Refund or Downgrade Your Looksmart Budget

[egomaniac]

Don't forget to request a refund or downgrade your Looksmart budget.

Tomorrow [1/15/04] Looksmart loses the MSN contract. Tomorrow is also the monthly billing renewal date (at least it is for my account).

I just downgraded my monthly budget to the minimum that it would let me change it to. This way, I can evaluate what traffic, if any, Looksmart can deliver.

If you don't do this, chances are they'll bang your credit card one more time based on your past spending. You'll never recover this now that the MSN contract is dead.

I'll probably be requesting a refund of my account balance soon. Out of curiosity though, I am going to wait a few days before I do that.

I am looking forward to seeing MSN use INK results (for as long as that lasts).

[pmac]

Nice heads up.

[egomaniac]

Thanks pmac.

Without MSN, Looksmart has generated 0 clicks for me in the last day and half since the MSN contract ended - I used to get about 20 a day through Looksmart because of MSN.

Looks like I'll be asking for refund sooner rather than later.

This is actually great for me though because I have good INK positioning. I am now getting more MSN referrals than before!

The Looksmart Deathwatch continues...

[kanetrain]

You know what I find most interesting about this whole thing? Once MSN announced that they were dropping L$, L$ started making the changes that all of us had been beggin for for years... the ability to write our own descriptions, ability to change keywords, etc. etc. without getting charged. The list goes on.

They never listened to their users until the $ stopped flowing. I guess that should be a lesson to all major internet companies... when you're jacking around your customers, it's only a matter of time before you fall. You may be sucessful in the short term, but in the long run, you will fail.

Part of me feels bad for the individuals who will lost jobs etc., but that company really needs to just disappear. It's a karmic universe. L$ is really just getting what they deserve.

[Hunter]

Agree kanetrain, now they just LookStupid :)

[cyberprosper]

kanetrain - excellent post.

[webvisitor]

Petty comments regarding Looksmart deathwatch and karma etc, is unfair. In the front of every website is a business owner or concerned non-profit. I for one hope LookSmart finds a home for its directory. It could very well stay with MSN. The deal may be reconfigured.
MSN will never be noted as a paragon of hardcore search but the results have always been relevant to the casual surfer looking for the answer to a question. Thousands of LookSmart clients did well by the MSN listings.
One other comment about the institutional negativity afforded LookSmart here is the fact that their fall is a failure within the industry. Cheering their potential fall may set the stage for a one search engine world.
Think about it!

[kanetrain]

WEBVISITOR - you make some valid points, however, I was not referring to the looksmart directory at all or the validity of their listings.
I was simply referring to Looksmarts business practices (which in my opinion, have been unethical) and their poor customer service.

I don't think a company can do what LS has done and be successfull in the long-run.

Time will tell. It looks like MSN hasn't completely dismissed them yet, and LS appears to be making some changes...so perhaps they will survive.

Looksmart has a... how shall I say... less than stellar reputation. I'm all for search engine diversification, but I would prefer that the competition for Google come from a company I can trust.

[steve40]

I would not wish any company harm
but myself and many webmasters were burned after paying our money for directory inclusion and then a very short time later the listing was gone because they changed to ppc , I am sure that the small amount of money they made from that will help to be their downfall , as I for one would never never use for ppc or any other venture they were to offer and without webmasters spending the money with a company they do not trust due to previous experience
I hope they succeed but suspect it will take a lot to win back the hearts and minds of the webmaster community
steve