A bit of an exaggeration maybe, especially from a staunch Google advocate such as myself. But I am concerned.
When I first discovered Google AdWords it was love at first sight. Advertising for the masses, highly targeted, priority on relevance. Sounded like my kind of environment. I have often distilled the AdWords creed as I held it down to something like this, “Getting quality products and services in front of those that want them via truthful and relevant advertising”.
All fine and good, in theory.
Here is the concern.
I have a growing hunch that because the threshold for using AdWords is so low, it is being degenerated by mobs of inexperienced and thereby incompetent users. I am increasingly amazed how many AdWords accounts I come across that do not utilize analytics and do not have a metrics conversion strategy.
AdWords is an auction. Many if not most AdWords users are bidding without knowing if they are bidding on a leaky rowboat or a pristine yacht. In other words they have no way to valuate individual words, matching options, position, distribution method, etc. As a result they are bidding blindly, often wildly, and screwing up the machinery.
Market forces eventually come to play. Ignorant bidders go broke or give up. Problem is the pool of AdWords neophytes may be growing more rapidly that they go away. The results we are seeing, I fear, are an increasing number of washouts that are pulling on the rest of us as they go down the drain.
To top it off, Google’s attempts at bringing order to the Auction House with things like Quality Score are roundly reviled by the AdWords mob of “I’m not rich yet and it is your fault!!!” wannabes.
Sound like a grouchy rant? It is. I’ll probably regret it in the morning.
And I certainly am not offering a constructive solution, just bellyaching, that’s all. But I do wish I could shake this growing feeling that “Do no Evil” may not be the same as “Cause no Evil”.
To give some credibility to my whining I cite the most concise piece I have yet to read on Pay-per-Click. Comes from Kent Lewis and his crew over at Anvil Media.
http://anvilmedia.com/pay-per-click-advertising-article.htm
Note the opening:
“The good news: you can setup and manage a pay-per-click (PPC) advertising program on Google, Yahoo! or MSN within minutes. The bad news: you can setup and manage a PPC advertising program within minutes. That means anyone can set up a PPC program, which has led to higher overall cost, lower click-through rates and conversions. There is hope, however.”
There IS hope. That is what I provide to my clients as well. Give it my best shot anyway.
But this post is about the bad news. ’nuff said.
-T
Tom Hale
Internet Strategist - AdWords Specialist
http://ThomasCreekConcepts.com/
http://forum.sempdx.org/
9 responses so far ↓
1 Trevor // Jul 31, 2007 at 6:58 am
Good post, Tom! Its nice to read some constructive criticism concerning AdWords.
2 Scott Frangos // Aug 28, 2007 at 3:57 pm
Good points… and I agree, Tom. Used to be tougher to track results with offline media (like a newspaper ad) — but now there’s no excuse. You have analytics and conversion reporting, as you mentioned. And, unlike a newspaper ad, you can revise your headline, copy, offer, etc. based on the response the ad is getting… in real time. Why would people not do this? If you don’t and you’ve read this far in the comments… you need to hire Tom.
- Scott
3 Tom Hale // Sep 6, 2007 at 10:54 am
Thanks for comment Scott, and the plug
But you actually point to another facet of the problem. To do all the things you mention take time. Hiring any Professional is not like hiring the neighbor kid to mow the lawn. In other words there is a definite cost involved. The very small business has a hard time justifying the cost of Professional AdWords management. In their minds and budget perceptions anyway. So they open an account for $5 and start throwing money away.
Mainly because they wear so many hats they can’t carve the time to learn and implement proper AdWords and Analytics strategies.
Tough. Like I said, I don’t have any immediate answers for some of these problems.
btw, the time thing pertains to blogging too. That I know from my own problems in devoting the proper time to blogging.
-T
Tom Hale
Internet Strategist - AdWords Specialist
http://ThomasCreekConcepts.com/
http://forum.sempdx.org/
4 Scott Goodyear // Dec 17, 2007 at 11:22 am
Hi Tom,
I think that this sentiment also applies to web sites in general. It’s easy and quick to set up a website, yay, any one can do it. But it also easy and quick to set up a website, ugh, any one can do it. Whether they pay a contractor to set it up or do it themselves, they figure that they are done with their web site and turn to adwords, submission, etc. rather than continuing to build a quality, interesting site, or blog, or whatever. They don’t consider their site “publishing”. Even PPC won’t necessarily save you if your site isn’t too compelling.
5 tchale // Dec 17, 2007 at 12:05 pm
So true Scott, perhaps it is a general truth for our day, especially in business.
These days you have the opportunity to “do it yourself” on so many fronts. Easy to DIY yourself into bankruptcy or an early grave.
On the other hand, the cash flow game of making enough as a specialist, to then hire other specialists in supporting your business, isn’t exactly for the timid either.
But I hear you, all my skill as an AdWords manager can be negated by a mediocre DIY website.
-T
6 tchale // Dec 17, 2007 at 1:05 pm
A hypocritical update.
Even as I point folks to this post on the dangers of DIY, I am having conversations with clients about them managing there own accounts because the “scope” of their effort and resources no longer fit with my business model. My practice is being strangled by clients that can’t help me help them.
My best clients are often those that have done it themselves to some extent, they have a better chance of understanding what I tell them. Yet I rant against the DIY multitudes.
A bit of a catch-22, I will certainly admit.
-T
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