My first real foray into Internet Marketing was a Pay Per Click ad campaign. I really had no idea what I was getting myself into and the results were predictable. I soon had a mountain of debt with little in the way of results to show for it.

It wasn't the Pay Per Click company's fault. They basically did what they pronised to do. They got people to my website. The blame was all mine. I had made a couple of serious mistakes during the planning of my campaign. I will share those mistakes so that you can avoid making those same errors yourself.

My first, and probably biggest, mistake was not "looking before I leaped". I did not take the time that I should have in researching Pay Per Click and learning just how much it could potentially cost. As a result, I was completely caught by surprise by how quickly my credit card was being charged over and over again. Take the time to do the proper amount of research before beginning a Pay Per Click campaign or any other business or advertising opportunity. You should always be aware of the cost or risks of any program before you invest money or time on it.

I made another major mistake when I did not set a daily budget for my campaign. That was a direct result of my ignorance about how much Pay Per Click could actually cost. I did learn an extremely valuable lesson though. Always set a budget. Determine beforehand exactly how much you can afford to spend per week or per month. Be disciplined and stick to it. You should always try to avoid going into debt unless it is absolutely necessary.

The final mistake that I regret was waiting too long to pull the plug on the campaign. I suppose that stubborness set in and I just did not want to admit defeat. However, admitting defeat is sometimes not so bad. If you sense that an opportunity is not working out, then cut your losses. No purpose whatsoever is served by throwing more good money after the bad. Always know "when to say when".

Learn from my mistakes. Alway do your research before pursuing Pay Per Click or any other new opportunity. Be sure to set a weekly or monthly budget and stick to it. And, finally, if an opportunity is not working out, then don't give in to stubborness. Cut your losses right away.

Copyright 2005 Ronald Gibson