I have read a few posts about eSpotting but don't seem to be able to extrapolate much detail. And from eSpotting's site, all I can work out is that the simplest campaign is £100 deposit + £10 service charge, and then £19.25 in VAT on top of that, for a total of £129.25. (Which means every click isn't just the bid price, but the bid price plus VAT? Argh!)
Are eSpotting looking to be a reliable deal? That is, I don't want to sign up and find out that Yahoo was planning to drop them all along in favour of AdWords. (I'm an Adwords veteran, and I really don't like the idea of paying VAT!)
Opinions? Or would I be better off convincing the client to go for an all out Overture UK/Adwords attack?
Welcome to Webmaster World!
I always get a bit nervous when I see people asking questions about PPC's when they are doing it on behalf of clients. There is always the inherent danger that they get it all wrong, the clients think that PPC doesn't work, when the reality is that the company/person advising them didn't do a good job and not the PPC.
I'm also concerned that what seems to be the main driving factor is the tax implication of whether it's a good deal or not.
If anything, Google should be charging VAT for UK based advertisers running UK only campaigns, but I'm not an accountant or the Chancellor so I'll leave them to sort out the nitty gritty of that one.
You sort of contradicted yourself with your post. On the one hand you say the client wants results from Yahoo UK and AJ, but then you are saying that you might go for a Google/Overture UK onslaught.
But to get back to your original question.
Espotting are generally speaking fine. We have many clients enjoying great ROI (even taking into account the tax), who get plenty of traffic.
All of Espottings major partners have signed reasonably long term contracts, so I think your £100 would run out before you need to decide whether to stick with it or move because they have lost all their partners.
However, sweeping statements are not my strong point. Whether Espotting will work for your client depends on your ability to manage the campaign properly, implement the campaign properly, track the campaign properly (there are a lot of small traffic providers you need to keep your eye on), chose the right keywords properly, depends on the sector your client is in, depends on whether you can afford to go top 5 or not, depends on whether you learn the nuances of their system and the way in which you can combat the auto-bid and make me top tools they have for advertisers.
So the short answer is will Espotting be any good..... depends on you.
Good luck.
On the higher bod phrases, Espotting bids are often cheaper than Overture by more than the cost of the VAT.
We have no complaints.
Also, good distribution deal with Google UK.
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U lost me on that 1?
Shak
Your choice could go with Overture or with Espotting.
speak to them, over the last few months, Espotting has started to listen a lot more to advertisers and will do all they can to keep you happy.
As long as you can provide proof, then I am sure they will try and help where they can.
Shak
I am more experienced in dealing with US campaigns, but from my research, Yahoo.co.uk is more used by British surfers than Yahoo.com, so eSpotting appears to be the solution.
One other question.. where does Ask Jeeves get its main 'UK Web sites I can show you' from when there are no bids in eSpotting? It appears not to use the same backup source as eSpotting, and it's not Google. Also, how long does it take eSpotting's partners to pick up on new keywords? A lot of the keywords I want to bid on are currently untouched! :-) eSpotting seem to be vague on this matter.
Thanks for your help so far, it's been very useful.
Teoma supplies Ask.co.uk backfeeds.
Shak
But I guess all this depends on how the sites are optimised and different ranking positions on the different rankings. I had to explain to someone I work with that there was a Yahoo.co.uk!
This deal with competitors clicking is something that goes on a lot and not something that you will find easy to combat.
I'd take satisfaction in the fact you are riling them sufficiently for them to have to use that as their last line in defense against your campaign. Provided you have got your coverage right the impact of their actions can be swallowed in good ROI.
The ramping up of the price is something that is often controlled by software, so you can't blame your competitor for you getting sucked into a bidding war.
A lot of the visitors get directed to the results based on their IP address and filters. So because I use a UK ISP, if I search for something on Yahoo.com I will get Overture UK results and not Overture US.
I decided to check it out, since I searched Yahoo and Overture (US) shortly after Yahoo did their 'change over' and the results were the same.
However, I just did some searches, and you're right, I'm getting Overture UK results on Yahoo.com! That's certainly useful to know.
Now if only Yahoo.co.uk would start using Overture as well ;-)
One of the many reasons that I am a fan of Espotting is because it is a serious rival to Overture. That old "eggs in one basket" = dangerous but also expensive thing!
