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I recently stumbled upon this forum and thought it would be a great place to find some qualified opinions about the major pay-per-click search engines.
Over the past few weeks, I have been involved in an informal independent study of the pay-per-click industry. As part of this study, I am compiling a general ranking of where these engines fall in relation to one another. (I have found that most often, I get more honest and realistic responses from ppc advertisers and industry experts than from the ppc engines directly.)
In short, I would be delighted if you could take a few moments to give me your opinon and RANK THE TOP 10 PAY-PER-CLICK SEARCH ENGINES.
Please keep in mind when ranking these engines, to consider your direct experiences, overall brand awareness, and/or the ppc's perceived reputation within the marketplace.
Based upon what I've heard so far, I'm naturally going to assume that there will be a consensus for the top 2, but if you disagree, please feel free to let me know.
1. ?
2. ?
3. ?
4. ?
5. ?
6. ?
7. ?
8. ?
9. ?
10. ?
Thank you very much for your help. I appreciate it.
Best,
Jeanette Dunwoody
I especially do not agree with that statement since Google secured the AOL deal.
----> Those are two "top" as far as "large-name" distribution partners.
... but there is quite a bit more targeted traffic to get outside of those big name distribution deals.
Overture believes this - that is why their entire network of partners extends much further than the big names we read about all the time.
The real question is which other services come close to matching at that level of service (including service, ROI and traffic quantity) to make it worth your time.
Obviously no other solution has the reach of OV (overall traffic).... But FindWhat has next best traffic levels and yields a competitive ROI ----> definitely enough not to ignore.
ah-ha and Kanoodle fall in behind along with LookSmart's solution (LS has good traffic - but lack of control of your account. If you cannot justify .15 a lick you are out of luck)
Sprinks, ePilot, goClick and Search123 have committed services that provides large enough traffic levels to justify the time.
A lot of this depends on your market sector... some services excel where other do not and visa versa.
All in all there is more targeted traffic to get outside of Overture ... which is well worth the time and effort.
In the US, at least, nothing else comes close to Overture.
[added]
Just went back and checked a couple of reports. A search term that drew 625 responses on Overture last month drew 125 on Google AdWords (half of the 125 came from AOL). There is Overture... and then there's the rest...
I have my own problems with Adwords, they do not provide a good service for niched keywords or services either in exposure nor value.
But they should be kept an eye on. My feeling is that they are more likely to take market share from the PPC second drawer rather than Overture at this time.
A lot may depend on the details of any settlement or results from the Overture suit against Google re PPC. That may well determine how effective or competitive a service that Google can offer.
2. Jeanette Dunwoody was a faux-celebrity in the 1995 HBO comedy series "Mr. Show with Bob and David"
3. The email address also appears to be associated with a "Nick Y####" who it seems might be in Oz land (Australia, or perhaps New Zealand). Could it be bigarms from Y!F:LOOK?
Why do people seem to present under false pretenses and yet wish to be taken seriously? Nobody has to identify themselves, but don't misidentify yourself. Very bad form if one expects genuine responses in a meaningful forum such as WebmasterWorld.
ihys has had a string of suspect posters, often posting nonsense ... not even valid feature questions.
- - -
1st, 2nd, 3rd: Overture
4th, 5th: Google Adwords Select
6th - 10th: also rans: minor league players all
11th: new LS SBL
Even after Google's adwords securing the AOL
sponsored spots?
