Deep in the trenches!

[chrisrisenhoover]

My partner and I are primarily affilaite marketers via PPC. We have sold Software, and are no focusing on ringtones. We are deep in the trenches, and could use all the help we could get!

We have 38,000 Keywords up, and our biggest challenge is that we have some days where we do great, and other days where we crap out. We have a lot of ideas for ways to improve (tighten ads to focus on high converting carriers, increased dynamic content, etc) - big challenge for us is we dont want to waste time going down paths that others have proven only provide maginal improvement.

Any PPC based affiliates out their willing to share their experince in general? Thanks!

 

[Linda Buquet]

Hi Chris,

Welcome to 5 Star. Have you read ShoeMoney.com? Jeremy is huge in the PPC ringtone space and lets lots of good tips slip in his blog and also in the archives of his radio show. I'm going to be on his radio show next Tues but i don't think this show we will be talking much about PPC specifically.

 

[chrisrisenhoover]

Linda, thanks for the welcome!

Yes, I have read ShoeMoney.com he has some great stuff. His blogs have provided some great guidance. Anyone else you can think off?

 

[Linda Buquet]

I know Pepperjam does lots of arbitrage, not sure if they give away much on their blog. I don't play much in the arbitrage space, but try to keep up on the topic in general terms. Google or go to Technorati and search for affiliate arbitrage type KW and you should find lots.

 

[StephenR]

I'm assuming you've read "The Definitive Guide to Google AdWords" by Perry Marshall? http://www.perrymarshall.com A mandatory read for any PPC marketer.

 

[chrisrisenhoover]

actually I have not - we have spent most our time in the google adwords tutorials, etc.

The big challenge we are having is with the sure size of our list. There seems to be some great advice out their for running small campaigns (1000 words or less), but when you are going for high volume it seems that many of the ideas become difficult to implement.

Example: Google is recommending adGroups with no more than 25 keywords. Writting 1500 adGroups and tailoring the page as such seems a bit challenging! For those people who are using Adwords/Overture/MSN, out of curiosity how man keywords and how many adGroups?

I'm assuming you've read "The Definitive Guide to Google AdWords" by Perry Marshall? http://www.perrymarshall.com A mandatory read for any PPC marketer.

 

[StephenR]

Size does not matter in PPC. =) Through split-testing using sub id's you can finely tune your keywords to no more than 25-50 highly profitable keywords. That's all that is really required for a decent CTR. I steer clear of one and two-word keywords for all of my PPC campaigns and focus on 3 or more words per keyword phrase.

This route keeps your PPC campaigns costs down and CTR up. In addition, people who click on your ads after searching in the search engines using 3 or more keyphrases know exactly what they're looking for and are more than likely not fly-by prospects who will just inflate your CTR but have no intention of making a purchase.

For instance do not use "ringtone", "free ringtone", etc. They're too broad and you'll pay too much per click. Instead use "download free ringtone", "download free ringtone t mobile", "download free verizon ringtone", etc. which will produce more clicks and a higher CTR.

Targeting one or two-word keywords are for advertisers with deep pockets and money to burn. I know that's uber basic and I apologize but for brevities sake that's all I can really get into here.

Incidentally, if you're going to get into marketing ringtones you're in for some stiff competition. In addition, most people searching for ringtones are looking for free ringtones. Why? Well, from a demographic perspective your primary audience will be HS-College students for this market who...let's face it do not have a whole lot of money to spend online.

I'm not saying you can't make a good ROI in that market but it may turn out to be more difficult than a tighter niche that targets a more mature market.

 

[chrisrisenhoover]

Good feedback - thank you. 25-50 profitable keywords? That part I am not sure on from my results so far. of course I am new and may be misinterperting the data! Definitely we seem to be making money of 3+ words and long tail keywords. Challenge with a lot of those is simply that the volume is to low yet to know if they are profitable. if I have 100 words that each got 1 click last week but only 1 sold, I dont have enough statisitcal data to turn of the the other 99.

We are looking at other niches as well. We liked rintones because of mass market appeal and wanting to "cut our teeth" where there is volume for us to work with.