Thursday, July 8, 2010
Business
401 S. Main St., Stillwater
&finance 1405"372"1647' 800-678,200]
Fax 405-372.7752
1d/hat is Pay Per Click Advertising?
Many businesses are look-
ing for ways to increase their
customer base or to increase
traffic to their websites. Pay
per click may be one option
you may choose "jewelry"
as your keyword. When-
ever anyone uses Google to
search for "jewelry," your ad
will pop up on the right of
By Dr. Suzette Barta
for doing this. The general
idea is that the business gets
their ad placed on a site and
then must pay a fiat fee
every time the ad is clicked.
Google and Yahoo search
engines both have pay per
click ad options and so does
Facebook. A wonderful fea-
ture of these forms of adver-
tising is that the business can
choose how muchit wants to
pay per day. Once that limit
has been reached, the ad is
removed. Thus there are no
surprises in terms of daily
advertising costs.
Google's pay per click
option is called Adwords.
Go to www.adwords.com
to learn more or to sign
up. With Google Adwords,
you pay for keywords. For
example, ff you sell jewelry,
the screen under the head-
ing of "Sponsored Links."
If someone clicks on your
ad, you will have to pay the
predetermined amount for
that click.
How much will you
have to pay per click? The
answer is that it depends. In
the example above, because
"jewelry" is a highly
searched-for word, the cost
of using it as your keyword
is going to be relatively
high. The more specific you
get with your keywords,
the less likely they are to
be searched and the less
expensive they will be. For
example, "Native American
turquoise jewelry" is a much
more specific keywordl
To get an idea of what your
cost per click (CPC) will be,
Google the term "Google
Adwords Keyword Tool,"
and use this tool to check
your keyword. The keyword
tool reveals that "Native
American turquoise" will
cost $0.97 per click, while
"sell jewelry" will cost $2.13
per click. Even though fewer
people will be searching for
specific keyword "Native
American turquoise," those
that are will most likely be
"better" visitors, since they
are already pre-inclined to
shop for your specific item.
Yahoo Search Marketing
works very similar to Google
Adwords. Learn more about
Yahoo's advertising options
at www.advertising.yahoo.c
om. Yahoo even offers a free
webinar for people interested
in learning more about this
form of advertising.
Facebook also has its
own form of pay per click
advertising. With Face-
book advertising, you are
able to filter your target
audience so that your ad
only appears on Facebook
pages that meet your cri-
teria. For example, if you
want to target, young mar-
ried families in Oklahoma,
Facebook allows you to do
that To get your ad placed,
however, you will have to go
through a bidding process
to determine your cost per
click. Once your CPC has
been determined, you can
set your daily budget. Once
your daily budgeted amount
has been reached, your ad
will cease to appear. The
minimum daily amount is
$1.00. To learn more about
Facebook advertising, go
to www.facebook.com/
advertising.
When it comes m driving
traffic to your website, it's
important to try new meth-
ods like pay per click
advertising. Even so, no
advertising method should
be followed blindly. All
three companies discussed
in this article offer analytical
tools to help you learn more
about your website traffic.
Careful review of these data
know if you don't give it
atry.
Dr. Suzene Barta is
an Extension Educator,
Community and Economic
Development, with Payne
County OSU Extension. She
is also an active member o)
the Perkins Community
Chamber of Commerce and
the Greater Perkins Area
Economic Development
Authority. To contact her
can help you determine if regarding the content of this
your ad is working or if or other articles, e-mail her
it isn't. But...you'll never at sbarta@provalue.net.
New Credit Card Rules and What They Mean to You
Did you know that there are
new roles governing the fees
and penalties that credit card
companies can charge you?
The provisions in the Credit
Card Accountability Responsi-
bility and Disclosure (CARD)
Act of 2009 should save con-
sumers at least $10 billion a
year, according to the Pew
Foundation. The Oklahoma
Society of Certified Public
Accountants explains why
the changes are important, and
offers some advice on dealing
with credit cards.
A Response to Consumer
Concerns
In recent years, many con-
sumers have complained that
it has become more difficult
to understand how credit card
deals work, since companies
sometimes seemed to raise
their rates without notice or
imposed surprise fees on bills
paid even a few hours late.
Consumers felt the contract
terms were often not satis-
factorily explained or were
difficult to understand.
New Disclosures
The new roles are intended to
change all that. For example,
with some exceptions, the
terms that you agree to when
you sign up for a card must
stay in place for at least one
year, and even promotional
rates for new account hold-
ers must last a minimum of
six months. Once the credit
card company raises rates, it
can only apply them to new
charges for cardholders in
good standing. Rates cannot
be applied retroactively to
existing balances. And your
payments must be applied to
your highest interest-rate bal-
ances first. In addition, pay-
ment due dates must be clearly
indicated and consistent from
month to month, and the bill
must be sent at least 21 days
before the payment deadlines.
Consumers will be told when
they're about to exceed their
credit limit, enabling them to
avoid over-limit fees.
Knowing Where You
Stand
It should also be some-
what easier to understand
your credit situation. Your
monthly statement will now
include information on how
long it will take you to pay
off your outstanding balance
if you pay only the minimum
due or if you pay off your debt
in three years, and how much
you will pay in interest in each
case. These disclosures may
be a valuable wake-up call for
many consumers who don't
realize what their outstanding
balances are costing them.
