They are all gorgeous in their own way and some are just down right hot. The pay-per-click industry has come a hell of a long way over the past few years. Some actors have been cut, others left to stagnate in the same old role and still others have been slowly written off the show forced to endure a cold, long hard death.

Regardless though, there seems to be a never ending stream of takers that are eager to join the club which continue fuel this maturing industry. Most of the aspiring are left at the door with their mouths watering, all buggy eyed and stuff, but there are a few that make it in and actually get on stage. Out of those lucky enough to stand next to the bold and the beautiful, only a few last longer than it takes an advertiser to say cut! They are the young and the restless. It is from this group of apprentices that some may grow to take center stage; to play the leading role of pay-per-click service provider.

We all know who the bold and the beautiful are; Google, Yahoo! and MSN. Google’s strong masculinity has taken the leading role for quit some time. It has a strong advertiser interface, huge distributorship and literally tons of cash which allows it to take care of a threat one way or the other. While Google is clearly still a one role performer, it does very much aspire to be more. Whether it will be successful or not still remains to be seen. It is clearly trying to write its own script however. The fact that it has billions in the bank could lead some to believe that it will be that way forever. Let’s see its standings several years from. Will it successfully transition into other roles or not?

Yahoo! is sexy. No two ways about it. It’s cultured and aggressive yet subtle and soft. And very importantly, it is entertaining. If Yahoo! was a woman it would be Julia Roberts; a mature, intelligent, skilled and very hot professional who knows what she wants and has the intellect to apply patients to her way of doing business. Google on the other hand reminds me of Robin Williams. Also very smart, intelligent and skilled, but a bit immature and still finds his ultimate strength within a very well defined space. Yahoo! is the queen of online search. This is smart and a strategic advantage over its competitors.

MSN, now here’s an interesting performer. For decades it has dominated the software market and now arguably the gaming industry.With its recent entry into the pay-per-click auditorium many, including myself, were worried that it would end up like Kramer (Michael Richards Seinfeld character), stumbling over something new and making a complete ass out of itself.To the contrary, it has taken on a slow, steady entry into the space and does have a very nice advertiser interface and beneficial supporting features.MSN reminds me of Nathan Lane. A very charismatic, smart, highly skilled professional of which makes a successful run of virtually everything it attempts.This is why Bill Gate’s call back average is so high. The roles MSN chooses to play usually end up lucrative for it.There is little doubt in this mind that if it so chooses MSN will end up as one of the all time greatest pay-per-click and performance based advertising companies.

The bold and the beautiful are strong and demand much of the spotlight.But there are many leading actors out there that are also worth your time. They may not yet demand the enormous paydays that the big 3 do, but they are young, they are restless, they are generating revenue and are a risk to the B.A.T.B. Their red carpet is smaller but it is growing.

ABCSearch; now here’s a strong youngster with lots of moxie and the intelligence to know which direction to take.ABCSearch is a supporting actor, but if it stays the course it may just find itself in a leading role. ABCSearch reminds me of a young George Clooney; well defined, handsome and ready to take on the issues. It quite hasn’t made it to the big time revenue game yet.Its Click Shield product is a bold move to openly face-off against click-fraud. More importantly it is the correct move. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.Click-fraud will always be around. It is a part of doing this type of advertising online. For non-CPA based pay-per-click advertising, what is needed is not a cure. There isn’t one. What is needed is a very strong actor that can consistently stand up and get the crowd going again every time click-fraud appears in the audience and brings it down. ABCSearch is openly taking on that challenge and if successful it will enter onto center stage and earn the big money.

MIVA is not quite young, but it is restless and it is looking for a rebirth.Formerly FindWhat.com when it was at the top of its game, MIVA is a struggling cast member. It is slowly seeing its call back ratio drop as its respect throughout the guild deteriorates. It reminds me a bit of Robert Downy Junior, a strong force on the stage but always finds his way into trouble and can not seem to break the cycle.MIVA is still struggling, does not demand the eyeballs and thus the revenue and has trouble getting the most meager of partners to promote its goods. Whether MIVA will evolve into a Kiefer Sutherland remains to be seen. In this minds eye it is doubtful.While it would be a nice story for company, I don’t think the story will be written.

LookSmart on the other hand has the potential to become the pay-per-click equivalent to Kiefer Sutherland. It was once very strong, quickly devolved into obscurity for a while and is now showing some signs of a true career recovery.No it is not Kiefer yet, but it is heading in that direction.There is something about LookSmart that has always given me confidence in its ability to rewrite the script. So far it is heading in that direction. Perhaps it’s the management team.Perhaps it’s the revenue model. Perhaps it’s the branding. Or perhaps it is all of the above. It has always given me a sense of “I’ll be back” and it looks as though it may just happen one day.

In the next article, read about the understudies and how they are surviving in the brutal world of pay-per-click advertising.