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I have used both Overture and Adwords for some time and the numbers are reversed for me. Adwords consistently outperforms Overture for my websites not to mention that Adwords CPC is so much lower than Overture for most keywords.
Anyone else using both services care to share?
My results fall along the same lines.
Should also point out how their editors drive me insane and their interface. Dan Boberg from OV was at Pubcon and there was a typo in his name in the program, some kind of freudian slip, he was referred to as Bloberg.
I will have to admit I didn't like Adwords at first. I couldn't stand not knowing exactly what my CPC would be prior to the click. I was skeptical about the whole "maximum bid" thing and not knowing what my competitors bids were. Now I love it.
Long live Adwords!
1) ADwords average cost per click is lower - this will change, however, as the program recieves more visibility. It is very young compared to Overture. There is nothing that can be done to stop this.
2) Overture CTR is WAY higher than ADwords. On the analysis I just conducted prior to this post on similar keyword phrases over a period of time, Overture's CTR is more than double accross the board in some cases more. Why? Ad placement, simply put. If ADwords didn't have the AOL contract, CTRs would be even worse.
3) ADwords search volume is solidly higher than O's on a per term by per term comparison. One must remember however that for the search term widget, ADwords will pull in blue widget, red widget, etc, if your bid is high enough (w/out []). What this does is naturally decreases CTR on a per term basis, while increase impression level. This is one of the reasons why O's CTR is so high.
4) O's managment tools are vastly superior to G's. All data is transparant. Not hidden like it is for G.
5) GADwords is full of garbage. O will not touch you with a ten foot pull if you are doing something questionable.
6) O cares about quality and relevance. ADwords dedication to either is highly questionable.
7) It is about ROI. Neither program can be ignored if there is a ROI. Neither program should be used if there is no ROI.
8) Look for bids to begin to skyrocket on G in the next 12 months. Saturation in the CPC market is already starting to take hold.
Lastly, regardless of the typo. Dan's presentation at the conference should be commended. As he suggested, there is a price to pay for editoral quality. There is also a price to pay in the bid world for being around years before Google even considered making money on search results.
That's the bottom line.
If you are making your clients money, DO IT
The CPC and ROI are variables that are beyond Overture's control. High CPC = More $$$ so I am sure Overture is proud to have a much higher CPC across the board. I also have a number of keywords that get a much higher CTR with Overture however, the conversion rates are not near what I am getting from Adwords.
Lower CPC + higher conversion rate = $$$$
That is why I am high on Adwords at the moment. Overture has a better program but, at the end of the day, it is all about ROI and Adwords is where the ROI is for me right now.
The beauty of CPC from the SE standpoint is that it is user driven so you can never get mad at Overture or Google for CPCs that are too high. You can only get mad a yourself and your competitors for running up the bids. This takes a load off the CPC providers by them not having to explain price increases etc. Not a bad setup for Overture and Google.
For simplification and argument purposes, however:
O = Y! + MSN
ADwords = G + AOL.
Y + MSN + G + AOL = 95+% of market.
Mutually exclusive...not even close. (as mike suggests)
I find it very difficult to draw the conclusion that G + AOL are better prospects, than Y + MSN. To me that is a sweeping generalization that is subject to case by case evaluation.
Watch your CPCs on ADwords, they are about to grow. And if popular sentiment remains the same (it is a google world, automation, simplicity, and speed rules)then we will see O CPCs start to level off, while ADWords shoots past them. When such time comes, and it will, it is of my opinion that we will of wished that ADwords kept the spammers and questionable bidders out of the program (because they drive up costs and degradate perception of quality from prospects), instead siding with quality, like O has successfully done (at a great cost to their bottom line and reputation for customer friendliness).
We are on a honeymoon with ADwords still, IMHO.
I think some people may see more traffic from Overture simply because they can put more copy in but if you have a knack for short copy, adwords typically (from what I have read here and in the past) will perform better.
40% clicks? Even on the words where I have no compt. on OV, I rarely see that much. You must be very good to be achieving that on multiple keywords consistantly.
