It is often tempting to consider smaller pay per click programs than Adwords and Yahoo! Search Marketing (YSM) because the bidding is lower. The problem with these programs is that they network with smaller search engines/directories that don’t get any relevant traffic and produce fraudulent clicks. Before marketing with a smaller program make sure you have studied their search network. If you have never visited any of their partners, be wary of the source. Also be prepared to spot fraudulent behavior. If you start the program and see good results in the beginning, don’t assume that the results will show continued success. It can take time before your ads start to get fraudulent clicks. Study the source of clicks and see if they resulted in any conversions.

The second issue with small pay programs is they are often not worth the time spent managing campaigns, even though the return on investment (ROI) may be good. If a small pay program has a good network that produces targeted leads, it is also important that it brings in a significant amount of traffic. Small pay programs often report a greater average ROI for advertisers, but what is more important in this case is total profit.

Smaller pay programs include business.com, Lycos, Searchfeed, FindWhat.com, shopping.com.