I'm boycotting Google Adwords; who is joining me?
For example I have a very highly searched term on Overture and many competitors bidding on it that at the #1 position is $2.25 per click. On Google that term is consistently $5.00+ and only getting worse.
Basically this way on all the terms.
It's still profitable for us and our clients. Who cares how much it costs as long as you're making money?
Your boycott doesn't make sense.
Look at how dramatically the prices are rising
As one of the posters said above, lower your bid. You do not always have to be first, especially on Google. Have you experimented with different bids/positions?
what other products/services or forms of advertising increase like this?
Commercials during The World Series of Poker was one that came to mind immediately.
Yeah but don't you see that prices go up way faster than your revenue per sale will right?
Yeah, I mean, eventually it could happen. But it simply isn't right now. We go through waves, and after a while, the stupid bidders lose all their money and realize it isn't working for them.
Love you reference about the World Series of Poker though; what a great analogy. Where do I sign up with you? (sarcasm)
I commonly lower my bids when the price gets too high
Actually, I just leave my bids alone, for that matter.
This is a free market. Perhaps people are bidding higher because they can convert better.
[edited by: blaze at 3:04 am (utc) on July 14, 2004]
I hope there is a second AdWords somewhere.
I worry for your clients because your logic is so tragically flawed.
I don't know what's so flawed about "I'm making money, I continue to engage in those activities which are profitable for me.", but I'm sorry it sounds flawed to you.
For example I have a very highly searched term on Overture and many competitors bidding on it that at the #1 position is $2.25 per click. On Google that term is consistently $5.00+ and only getting worse.
It isn't that Google is overpriced, it's that your competitors are driving up the bid.
Why?
Well, folks who use PPC are usually very familiar with both Google Adwords and Overture.
Your competitors have apparently decided that, in your market, a $5.00+ bid on Adwords can be just as effective as a $2.25 bid on Overture.
Are they more effective at selling? Higher conversions? Does a$5+ a bid still make for a good ROI? Check them out. What might they be doing that you aren't?
Do what Blaze says. Drop your bid to where you can get a reasonable ROI. Then tweak your ads, check your sell pages. Work it.
It all depends on what you're selling and how much your competitors are willing to spend. Some of my keywords are as much as $11 - $14 per click to be in the number one spot, which I'll gladly pay. It might seem high, but keep in mind I'm selling $2,500 - $9,000 items.
My ads are also very targeted and all have the word "BUY" in them - the conversion ratio is much higher when people know that they're going to have to spend money to get whatever you're offering before they click the ad. For me it only makes sense to be in the number one position. If that's not the case with you try lowering your Cost per click and see if you do better. Sure you'll get less clicks but you'll probably get a higher return on investment.
You never know what you are going to pay for a click on Google and that creates this mess.
Anyone who doesn't see this just doesn't get it. And does not understand the business side of this medium.
My whole point of this thread was just to document that Google prices are much higher than Overture and for that reason Overture is a better investment profitability-wise.
Do you all work for Google? What's with the defensiveness when all my comments are based on fact; not a personal vendetta with Google.
Lowering bids can work wonders.
With careful keyword selection you can take the number one AdWords spot in competitive markets while working on affiliate commissions. Out-bid the merchant and all the competitors in that space and still make money.
Naturally in an open marketplace like AdWords, the margins will tend to go to zero as competition increases. The battle is won through keyword selection and increasing conversion rates.
I hope that Call To Action isn't too far out of line for the TOS on this website.
Do you all work for Google? What's with the defensiveness when all my comments are based on fact; not a personal vendetta with Google.
No, but they do happen to have about 60% of the search engine market and my money is better spent there. In my own experience I've always gotten MUCH better results from AdWords than Overture, not just clicks but overall ROI. The results may be different for you, but in my industry there are more people searching Google for the products I sell than anywhere else. It's worth every penny.
If Overture works better for you then put all of your money in Overture and ignore the other 60% of the web. Meanwhile your competitors will keep advertising in both and pick up all of the customers that you could potentially have recieved from Google.
Sorry to sound like a know-it-all, but in this case actually I do. And this marketshare info is pretty available I can email it to you if you want.
Do you all work for Google? What's with the defensiveness when all my comments are based on fact; not a personal vendetta with Google.
No, but they do happen to have about 45% of the search engine market and my money is better spent there. In my own experience I've always gotten MUCH better results from AdWords than Overture, not just clicks but overall ROI. The results may be different for you, but in my industry there are more people searching Google for the products I sell than anywhere else. It's worth every penny.
If Overture works better for you then put all of your money in Overture and ignore the other 45% of the web. Meanwhile your competitors will keep advertising in both and pick up all of the customers that you could potentially have recieved from Google.
BOSTONSEO: Is this better?
If I ran my business the way you did, then I should pull out of Overture just because it brings me "less" sales and costs more per conversion. That doesn't make any sense, I still make a killing with both of them.
A better question might be why are you such a "Google-hater"?
the stupid bidders lose all their money and realize it isn't working for them.
In some markets this is definitely a challenge for established advertisers. New merchants and especially affiliates show up on the scene thinking they are going to get rich quick and bid really high. Sure most of them run out of money in a week or a month when they find out it's not as easy as they thought, but when there is a constant and seemingly neverending supply of these "newbies" it definitely drives prices up across the board, no matter what position you are trying to maintain.
In response to your question why Google is not my preference, I've never seen it perform more profitably than Overture. This is based on 50+ clients cummulatively spending in excess of $25,000,000.00 in the last year.
Might want to post one in the Overture foruma as well for comparison, though you should mention that you are not repeat posting, just trying to compare..
Anyways, I think you are probably right. However, ROI is only one of many factors when picking a PPC engine.