In 3 differnt countries.
On overture I have around 30 ads... Whenever I get to 1-3 on Ov. I got 30-40% CTR.
Things I like about Overture:
- They dont penalise you for having a low CTR on a keyword.
- You can bid whatever you like for a high cost keyword.
- Their editors are more relaxed and approve more listings.
Things I hate about em:
- It takes a long time to get a new listing approved.
- 10p min. bid. + vat = 17c.
You cant pause an Ad. you have to speak to humans to do it.
Things I hate about Google Adwords:
- Too strict on their ads.
- Not enuff space to write an ad.
- Almost always want you to write "affiliate" on your ads.
- Min. Bids on keywords in the USA campaigns make overture look like a bargain (about $1 per click!).
0 >>I got 30-40% CTR.
10-30% is hardly uncommon and in my case the norm. 2 reasons: editoral quality/relevance and ad placement. Lets face it, those little ad boxes on the right, for a user based dissenfranchised with "banner" ads, isn't very condusive to high CTRs. Their AOL CTRs are likely way higher than Gs.
0 >>Their editors are more relaxed and approve more listings.
eeerr. Not quite with you here. Not quite sure I WOULD want to be with you though.
0 >>It takes a long time to get a new listing approved.
We are spoiled. I am convinced. Why in the world do we think the a 1-3 day avg turnaround is bad when every part of the listing/referring url is examined by an individual editor. WE SHOULD APPLAUD SUCH TURNAROUND TIME. Where is there a better editoral turnaround time?
O>>You cant pause an Ad. you have to speak to humans to do it.
Agreed. They will get this done soon.
AD>>Min. Bids on keywords in the USA campaigns make overture look like a bargain (about $1 per click!).
This is interesting. Adwords is either black or white with me. They are either dirt cheap or really expensive. this is important, as it is indicative of the problems with in the Gadwords system. And also indicative of bidding pressure to come.
I personally spend upwards of $4000 a month between the two programs and for me, Adwords is kicking Overture's patooty. This is my situation though and Chicago and kila_m's experiences are different.
I don't think it is a question of which program is better. If you talk to 100 advertisers you will get 100 different answers/opinions. The better program for you is the one that has the higher ROI. However, as long as the ROI is there we will all probably use both programs, its just that one will be more profitable than the other.
consumer and low cost-broad-based consumer products for O
That's all I sell and adwords is the winner. I do find that my comp on adwords is just not very good at short copy. They waste space with typical marketing words rather than qualifying words. OV gives a copy writer a lot more space to put in qualifying text along with the "free" and "buy now" junk.
I also think that very few people in the PPC world know exactly what their ROI is. I can track from click to sale so I know for a fact that in addition to more traffic from adwords, I get more money for my money from adwords. It's not to say I don't see it from OV, 'cause I do. Adwords is just better for me.
For the items I sell (250 ads), I havn't seen much difference in cost of keywords. There is the occational idiot bidding too much, but I see it both sides. And (more commonly :) ) there is the bonus unused keyword that is a low low price.
Almost always want you to write "affiliate" on your ads.
Oh, don't be too quick on that. OV will make you put affiliate in your listing too if they find out you are one. We aren't but we look like we might be (same type of stuff) and I have had to call on more than one occation to ask them to drop the affiliate tag that they have placed on our listing (without telling us, I might add).
Their editors are more relaxed and approve more listings.
And as far as editors, introduce me to your OV editor 'cause mine drive me up a wall. The only time I have ever been disapproved by adwords, it was for spelling errors
They dont penalise you for having a low CTR on a keyword.
I love this about adwords. There is nothing I hate more than a barely relevant ad posting a far too high bid on OV. It hurts everyone, the end user and the advertisers. The end user doesn't find what they want and they get disgusted and go else where. No clicks, what so ever, happen. So the idiot with the bad ad gets no clicks, and the advertiser with the good ad gets no clicks. If you weed out the bad, then at least 2 out of 3 parties win.
