Start with the big guys

No matter how small your business, you can get your ads placed on the biggest search engines, Google, Yahoo!, MSN and Ask.com. Each will walk you through a simple sign-up process, starting with a few keywords that are relevant to your Web site. You can use their keyword suggestion tools (free!) to expand your keyword list.

I recommend: Sign up for self-service accounts at Google AdWords, Yahoo Sponsored Search, MSN AdCenter and Ask.com Sponsored Listings.For more targeted ad campaigns, try specialist search engines like Business.com for business-to-business marketing or Citysearch for local listings.

Pay only what you want

Enter the max cost per click (CPC) you are willing to pay for clicks to your Web site. You will never be charged more… and often less. Average CPCs hover around $0.50, and minimums are set at $0.01 for Google, but each keyword is different.You can also enter your maximum budget, so the search engine will never charge you more than you have set aside for your SEM campaign. Both of these can be changed anytime by logging into your account. You'll pay on the search-engine site by credit card.

I recommend: To get a feel for costs, try Google's keyword cost tool.

Create a targeted ad message

Creating an ad is easy, too. Simply tell the user what they will find on your Web site. Browse other ads appearing for your keywords to gather examples. Ad copy is typically very short, normally only 70 characters in length.(That last sentence is exactly 70, without the period.) You can have multiple versions of your ad and can change the ads any time, so feel free to experiment with your message.

I recommend: Follow these writing tips to create an ad that gets clicks.

Keep it profitable

Tracking SEM activity is easy and one of the reasons it is so popular. Google offers in-house tracking tools to help you. They will provide you with a small HTML string to add to your Web site.When you log into Google you can not only see your ad costs, but also the revenue generated and even the number of pages the users viewed. Most of the engines offer similar services, and these tracking tools are all free.

I recommend: Yahoo!'s marketing tools let you view your results through many parameters and adjust your bids automatically.

If you're too busy to do it yourself…

Each of the engines has an easy-to-use interfaces to help you manage your campaign as often as you'd like from any computer. But if you're too busy to manage the campaign yourself, there are many, many, agencies that will run your campaign for you for a fee.

I recommend: Get proposals for your search-engine marketing business from member agencies of the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO).

Keep up with the search-engine world

The search marketplace is a moving target.If you're going to be a player, better keep up with the latest tactics.

I recommend: Keep up through Search Engine Watch, John Battelle's Searchblog, Inside AdWords, and SEMPO.