Put your hands in the air, you are surrounded

[temi]

Its seem all search engine are trying to squeeze organic search out of sight as much as possible, I don't use MSN but I tried a search on msn today and look at the screen dump of the result, you are guaranteed not to see a natural search without scrolling

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Care to post an example Temi? MSN always has filled their competitive searp's with PFP (pay for performance) and Sponsored ads. Ask is another that does much the same.

 

[temi]

I have just managed to upload the image, from my screendump, the last two listing are the only two organic result from which was visible from my sceeen without scrolling

 

[pinyo]

And the non-webmaster - i.e., my wife - always click on the first paid ad (without fail).

 

[Paul_KY]

Shhhhh...

This is a GOOD thing for those of us who f'ing PAY for advertising in their garbage SERPS. Furthermore, why do some folks think advertising is EVIL?

LOL

 

[Duke]

I've thought of shovelling out money to pay for advertising but I'm a sad combination of cheapskate and chickenshit3.

 

[temi]

And the non-webmaster - i.e., my wife - always click on the first paid ad (without fail).

Not just your wife Pinyo, even some experienced webmasters click on the paid listing, I think most people don't know what that "Sponsored" listing mean, I think only webmasters and Internet enthusiast can tell .

 

[pinyo]

And the top 4 listing captures nearly 30% of all clicks.

 

[Paul_KY]

It's a gimmick, all. See, technically if they use the word, "sponsored" they're providing, "full disclosure" under the law. But what most Internet users think when they see, "sponsored" is, "trusted".

JMHO

 

[Lanre]

OMG come to think of it I also used to think that they are the google or whatever SE guaranteed site till I got to know better Nice way to advertise but it doesn't come cheap does it?

 

[Paul_KY]

It comes very cheap if you know your ROI.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

ANY advertising is free if you do it right.

One of the most famous lines in advertising is by Henry Ford who said 'half of my advertising is worthless, I wish I could figure out which half'. On the internet you can do just that. Adwords allow you to track conversions, your logs allow you to track visitors through your site. What more can you ask for?

 

[Paul_KY]

They key is, to know what every visitor, on avg, is worth. If you know that it takes 50 visitors to make one sale/signup, which puts $10 in your pocket, then spending 10 cents per click through Overture/Google, etc. is not big deal, as you're doubling your money.

Know your ROI and keep your CPC (Cost Per Conversion) down. Also, as with all effective advertising, one needs to target their ad campaign effectively. For instance, if selling automotive products, then I would want to target my keywords toward auto products. But I don't want to compete with the big boys, because they can maul over me with their large advertising budgets and slim margins, so I do A LOT of homework to come up with 3, 4 and 5 word keyword phrases to bid on.

Ok, this is WAY to much advice.

 

[Paul_KY]

****editedbyme*****

 

[Duke]

I'd love to help you out Paul but I have no idea who you're talking about.

 

[Paul_KY]

Oh fuggit, I'll delete the post.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

and there it was, gone. this poor innocent post that had done no wrong in its short lifetime was snuffed out, like the last candle in church, it is now in........... darkness

 

[Paul_KY]

****lol****

 

[Duke]

Only served to confuse me more.

 

[Paul_KY]

Good! LOL