I don't laugh at those hit, but I do indeed feel sorry for people who lack even rudimentary understanding of how to run a business, and make the obvious and clear mistake of staking their business, income, financial health, etc on adwords, or, on any single means of advertising.And I come back to the idea that it's the BUSINESS OWNER that makes the decision to live or die with adwords...it's the BUSINESS OWNER'S decision to make him or her vulnerable and helpless.
If one were given the opportunity to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars, even millions (as an organization) b/c of opportunities that adwords presented should one not take advantage of that? If this was suddenly taken away (sudden meaning a 3-4 month period in this case) can one not get upset. I don't see how it is "bad business"?
You could say that you made out and now it is time to move on and build something more substantial but there is no bad business practices if you were able to make tens of millions of dollars and generate multiple billions of impressions over a 4 to 5 year period and see it all diappear in a matter of months - especially in light of the fact that dubious ads are still showing, that one can still buy blue squirrels at eBay, Shop etc.
If you are so smart I take it you and your organization also generated millions in profit over the last 5 years but somehow I doubt it.
If they truly wanted to improve quality then they should give an advertiser specific feedback.
At least those publishers with an account manager - since the managers waist time with idle chat as it is.
How about looking at the landing page and say:
1) Too many ads on it
2) Not enough product info
3) No return policy
4) No contact info
5) Ad Text keywords not found on page
6) Broken links
Now, fix those and your QS will go up in about 3 weeks.
But no... i've had them look at my account/landing page and say 'we won't tell you what is wrong'. So, rather than working with a $400,000 client they simple say 'we won't help you'. So I end up only able to supply 3 programmers with work rather than the usual 6.
What a bunch of crp.
I see G lets folks advertise for Virgin-only chat rooms ... great quality I bet.
In other words, the customer is given the opportunity to make a choice instead of being shown the door
I'm afraid that is a politically correct way of Google saying 'what is the pain threshold of this customer and how much money can we get before they leave on their own so we don't look that bad'.
A lot of horse feathers
Absolutely!
If they truly wanted to improve quality then they should give an advertiser specific feedback
Or at least show us a score and let us tinker and tweak and score again until we get it right.
Unfortunately that would lead to the highest quality landing pages and lower bids again and Google cannot have that...can they?
JAG
I'm not sure how much I've helped divert away from Google exactly. Several million dollars for hundreds of clients perhaps...so no, they don't care when they are making billions. But, it was for the clients ROAS that it was done and not once was the thought of whether Google would care put into the equation.
Don't throw in the towel completely. Keep a watch on AdWords--things can always change.
I quit using AdWords to advertise one of my sites over a year ago. It had gotten to the point where I would have needed around a 20% conversion rate just to break even.
A couple weeks ago, I started advertising on AdWords again. Now, I only need a 2% conversion rate to break even.
Given that this is just a single niche, it's inaccurate to draw any conclusions about it. But, I would suspect that, since most people in my niche have the same relative profit margins, sooner or later, advertisers will stop paying the higher rates. Then the rates will just have to drop if Google wants to continue earning advertising revenue.
I know that if my current bids are raised, I'll just cease using AdWords again.
Don't throw in the towel completely
Very true. It is a constant change out there and whatever makes sense at any given time for the clients is what is important.
JAG
I don't see how it is "bad business"?
And that, in a sense, is my point. Google has made it possible for some people with almost no business sense and very few marketable valuable skills, to make money in a NON-SUSTAINABLE WAY. When the "method" no longer works, it's over, leaving those people who have no idea of how to run and build a long term sustainable business with not too many prospects.
If you develop a business that can't possibly work without adwords, and adwords changes and you go bust or can't pay the rent, exactly WHO is responsible for the decisions you made, the vulnerability you created for yourself, and the results?
Personally I love the industry that is now available to people of all walks of life and old school business bs doesnt hold up in many situations so do what you think is best & try not to hold all your eggs in one basket, diversify and do alot of thinking.
When the "method" no longer works, it's over, leaving those people who have no idea of how to run and build a long term sustainable business with not too many prospects
While I am certainly not fond of the latest changes made by Google...and that quote above may be a little more harsh than need be...it is indeed true.
Nearly every business relies on someone else whether it be a manufacturer or supplier or distributor or whatever. The most successful ones remove the single points of failure by having backup manufacturers or suppliers or distributors or whatever.
In this case it is search engines so redistribute the spend and always be testing the other engines even if Google is doing good for you today.
JAG
I have had no problem with Adwords whatsoever. Of course, I keep up with the changes and adjust accordingly so that they weigh to my advantage...or at least do no harm to my overall strategy.
We can use ALL the other online advertising but at this time nothing matters but G (in my niche).
Those that keep repeating the same montra of 'diversification' may talk to my hand.
