?

?

The answer is GOOGLE!!! These keywords are very expensive, so less organic results equals more clicks and more money in Google’s pockets.

I do realize this could just be some testing but if it is a sign of things to come,  my feeling is it will translate into a very poor user experience…

I have my CPM bid set to .35 on FaceBook and in actual fact isi it coming in much lower at only .08 and LinkedIn won’t even let me run my ad unless I bid a minimum of $3.10!!  The quality of LinkedIn impressions might be higher but I don’t think they are eight times more valuable, maybe twice or even three times – my effective CPM on FB is .08 so my actual CPM might be 35x higher on LinkedIn.  The trail won’t be that painful because of the $100 credit coupon LinkedIn sent me to try their ad network but if they intend me to keep on advertising they are going to have to lower their prices or I am going to have to see some crazy, spectacular results!!

FaceBook Ads

LinkedIn Ads

For the term ‘cool logos’ my site occupies the first two image spots, which show above the number one result!!  The first one actually goes to my category page which is extra nice!

As Google attempts to become stickier how many websites will it hurt?  Or does the fact that they are actually helping the searchers make it a wash because that is their core business?  But they make money off the advertisers to the tune of 95% – so are they really biting the hand that feeds them.  Will they sell the branding for these type of results?

I was recently involved in doing SEO for a company that had a cost per acquisition of $47 through traditional style advertising and that cost went down to $3.85 for those aquired though search engine optimization.

I find the biggest problem with SEO continuing to grow at the pace it deserves is twofold, first there is a lot of resistance from traditional marketing folks because SEO is a much different animal.  With SEO you are spending considerable resources on something your company ultimately has no control over, the search engines.  And to make matters even more complicated the search engines keep their algorithms and methods of ranking a secret.  Secondly, most business owners and traditional type marketing managers don’t really understand SEO and that makes it very difficult for them to justify the expense and risks involved in switching over their traffic acquisition methods to organic vs. paid.

But there is hope and I do see a pattern starting with the largest and most progressive companies as they give SEO a try.  It has even reached  a point where many of these companies are bringing SEO in-house where they can learn, track and enjoy these advantages up close and personal.

Google is set to lift its 4 year ban on gambling ads and allow gambling sites to advertise on their search result pages. The move has received a mixed response as you might expect with many groups suggesting that this is reckless in the extreme and others of the view that it was about time for the change. But what is really behind the move?

There have been a number of ideas put forward as to the reason for the change in policy, which will initially happen in the UK and then probably be rolled out, but there is one which really sticks out like a sore thumb. Is the mighty Google finally feeling the economic pinch? Is the recession which has smashed worldwide economies finally hitting cyberspace? Is the juggernaut which is Google desperate for cash? I think not but hey, more money never hurts right? You can BET on that!