Pay-For-Placement Questionnaire

The nature of Pay-For-Placement advertising necessitates a very different set of questions from Fixed Placement. Most of this information can be found on each PFP web site. If you call the sales departments of these search engines you'll probably be referred to their web site. It's a good idea to start there, and if you can't find all of the information you need, by all means give them a call.

1. What is the name of the program (if applicable )?

2. How many search results distribution partners do you have?

3. Who are your major distribution partners (search engines first, then content sites)?

4. Which positions must advertisers secure to appear on your major partner sites?

5. What's the minimum amount required to open an account?

6. What's the minimum and maximum per-click bid?

7. Is there a monthly spending minimum?

8. How many days does approval of new campaigns and new listings take?

9. At what spending level is monthly invoicing possible?

10. Who are your approved bid management tool vendors ?

11. Are bid gaps automatically adjusted?

12. How many times per day can bids be changed?

13. How many different ad listings can run per keyword? How are these served ?

14. Are single and plural forms of a word one or two media buys?

15. Do you offer a free or fee-based ROI tracking system?

16. Does your system penalize listings for falling below a specified click rate? If so, describe.

Obviously, fees are net, and there is no agency commission given. An outside firm that manages your campaign may charge a flat monthly fee, an hourly rate, or a percentage of the media buy. If you use affiliates to run your search engine marketing for you, you'll only have to pay a cost-per-acquisition rate. But affiliates represent an interesting dilemma that poses a threat to your profit margins. This quandary is addressed in Part VI.