Mark C.'s Comments

Good points, both of which are addressed by effective ad tracking. If I know how many sales come from pay per click ads and the value of these sales then there is an easy value proposition.
For example:
My Average Sale is $100.00
Net Profit on the Sale is $50.00
Cost per click is $1.00
With effective tracking, I will know exactly how many people purchase from the ad. If 10% buy, then the cost of a sale is $10.00. Even if the other 90% are all click fraud, it's still an easy proposition to evaluate.
Set a budget, watch the results, and you know exactly if it's a good idea.
That's why I started the article with "golden opportunity or waste of money..."

In response to some of your comments:

Richard Mash: Absolutely! This is the concept of "Pay Per View" advertising which is discussed in an upcoming section Pay-Per-View and Pay-Per-Click. It's strategic, targeted advertising.

Paul: Excellent analogy. We are approaching the unification of the concepts of energy and information. As the energy grid looks more like the internet, we head toward ubiquitous energy. "Thomas Edison was Right!"

Thomas: Hmmmm - Take a look at "The Last Energy War: The Battle over Utility Deregulation" By Harvey Wasserman. Great conspiracy theories here, too.

Thank you all for your comments. Next up - some powerful tips and techniques.

Graham: Good point, but tough subject. Many of your customers go to your website specifically for the purpose of looking up your phone number. Perhaps other possibilities include a toll number, an in-state-only watts, or a pre-screening that says 'if you live in my state press 1 to get through. If you're out of my service area, press 2 to leave a message.' There's an article coming up on SPAM, maybe I'll include this discussion.