Paid Inclusion and Placement

Paid placement is the listing in search engine results where advertisers pay for a guaranteed high ranking, usually dependent on specified keywords being used in a search. These listings are usually segregated from editorial results and labelled to indicate that they are ads. Also known as pay for placement, pay for performance or Pay Per Click listings (PPC). The last two terms refer to the usual method of payment, which is based on the number of times the link is selected by a user.

It is the process of paying for inclusion in a search engine or directory, paying for a link to be included on a search results page, usually at the top or on the right side of the regular search results set. This section will typically be labelled as sponsor results when a person, organisation, company etc, pays money to have its web site appear higher in a list of search results. Paid Placement is basically a term for online search advertising in which an advertiser's rank in the sponsored links is generally determined by how much it pays. Many search engines use this model. Paid Placement is a type of advertising programme where listings are guaranteed to appear in a search engine's index in response to a particular search term, with a higher ranking typically obtained by paying more than other advertisers.

In Paid Placement websites can purchase either a top rank or prominent listing for particular search terms. The listing may or may not be identified as a paid advertisement. Some search engines and directories charge a flat fee while some use a Pay Per Click system. There has been a lot of confusion over distinguishing between the different types of paid search services like paid submission, Pay For Inclusion (PFI) and Paid Placement or Pay For Placement (PFP). There is some clarity with what each these terms really mean, as they are defined and practiced by the search services themselves.

Paid Placement is the guaranteed ranking of search listings for the terms of your choice. Paid Placement is also known as Paid Listings and Sponsored Listings. Some renowned search engines that offer these services are Overture, Google AdWords, FindWhat.com, Espotting.com, About.com's, Sprinks, Kanoodle, and many other smaller venues. On the other hand LookSmart is an example of a Pay Per Click directory.

Basically, bid is a price on terms someone wishes to bid for, with actual placement based on either a fixed price or an amount (maximum) willing to pay, compared with other bidders' offered prices for those same terms. Payment is on a Pay Per Click basis. Placement in the search results resides on how much you pay or are willing to pay will determine where you rank. But there is no guarantee for clicks, conversions and relevancy of top-listed sites.

The advantage of Paid Placement is self-service account management options based on pre-established budgets and top listings also appear prominently on partner search services. There are some disadvantages that it can be very expensive to maintain advertised listings on a search engine and may be treated with less relevancy than its editorial listings and complete removal from listings once budget limit is met. There is only one ranking criteria which is how much you are willing to spend?