Pay for ranking

Need to make a choice

[duhboy]

Hello all,
I have asked a question like this in the past, but I would like to
update things.I would like some input in order to make a decision.

We run a young commercial site. Regionl. Online orders etc.
The site has been optimized with some success. Good content etc.
I would like to get exposure on MSN without going the PPC route in Looksmart.
Too expensive and time consuming on a daily basis.
Do I pay to get into Inktomi and live with being in the secondary results.

This may be working in tandem with Overture PPC. If I really focus on my
keyword selection, I think that the ROI would be better. The way I see it,
if you pay for 'blue widgets' and get 100K SERPS, is your ROI better than paying
for 'special blue widgets' with 20K of targeted guests.As well, we would not be paying as much per click for the more specialized words.

Any comments are appreciated.
Thanks duhboy

[martinibuster]

Are you angling for online sales outside of your region?

Are you angling for walk-in sales from within your region?

Are you sure you're using the appropriate keyword phrases for the type of audience you are seeking?

Type the keyword phrase "regional blue widgets" into msn and check if your competition is there. Are they paying for clicks, and most importantly, are they snagging customers that you aren't?

Targetting the right keyword on overture is important to scoring well on MSN. I get CTR's of about .9 to as high 10% on some keyword phrases. And don't forget, Overture results are showing up on Yahoo as well.

Basically, check on what you're competition is doing, and of course (duh) evaluate the ROI.