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Thay have produced a lot of very questionable traffic and I would apprecaite any feedback that other members could give me on them.
The reason I say the traffic is a questionable is we have a site that normally generates on average 7 page views per visitor so when that dropped to 2 it casts doubt over the quality of the traffic.
I know they have a long up hill battle against the likes of Espotting and Overture which is why I gave them a go but if they are just "picking my pockets" I am not interested.
The only site that stands out in a backward links search is UK20.co.uk which I had never heard of before. This appears to have a separate search box for Search2, but I can't see that generating many searches at all.
The only reference that I could find to partners was "Your listings will also appear on a network of partner sites", but no names are provided. This suggests to me that they don't have anything that they are particularly proud to be associated with.
I suppose that this brings up the more general point: what kind of UK search site wouldn't be using Espotting or Overture for its PPC provider? Only sites not accepted by these main two players would end up with smaller PPC providers, unless they are sites set up specifically to build up the number of searches performed on the engine. The amount earned for partner sites of Search2 is going to be a small fraction of what they would earn with the other two.
Thanks for your responce.
I will add that it appears that a site called Fontastic.com also seem to show in the stats.
They concern me a little as there is a lot of traffic from them but the business that comes from the traffic that they send is very poor. This makes me think that someone is just clicking but I could not prove that.
Fontastic also seem to have an affiliate account with espotting so if there is any question about their integrity they should be closely monitored. I must point out though I have no evidence and therefore would not like to make any accusation towards them.
Chrisuk, 5p minimum bid is the UK standard set by Espotting and Overture. I don't find it surprising that many smaller PPC engines use this as the minimum as well.
It's good that they're so forthcoming with this info.
Bargepole springs to mind.
5p is not a standard and I don't believe smaller ppcs can justify it, even Findwhat in the US still sets a 0.01c min bid. I wouldn't even pay 1p to get listed on this site, never mind 5p
I suppose that once the main two players have established 5p as the 'norm' then most PPC customers looking for other engines won't be surprised when they see the same minimum cost. Bidsmart (BTLooksmart), Espotting, Overture and Abrexa all use a 5p minimum.
From a marketing POV, I would think that a low starting bid of 1p could be a selling point in comparison to Espotting and Overture, but perhaps it also suggests lower quality traffic at the same time?
Also, I couldn't find any way of seeing the bidding levels on Search2 before first handing over my credit card details, which I am reluctant to do.
Does anyone know where Search2 gets its traffic from? I think that ChrisC is suggesting that the traffic is of very dubious quality - but where is it coming from? Has anyone seen it advertised anywhere?
You might want to try ringing them their number is 0207 223 4230 or a mobile 07740 928 901 and ask for Nick or Tony.
As for were are they and were is the trafic from, according to my stats fontastic are the major contributor there site address is www.fonetastic.com but they also provided listings for other free SMS providers such as breath and free sms see breathe.com.
As for the dubious nature of the traffic I think that these sites somehow force users unwillingly to the proposed site and claim their affiliate revenue from the PPC engine and as the PPC negine are making money no one seems prepared to police it. I have seen evidence of this in some (2 to be exact) of the major players in the field.
However with the bigger players it is your competitors that also present a malisious click problem.
I for one feel that due to the fundamental lack of policing that goes on within the PPC market makes it a flawed proposition for trafic generation. But who am I hey?
