Google Traffic Trends for PPC (AdWords) resellers who markup clicks on Google.

Posted on August 4, 2010 by SMB SEO

Ever wondered how popular one big PPC Adwords Reseller is vs another?

Google Trends is an excellent free tool to find out how many people search for a particular word, phrase, or brand vs another. It can also be used for quick keyword research. A great example is Attorneys vs Lawyers in subregions.

I was curious how the SuperMedia name change from Idearc (after the companies questionable bankruptcy) was impacting the brands popularity vs others like up and coming MLM-styled AdzZoo (who took a big hit from reducing 40% commissions to 20% last I heard) and ReachLocal, a company that is finally getting better at servicing clients and has the sales involvement (from a reporting perspective) and support structure to connect the client and management. SuperMedia has a disconnect by not giving sales reps the training or tools to medigate potential issues or offer optimization such as Website Conversion Optimization or tools such as Google Analytics.

Rumor is that Google wants to end the Google Authorized AdWords Reseller Program due to churn, click markups that are overpriced and prohibit a ROI for advertisers. While the program website is still live, many rumors have been swirling that Google wants to end the program and focus on the Google AdWords Certification and provider program. Maybe Google is shifting away from “working with H&R Block” type companeis and back to “independant tax preparers” or from yellow page providers and big national agencies to local service providers and mid-sized internet advertising and paid search (PPC) agencies.

The program has the following companies still listed on Google’s website:

The following companies are Google AdWords Authorized Resellers:

15miles/ TMP Directional Marketing
ACB
ADP Dealer Services
AdReady
AT&T
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Citysearch
Clickable
Cobalt
Comcast
Dealer.com
FTD
Hearst Newspaper
JG Sullivan
Local Insight Media
Market Leader
Marquette Group
Network Solutions
OrangeSoda
Pica9
ReachLocal
RH Donnelley
SuperMedia
TopSpot Internet Marketing
TravelCLICK
Viamedia
Web.com
Yellow Pages Group (Canada)
Yellowbook
Yodle

The program was designed to allow these companies to provide pay per click management services local SMBs. Companies who in the program must maintain a client base of over 500 clients and get free API access.

Potential concerns by some advertisers with large scale ppc service providers are:

Horrible ROI for the SMB’s due to the high % click markups by the Authorized Resellers on Clicks that are already markedup by Google’s “silent auction”
lack of transparency to the SMB’s.
Even Google’s reseller website all include 45% margins (see http://www.google.com/adwordsresellerinfo/business.html)

Most smaller PPC agencies markup clicks only 15-20%. Some agencies like SMB SEO even allow the client to purchase the campaign and build the campaign on the clients Google AdWords Account. So as they invest in the campaign monthly, they also own all the optimization improvements, history, and detail.

This change will likely force resellers to build a service oriented business model, which is nothing like yellow pages advertising and sales business practices, vs the huge markups necessary to pay sales reps, executives, shareholders, and hungry venture capital and hedgefund investors looking for big dividends and everyone else who doesn’t “service” or manage your account. Atleast ReachLocal has tools, trained sales reps, and client retention for “sales reps” vs the new rep every year business approach of yellow pages companies. Does all this lead to less focus on service, pay per click advertising scams, and a negative reputation for the providers or resellers?

So….. Take a look at the above results. What do you think is going on?

Time to whip out some real SEO keyword tools and see how much keyword query traffic the negative reputation has! Need to put in keywords like ReachLocal Sucks, SuperMedia Sucks, and AdzZoo Sucks or ReachLocal Scams, SuperMedia Scams, or AdzZoo Scams. Of course only 2% of people speak positive and almost 25% of those with a negative experience will comment. By the way… did I mention that I we know a thing or two about Online Reputation Management? I have some great tips to share local internet marketers on my DallasGoogleGuru.com Blog about companies who mark up clicks on Google vs providing a service!

What the heck is SEO and what is better than an SEO Guru?

Posted on May 7, 2010 by mike

I recently read a comment by Danny Sullivan (a well respected expert in the search marketing industry) via Marty’s blog post, titled What the Hell is SEO Now Anyway? . Danny’s comment was as follows:

So SEO is for search engines — it’s just that people often limit the definition of search engines to mean something with a search box and/or Google. Instead, it’s anything that allows people to find something. SEOs understand how to show up in the free listings provided in such places. Search marketers understand how to show up in either the free or paid listings.

Simple as that.

Danny is totally right. I find that so many SEOs tend to try to make SEO (which like Mark Jackson from Vizion Interactive in Dallas once said: Search is a verb.) a product centric or search engine focus. SEO is now SEM. SEM is Search Engine Marketing. SEM consists of Paid Search (or Pay-Per-Click) and Organic search optimization (or natural search engine optimization. SEM is an acronym that includes both paid and organic, and it now also encompasses other aspects of search including social media.

SEO has changed. Facebook is not really a “search engine.” Yet at the same token the benefits of having a Search Engine Marketer to consult and plan a marketing strategy for Facebook, now the World’s 2nd most popular site behind Google, is imperative. If your business is ignoring the marketing power of Facebook, you need to get on board. Social media is here to stay. So are the benefits of an SEO Guru and even more so the benefits of a Holistic Search Engine Marketer.

For many years I have been “preaching” the benefits of a holistic search engine marketing strategy. Just as search engines were once considered fragmented from many sites with no clear defined industry leader, now it seems that Google is managed to create a dominance in search volume by providing the highest quality search results for queries. Local search is extremely fragmented, and I believe that as Google continues dominance in search, it will also become the dominant player in “Local Search.”

Until Google has THE MONOPOLY on Search by being #1 in every vertical, such as Auto Search (Autotrader), News Search (Fox News), Finance Search (MarketWatch), Video Search (YouTube) , Image Search (Google Images), Local Search (CitySearch/YP.com), Shopping Search (Ebay), Review Search (Yelp.com), Real Estate Search (Zillow) and all the other hundreds of different kinds of search sites, you will continue to need a Search Engine Marketer more-so than a Search Engine Optimizer or SEO Guru.

I love reading discussions between experts like Danny Sullivan (the Editor of Search Engine Land) and Marty Weintraub (the President of aimClear). Real search engine marketers don’t have there head stuck up there butt and look at search marketing as “What PageRank is my website or the site I am linking from” and tend to have a more holistic view point, as myself, about the whole thing.

That’s my 2 cents!

Cheers,

Mike Stewart

Does your Dallas business need HELP with PPC Advertising?

Posted on April 27, 2010 by mike

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