Brad Geddes reports that Google is going to start allowing some AdWords advertisers to bid on site targeting campaigns on a cost per click basis. Previously, Google required companies to bid for site targeted campaigns on a CPM (cost per thousand visitors) basis which was great for branding, but not so great for companies that rely on direct conversions for measuring the success of their paid search campaigns.

It's important to note that this feature is still in beta and isn't showing up as an option for all advertisers. I checked a few of my own accounts and the "bidding strategy" feature does not show up under "Advanced Options" in any of them. In fact, Google asked businesses to apply for the beta program last month, so I'd imagine it may be a little while yet before this feature opens up to everyone.

Still, it will be interesting to see how advertisers like the new bidding options. Chances are good that many small business owners will find site targeting to be far more beneficial to their online marketing if they have the extra control of being able to bid on a CPC basis.

For those that were included in the beta pool, Brad has some great step-by-step instructions on how to switch your bids from the standard CPM style to the new CPC (cost-per-click) option at his blog.