Do you think I should bother with a pay-per-click ad campaign?

[A]

I've heard only 30% of people using a search engine will click an ad, most will click on the organics.
I'm re-doing my website and investing in SEO, but I'm thinking of not bothering with PPC. I've done it on a small level in the past and it never led to a sale despite some costly clicks.

[Jake]

Typically a sales site requires 50 to 200 clicks to secure one click, those click costs add up quickly, those relying on paid traffic spend quite a bit of effort on optimizing the conversion rates of their site using split testing, which ultimately makes organic pay off better too.

You might try Facebook ads that send people to a fan page for your site, where you can make a more personal connection and if done right build up some lines and a following from relatively cheap ads.

[Trevor]

I think a PPC campaign isn't for everyone or every site. Are you offering information, trying to get people to hire your for your services or an ecommerce store?

If you are offering information, then you need to have a PR campaign and connect with like minded bloggers and websites. An ad on a specific site like that might serve you well, but developing a social following would be just as key.

If you are selling a service, then a PPC campaign, might be useful if you really streamline your campaign and get your keywords dialed.

Lastly, if you are selling something, then a PPC campaign is very useful to connect future buyers with your products. They need that link to find you because of competition offering similar products and because it is the easiest way to put them in immediate contact with your product. Yes, you'll develop social channels too, but not everyone on the web is social. Organic traffic is not likely sufficient enough to give you the traffic you need.

Good luck.

[Andrea]

There are many things at play here. Your niche, service/product, budget, targeted location, keywords, etc.. If you are able to identify your target audience, PPC can be very fruitful but is a temporary solution. Whereas organic SEO is like a long term invertment. It really depends upon your requirements.

[Chris]

PPC ic not meant for all sites...firdt of all you have to study the site of it is suitable for PPC or not.
no doubt that PPC is a good method to get sales calls...