MSN extends Overture Contract, INK is...?

[stcrim]

Now that MSN has extended Overture's contract and it looks like the directory listings are there to stay - how does INK fit into the traffic mix.

Our clients are flocking to Overture by the droves. It puts them above the directory listings and gives them control.

We have one client who raises their BIDS in the morning and when they have all their staff can handle they lower them. And they do this though out the day.

With many pages paid for and listed in the top 10 of INK they still could get enough traffic in a week to keep one person busy for 2 hours.

Question - is anyone getting any any substantial traffic from MSN as a result of having paid for their pages to be spidered? And if so, is it for anything with competitive terms?

-s-

[stcrim]

I wonder if the lack of response to this thread is due to the lack of traffic from INK listings in MSN.

Same question only this time - AOL

-s-

[rcjordan]

>AOL

Free INK listing making slot #8 on aolsearch... same site #2 in google and #2 in search.msn ....Sparc 10 is sending out MayDay calls and this is only February. OverWHO??

[toolman]

Yep. MSN has become a dud unless you're top 15 in the directory listings (sheer luck best as I can tell)...or if there aren't that many directory listings.

If you're unfortunate enough to be in, say, the travel or hotel business, you're screwed right off the bat by Microsoft's notoriously monopolistic business practices with the presence of Expedia's offerings in vivid 3D color right at the very top of the listings (pictures and all).

In competitive categories, save your $299 at Look$mart, and get 2 or 3 paid pages (if by chance you're one of the few who can get a page to rank well in INK under competitive terms) to cover the remaining INK partners like AOL (which has huge potential). If you can afford to play the Overture game it's probably a sure thing.

For anything vaguely competitive, MSN has all but assassinated the little guys. Imagine that, huh.

[markd]

A lot of my more 'switched on' clients understand that 'sponsored links' = the highest bidder not necessarily the site which will meet their information needs.

Obviously, Ink results are also PFP, but they still (just) reflect relevance to the search. Through a combination of Looksmart listings and Ink pages, traffic from MSN is almost starting to compete with Yahoo.

I suppose it depends on the search term, but for me Overture syndicated results nearly always reflect the 'usual suspects' - once the novelty wears off, where is the value of that for the searcher?

I do feel that if you are in a very competitive market like travel or hotels then Overture is crucial, but maybe the importance of search engines as the No.1 promotional tool may wain in the future. Maybe it's time for us all to broaden our online promotional mix?