Overture vs. AdWords

run both?

[punditman]

This has probably been discussed umpteen times before here, (I'm relatively new), but how many of you have used Overture, or do you use both Overture & AdWords? Which is better, etc...I'm wondering if it is worth trying both at the same time.

[Mikey85]

I use both, but adwords is better. (because of the lower minimum CPC).

Allthough it's worth to use both, because you reach another kind of visitors.

[punditman]

Another kind of visitor? Do you mean by that, those more likely to click on "sponsored links" in the search results as opposed to text ads down the side of a page? (I used Overture several years ago, and I think that's how it works, right?)...

[Tropical Island]

We use both with great success.

We prefer AdWords because once you know the system it's just much easier to work with.

Overture has many built in problems that have been around for years.

Their interface is very slow and they are not as "up front" as Google.

They have many sleasy partners and you have to watch your serch terms like a hawk as they can get away on you.

If you are a small advertiser then avoid the high volume terms. Seek out terms that are much more specific and you should do well. Avoid content advertising until you know what you are doing.

[AdWordsAdvisor]

Another kind of visitor?

I'm guessing that what Mikey85 meant is that Overture has a different set of partners - and that, as a result, your ads will show to users on different sites.

Which, IMO, is a pretty good reason to use both. ;)

AWA

[Wlauzon]

We use both. Mostly AW because it is so much easier to work with. To a large extent they appear on totally different places so no reason not to cover all bases.

[Mike in Boulder]

We use both as well. By doing so we reach the majority of searches on engines. I recently saw a small study from an advertising firm that indicated that yahoo searchers will click on a PPC ad about 50% of the time and the free listings 50%, while google and others fell to about 35% on PPC.

It was a small study, and these figures are not all that trustworthy, but interesting non the less.

Use both! Google brings us a lot more traffic and seems more expensive, but in our space we can afford a high conversion cost.

[stevenmusumeche]

I use both but get a headache when I even THINK about logging into Overture.

[Mike in Boulder]

I should have mentioned that the overture interface has added much value to advils stock price.

[showyourpic]

Both services is good but I prefer google over overture and I spend a few thousand on both.

I hate overture stats pages and the many bugs they have still. Overture is a headache when managing keywords & stats but still delivers good traffic.

[Marty_Foley]

My suggestions:

* Start with Adwords.

* Test and track carefully to find your most effective ads and keywords. Use multi-variate testing (MVT) as a drastic ad testing shortcut.

* Only after finding your best converting ads and keywords, use them on Overture as well.

Marty Foley