Quantam_Goose - 10:35 pm on Dec 30, 2006 (gmt 0)

I also have finally quit trying to "decipher" google in order to drop my cpc down from the absurd highs that have been fostered on me. There is no doubt that Google will benefit from rapid escalation of prices in the short term. Many larger accounts will just ramp up bids to produce the same traffic. BUT, over time rational people will look at ROI and adjust accordingly. I have ZERO ads of any type on my landing pages and still get the old "Please pay $10.00 per click" notice, after following all the advice given in this forum and on Google as to ad content,landing page, etc. The whole exercise became a losing proposition.

So I simply adjusted. I now spend 70% less on Google per month and only on those ads and kwds that make some financial sense. The difference goes to MSN and some useful postings on eBay. Actually I get a better ROI by eBay refferals than either Google or MSN.

[And yes I have a quality site. My organic results on Google are good and outstanding on MSN and Yahoo.]

The single most telling factoid that has been detailed on this forum regarding Google algorithymic changes is the simple case where someone was bidding on a kwd with ZERO competitors. No other ads showed for a period of two weeks, and Google demanded a $5.00 per click rate.

That, ladies and gentlemen, makes no sense whatsoever (for Google or the advetiser) and clearly indicates that the Google folks have offerred up too much incense to the God of algorithyms. It makes no difference if the ad led to an MFA site, a webcam of a russian toilet, or whatever. That kwd rating represents lost revenue to Google, lost expereince to the user, and lost opportunity for the advertiser. It simply makes no business sense. Google seems to have adopted the Marxist central planning concept whereby they want to make the decision for everybody what a usefull expereience is. If the ad sucks and/or the landing page is poor, the adveriser will not get revenue and eventually the market (or cost of money) will force him out.

[edited by: Quantam_Goose at 10:48 pm (utc) on Dec. 30, 2006]