Step 1

Select categories and keywords
Visit a site such as ingenio.com or snap.com to choose the categories and keywords you think customers will use to find you.

Step 2

Bid for placement
Determine how much you’re willing to pay for the action–say, a phone call or an online order. The higher the bid, the better placement ads will receive on the search results page.

Step 3

Pay for the action
When a customer dials the phone number listed on a pay-per-call ad–or, in the case of pay per sale, buys something–the advertiser’s account is automatically charged or a charge is added to a monthly invoice.