Should You Really Pay Per Click? Cost Saving Alternatives

[Sharpy]

Read this in the latest Site Pro News, thought it might interest someone.


Should You Really Pay Per Click? Cost Saving Alternatives
by Richard Bailey ©Copyright 2003

Many advertisers continue to use pay-per-click advertising
because they are unaware of any alternatives. The fact is,
there are very promising search engines that may be used as
an alternative or supplement to a PPCSE campaign. Even if you
have dropped your PPCSE advertising altogether because you
cannot find that blend of quality, high-volume traffic along
with a low bid price, you will want to consider these
alternative search engines.

This article will look at three search engines. If you have not
already added your site to these search engines, it is highly
recommended that you do so.

::TowerSearch http://www.towersearch.com

Why only allow one advertiser to be number one? This is the
question that TowerSearch has posed to the pay-per-click search
engine industry when they introduced their "Equalized Results".
TowerSearch guarantees that advertisers will receive a top
listing for their site under the keywords that they choose
without bidding on those keywords. This is done through a
constant re-organizing of their results to ensure that each
advertiser receives fair treatment.

Because there is no per click cost associated with listing your
site on TowerSearch, your monthly expenditures will remain
consistent even if the traffic from your listings increases
significantly. TowerSearch advertisers can select from two
account levels. The "Standard Listings" ($29.95/month) account
allows advertisers to list their site under as many as 100
keywords. TowerSearch does provide an account that allows for
unlimited keywords, but be prepared to pay a little extra for
that account ($49.95/month).

Over 1,200 websites currently participate in the TowerSearch
network. Unlike a pay-per-click search engine that pays its
network partners to provide searches, TowerSearch rewards its
partners for new clients. The result is that TowerSearch traffic
is driven by users interested in finding a product or service,
not an affiliate looking to make a commission. TowerSearch seems
to be the only search engine that effectively reduces your per
click cost as you receive more traffic. Because they charge a
flat monthly fee for their services, as you improve your
listings, add keywords and increase traffic to your listings,
your per click price will quickly drop to an insignificant level.
TowerSearch is well worth the $29.95/month they are charging.

::ExactSeek http://www.exactseek.com

It is possible to get a number 1 listing without paying for
every click you receive. The people at ExactSeek have built an
engine that allows you to move up their rankings by simply
providing them with some traffic yourself.

ExactSeek blends innovative search and listing techniques with
the traditional search engine model. At the core of ExactSeek is
a Meta-tag search engine using site titles and meta-tags to
classify sites under keywords and phrases. However, unlike a
traditional meta-tag search engine, the most important aspect
of your ranking (under their priority listings) is the amount
of traffic you provide to their site.

ExactSeek Priority Listings use a system of "Search Points" to
determine a site's ranking. A single search point is equal to
20 searches provided within a day. As your listing accumulates
more and more search points, your site rises in their listings.
And, of course, as your site rises in their rankings, you will
see more and more traffic. When you add your site to their
listings, you will certainly want to participate in their
Priority Listings as it guarantees your site a place among the
top 100 search results for the keywords in your site title and
meta tags. Of course, your position within the top 100 will
continue to improve as you send more traffic to them. With over
30,000 new site submissions daily (yes, that's 30,000 site
submissions per day), ExactSeek is quickly making its impression
on webmasters across the globe. Also, visitors are able to search
for more than just websites. They can search for images, mp3
files, images, comparison shopping sites and email addresses.

If you have not added your site to ExactSeek, you are missing
out on something that is becoming more and more rare: the
opportunity for free traffic. With that price tag in mind and
the ability to be listed at the top of their listings, listing
with ExactSeek is an easy decision.

::LookListings http://listings.looksmart.com

One of the main problems pay-per-click search engines have
presented to advertisers is the "ego bidder". This is the bidder
who bids so much higher than what everyone else is willing to
pay that all competition is effectively cut off.

The negative consequence of this is that the bid price is
artificially inflated and all advertisers suffer less traffic or
higher bid prices. To avoid the ego bidders, and to provide all
advertisers with a fair price for their listings, LookListings
charges a flat per click fee of just $0.15. Try finding a quality
keyword on Overture or Google for $0.15 - I promise you will be
hard-pressed to find one.

This system has worked very well for them and their advertisers.
Because there is no bidding process, advertisers are able to
concentrate more on how their listings read and what keywords
they are listed under rather than focusing on whether they have
been outbid, are paying too much for their listing, or other
time-consuming activities.

LookSmart was already recognized for being a top search engine
before launching LookListings. Since LookListings became
available, LookSmart has added MSN, AltaVista, About, Excite,
Netscape, InfoSpace, Cnet, and RoadRunner to participate in
their program.

LookListings will probably be the most expensive option out of
the three search engines presented here. However, with the search
traffic they are able to provide, their services are well worth
the asking price. Conclusion This article has mentioned three
search engines that act as alternatives or supplements to
PPCSE's. PPCSE's are not a bad marketing investment. However,
they can be expensive and difficult to manage.

These alternative search engines all offer one thing: more
traffic for your money.

================================================== ==============
Newsletter compiled by Richard Bailey of Client By Design.
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[Steen]

I love Overture, I am not moving

[deepstar]

Looksmart and looklistings is without a doubt the worst se out there. They are not good people. You pay an amount just to get listed then you pay 15 cents per click but you must prepay. If you dont spend the monthly minimum they charge you more money. So if they do not deliver the clicks to you then they charge you more money.

I spent $100+ and received 15 clicks from them.

People, do not buy anything from them.

That towersearch.com has the most obvious spam at the bottom of the page. I would not buy anything from these people either as being listing on their site could hurt your ranking in other se's because they use this obvious spam.

My take.
Eric