CPA Advertising in Plain English

CPA advertising stands for "cost per action advertising" or "cost per acquisition advertising" and is a form of online advertising where the advertiser pays when an action has been fulfilled.

Many businesses prefer this form of advertising because it is results-oriented. If a business places an ad in a magazine or newspaper, they've already paid but they may or may not see a return on their investment. With CPA advertising, they get what they pay for because they pay after the ad is successful.

How CPA Advertising Works

Three popular types of CPA advertising are: pay per click (PPC), pay per lead and pay per sale. Let's say you are a business owner and you decide to run a pay per click advertisement. The advertisement is placed on the website of your choice and the goal is to get people to click your ad. You do not pay for the advertisement like you would in a magazine; instead, you pay only when someone clicks on the advertisement which determines the click-through rate or CTR.

This benefits you in two ways: first, you do not pay for an advertisement that isn't working. If no one clicks, you don't pay. Second, your ad will enjoy a longer life. Unlike a magazine ad which may run for one issue, a CPA advertisement can run for as long as you like. This can result in increased recognition for your business. But, as with anything, there is a downside.

In the example above, we used the pay per click method. The downside of pay per click is that it can become costly. Click fraud is a big problem in the industry and the leading providers of this service like Google and Yahoo are spending a lot of resources to come up with more and more sophisticated algorithms to detect click fraud. Mistaken clicks, window shoppers, or anyone who clicks on your ad with no intention of using your services can add up to big bucks. Luckily, there are more types of online advertising from which to choose.

Less Risky Forms of CPA Advertising

Other well-known forms of CPA advertising include pay per lead and pay per sale. You should choose the method that best benefits your business. If you have a service or item to sell then pay per sale advertising is a good choice. You will only be charged if and when a sale results from your advertisement. This method could possibly save hundreds of marketing dollars.

But what if you're not concerned with sales of a product or service? Well, you can still benefit from online advertising by using the pay per lead method. If your goal is to attract subscribers to a newsletter or website then pay per lead could work well for you. In this case, you are charged only for leads that result in a new subscriber. You are not charged a fee if a visitor visits your site but fails to become a subscriber.

How Do I Initiate CPA Advertising?

To take advantage of CPA advertising, you must place an ad with an advertising network or website that has the ability to run CPA ads. IncentaClick Affiliate Network can help you with all areas of CPA advertising. We specialize in affiliate marketing, and understand the need for fast, efficient, reliable results. If you are interested in CPA advertising then IncentaClick is the place to be.