Handi.net

Any Good?

[symmetry]

I just found this search engine. They seem to be delivering good results except that some searches come up blank. Are they a PPC engine as well?

[Mike_Mackin]

Looks to me that they are JUST displaying findwhat results for fun & profit.

[rcjordan]

>displaying results for profit

We're going to be besieged by ppc engines now. As Mike has repeated many times, most aren't worth the time or effort it will take to effectively manage your account.

I've run across two or three of those lately for GoTo and FW. Some look pretty spiffy. Here's one from last night's logs [dotzup.com]

Some others....

[brainfox.com...] (what are they using for a database?)

[search123.com...] and [searchcactus.com...] seem to be putting something on top of google.

Mustn't forget HootingOwl.com

The list goes on........

[Mike_Mackin]

OK rc
If you wish to make a list, here is what we look for:

Do they have a written relevancy policy
Do they purge irrelevant listings
Do they have traffic generated from top portal / portals
Do they have a print / TV / radio AD budget
Are they publically traded
Do they have an adult filter
Account management - Ease of use
Responsive CS

OR:
Do they just serve up links from other PPC engines

Last but not least:
Do they PAY their surfers to click
[run like heck if they do]

[rzfree]

Do they PAY their surfers to click
[run like heck if they do]

Searchcactus does, some rounds of payments already sent to clickers. There may be others, also "partners" - look carefully before paying PPC. Any initiative clicking - 99% waste.

R

[rcjordan]

As an ad buyer (vs. publisher), what are the negatives -if any- of affiliate programs like Searchbucks which require structured links and search boxes [searchbucks.com]? These searches are spoon-fed to smartfind.com and search123.com.

[rzfree]

"pai-d to search" a la searchcactus - answer is simple - NEVER.
Whith those affiliates one negative side is cheaters. They surround every "ge&t pa-id to do something on the net" program. Searched for "cheat searchbucks" and found none, but doesn't guarantee anything. Even if they cancel someone for cheating, do they refund your clicks? Do u even know there was an incident? Another - there will always be smart newbies, despite terms, trying to trick visitors into clicking search box, or simply ICQ friends clicking each other's boxes and banners.

Don't pretend to be expert or anything, but as a small business I would rather spend my $ for straight advertising where no 3rd parties are rewarded. Branding company name is thought to be different story, but again if visitors laugh at you...

Anti-PFP
R

[rcjordan]

>answer is simple - NEVER.

Yes, that's simple, but what about "prestructured" searches? I would assume that it's going to produce higher CTR and lower conversion rates. As an PPC buyer, you should probably discount these significantly.

[rzfree]

Indeed, those negative sides from my previous post apply, among others, to services that offer "predefined" links and pay for clicks. Cheating is widespread. High CTR / low conversion rate = you're being cheated.

Anybody compared average # of page views per unique visitor from such services to avg pageviews of regular SE referrals?

IMHO not worth trouble.

HNY everyone - Rytis

[Nathan Power]

rcjordan,

BrainFox.com uses DMOZ for secondary listings.

HootingOwl.com used to use DMOZ and its FAQ still says it does. However it seems like they are only using AltaVista results at the moment.