be found for a budget that involves only tens of dollars. You'll learn quickly just how powerful search engines can be, if your experience is like that of the many other advertisers who are spending enough to make search engine advertising into a multi-billion dollar industry.

So enjoy the book, then dive in and get started with search engine advertising! No other advertising medium provides such immediate, measurable results. Once you try search engine advertising, you'll wonder why it took you so long to discover it ‚ and you'll hope your competitors never find out.

‚ Danny ‚  Sullivan, ‚  Editor
SearchEngineWatch.com