Just Say No
When credit card corn-
parties are set to raise rates
or impose a new tee, they
must now ask customers in
advance if they will accept
the new terms or would like
to cancel the account before
those increes go into effect
and pay off their balance at the
old "lower" interest rates. In
the past, some consumers only
realized months later that their
rates had been raised, but you
can now opt out of any unat-
tractive deals.
Read Your Mail
Even though the new law
contains many consumer pro-
tections, it's still important to
be alert to changes in the con-
tract terms that could cost you
money. That should be easier
to do, because your credit card
company in most cases must
now let you know 45 days in
n _S,ers Must Consider Three Generations
If you're a member of
Generation X -- the age
group born between 1963
and 1981 -- you may well
be in the busiest time of
living expenses, so from an
investment point of view,
your biggest concern may
be how you'll help them
pay for college. Here's a
suggestion: Put time on your
side and start saving as soon
as possible. You might want
to consider opening a 529
college savings plan, which
offers potential tax advan-
tages.
Saving for college is
important -- but so is saving
for your own retirement.
Consequently, you'll have
to find the right balance of
resources to devote to these
two goals. To avoid short-
changing yourself, take full
advantage of your 401 (k) or
similar employer-sponsored
retirement plan. Contribute
as much as you can afford
right now, and whenever you
get a raise, increase your con-
your life. You're probably
in the early to middle stages
of your career, for one thing,
and if you have children,
they're likely still at home.
Yet despite the hectic nature
of your days, you still have
to look after the financial
concerns of your children,
yourself and possibly even
your parents. This three-
generational effort may seem
challenging, but with some
planning and persistence,
you can help your family
make progress toward a
variety of goals.
To begin with, let's
consider the needs of your
children. Obviously, you're
already providing for their
tributions. At the very least,
put in enough to earn your
employer's matching con-
tribution, if one is offered.
Your 401(k) accumulates
on a tax-deferred basis,
and your contributions are
generally made with pretax
dollars, so the more you put
in, the lower your taxable
income.
You aren't confined to
investing in a 40 1 (k), either,
because you can also put
money into a traditional
IRA, which accumulates
tax deferred, or a Roth IRA,
which accumulates tax free,
provided you're at least age
59½ when you start making
withdrawals and you've
held your account at least
five years.
Once you've started
saving for college for your
kids and investing for your
own retirement, you've
got one more generation to
consider -- the older one.
For example, you'll need to
make sure your parents have
adequate financial protection
for their health care expenses.
If your parents have saved
and invested throughout
their lives, they may not
need any financial help from
you -- but that doesn't mean
you'll never be called upon
to straighten out their affairs.
That's why now is the per 7
fect time to ask your parents
some key questions: Where
are your assets located? Do
you have a will? How about
a durable power ofattorney ?
You might think these inqui-
ries will make you sound
"selfish," but the opposite
is true: The more you know
about your parents' financial
situation and estate plans,
the bigger help you'll be to
them, and to other members
of your family, if the day
arrives when your parents
need some assistance.
It may not always be easy
to act on behalf of three gen-
erations -- but it's worth the
effort.
Matt Hull is a financial
advisor for Edward Jones
Investments in Stillwater.
advance before it can raise its
interest rates, charge you cer-
tain fees or implement other
significant changes.
For consumers who have
credit cards, the average
credit card debt per house-
hold is around $16,000. That
means that many people are
still racking up too much
consumer debt and spending
or would like sound advice
on managing your money, be
sure to tum to your local CPA.
If you don't have a CPA, you
can easily locate one online
using the OSCPA's free,
online service. Just go to
www.KnowWhatCounts.org
and, in addition to getting flee
money management advice,
you can also locate a highly
much of their hard-earned qualified professional who
money on interest rates. If can assist you. The referral
you are having trouble han- comes with a free 30-minute
dling your credit card debt, consultation.
Networking for
Entrepreneurs
Creating a successful
business network doesn't
happen overnight. How-
ever, it can happen in one
morning.
On July 15 area business
owners and entrepreneurs
are invited to attend the
Stillwater Entrepreneur
Network at Meridian
Technology Center and
maximize word-of-mouth
advertising to create instant
business networks.
"Small business owners
are often reluctant about
describing their business
to people they don't know,"
according to Brad Rickel-
man, Assistant Director
of the Meridian Technol-
ogy Center for Business
Development. "Strangers
are simply customers that
you don't know yet. The
upcoming entrepreneur
breakfast is a great chance
for business owners to
polish quick networking
skills."
Attendees of this event
will be able to meet and
connect with other entrepre-
neurs while participating in
an informal social network-
ing period that will include
a two-minute introduction
and statement about their
business. Participants are
encouraged to bring busi-
ness cards, brochures and
other promotional materi-
als to share.
The Stillwater Entre-
preneur Network meets
monthly at Meridian. Each
meeting includes a guest
speaker and provides busi-
ness owners and entrepre-
neurs an informal opportu-
nity to network and share
ideas and experiences.
All networking sessions
are free and include a conti-
nental breakfast. To attend
the July 15 Stillwater Entre-
preneur Network meet-
ing please contact Diane
Maddox at (405) 377-2220
or dianem@ meridian-
technology.com. An RSVP
is strongly encouraged.
The Center for Business
Development is dedicated
to empowering entrepre-
neurs through network-
ing, education, consulting
and business incubation
services. Assistance is
available in various areas
such as marketing, prod-
uct planning, international
business and writing busi-
ness plans.
For more information or to
enroll visit www.meridian-
technology.com or contact
a career counselor by phone
at (405) 377-3333 or toll-
free at (888) 607-2509.
1
kl "
