Why Cheaper Clicks are Better
by Ross Lasley
Lately, we’ve been talking quite a bit about marketing with clients. Lots of people are starting to be aware of the power of CPC programs (cost per click) but most are confused as to the pitfalls and problems associated with using these powerful marketing techniques.
CPC is run by a bid system – the site owner willing to pay the most appears at the top, the person willing to pay the second highest appear second, and so on.
(No idea what we’re talking about? Check out a past issue of IAGTM on CPC marketing here.)
There is a substantial amount of complexity to CPC, to say the least. Proper management is quite complex and involves dozens of variables. Today I want to explain one of the biggest reasons why good CPC management is important: you can’t just throw money at this problem.
Let’s take a look at some CPC terms KISS Computing might use and what they cost now (top price yesterday AM at Overture).
- Web Site Design Company - $3.14
- Web Site Design Package - $1.73
- Web Design - $1.68
- Web Site Design Company Boston - $0.96
- Web Site Design Company Cape Cod - $0.10
If you are like most humans on planet earth you assume more expensive = better. One of the big problems with CPC is that this is rarely the case. Give me 1,000 site visitors that searched for ‘Web Site Design Company’ – I might have a potential customer in there, but the cost for that would be $3,014. Give me 1,000 site visitors that searched for ‘Web Site Design Company Cape Cod’ – I would surely get more real leads from this group, at a cost of only $100.
This is an example of the many things within CPC that are counterintuitive – like lots of web based marketing, the realities defy logic.
I’ve heard lots of people talk about how well CPC works, and I’ve heard lots of people talk about how it doesn’t work at all ( “that was a huge amount of money, we got nothing out of it” ).
What these people are really describing is the quality of the management – for good CPC you really need a pro.
 TRIAGE, I mean "Tech Tip", of the week
by Michael McGrath
With so much print space and air time devoted this week to the MSBLAST virus, we thought a few words here should be devoted to the same subject, but in a more helpful vein . . . . triage and curative steps. If your computer becomes infected and gets shut down, you’ll need to follow these few, simple steps (and you may want to print them for your future reference):
- Unplug your modem.
- Restart your computer.
- Go to Start --> Search --> For Files and Folders.
- Confirm that Look In is set for C: drive.
- Search for files and folders named: “MSBLAST.exe”
- When the computer finds the msblast file(s), right click on the file names and delete all copies of the files.
- Shut down the machine.
- Plug the modem back in.
- Restart the machine.
- Go directly to http://microsoft.com/security/security_bulletins/ms03-026.asp, read the Microsoft bulletin and install the patch and/or update.
- Then update your antivirus software.
Of course, an ounce of prevention is worth, well, you know the rest. The Microsoft patch has been available since July 16, and antivirus definition files to update your protection have been available for some time as well. It is prudent to pay heed to these simple and free resources and let them help you practice safe internet surfing. Be pro-active, and you won’t need these triage tips any more.
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 FREE Tip Sheet |
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"Determining Website Profitability"
Sure its a mouthful, but this tip sheet will explain in
plain English (we promise!) the steps you need to take to
determine if your website is making any money or not. |
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WordBiz Giveaway |
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...and the winner is
Caren Davidkhanian
Press Bureau LLC
Caren, to claim your prize, please email
us with the web address of the website you would like
us to review.
Thanks to all of you who participated! |
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