Is there any web promotion for MSN or AOL?

[alex_cross]

Are there any web promotion ads for AOL, MSN, AltaVista, that are similar to Ad-Words or Banner Ads that won't break me?

[agerhart]

AOL, MSN, and AltaVista all place Overture listings on top of their search results. This is going to be one of the most affordable ways, SEO aside ;), within these three.

[sparrow]

Correction agerhart
AOL uses Google now not Overture.

[agerhart]

I stand corrected......still getting used to the switch. ;)

[alex_cross]

Sorry, I meant other than search engine rankings.

[agerhart]

Alex, these aren't search engine rankings. These are pay-per-click (PPC) listings that are about the same as Google Adwords advertisements.

[alex_cross]

I know that they are not search engine rankings but in the end that is what it boils down to.

Does Aol or MSN have any banner ad programs, etc.

[agerhart]

Search engine rankings are based on an algorithm of some sort, and the Overture listings are simply based on who wants to pay the most. While Overture is a search engine, you don't need to optimize anything except for your wallet to rank on top.

AOL Advertising [mediaspace.web.aol.com]
MSN Advertising [advantage.msn.com]

[aeeseo]

so if I were to put money into overture for the keyword baseball bats for example, would I be in top ten PR for AltaVista and MSN for that keyword??

[agerhart]

aeeseo, Overture's top three listings for certain keywords and keyword phrases are placed at the top of the search results on a whole mess of search engines, directories, and portals. If you were to bid in the top 3 for "baseball hats" your listing would be placed on top of the search results for that keyword search in AltaVista, Yahoo, MSN, AllTheWeb, and more. This has no impact on actual search engine rankings.

[alex_cross]

It all boils down to you still being at the top of the search results. In addition many SEO companies present getting a client listed in the top three on various search engines within seven days.

[agerhart]

You are absolutely right Alex, and they shouldn't, because that is not SEO.

You are also correct that you are listed at the top of the search results, but they are seperated from the search results and it has to be shown that they are paid listings.

Users are not stupid, and they will know that these paid listings may not be the most relevant site to their search. A top 3 listing will produce more traffic than an Overture listing...hands down.

[Travoli]

Alex, banners and buttons are tough to get clicks on these days. The cool thing about PPC is that you only pay when you get traffic. And if you are on a budget, you control your bid and overall traffic at an instant.

May I ask why you want banners more than PPC listings? Maybe there is something I am missing.

[alex_cross]

I already use PPC and have good SE rankings.

I do not agree that a top three ranking on MSN will beat an Overture PPC ranking hands down. One of my competitors has NO search engine rankings and his site lists a product for $49.98 and everyone else sells this same product for $57.00 or more. His company sells more of this product line than anyone in the country.

I use GOOGLE and Overture for searches but if I am looking for the best price on something I want to buy I always use Overture. Overture rarely fails when it comes to prices. Also, it is getting harder and harder to get keywords listed on Overture. Yesterday they tried to pull one of my listings because it had the word "Germa" in it. After I explained this was the name of the product, they let me keep it.

Most people that search the internet are not good at. Even companies that have been on the internet for several years don't know how to find and SEO company that does a good job.

[agerhart]

That is because there are many sneaky firms that promise to get top 3 placement in 7 days without explaining that it is Overture listings and not SEO.

[alex_cross]

I use banners, PPC, Ad-Words, Monster Banners, SE Ranking, etc. I have hit my limit as far as increasing traffic to my main products on the search engines and am now trying to find alternate forms of traffic such as banners, MySimon, BizRate, etc. We are also, trying to brand our name.

I have six PPC accounts set up with over 6,000 terms.

[alex_cross]

I know that. We were burned the first three times we hired one, so I learned to do it myself.