3 replies to this topic

[K.S. Katz]

I just got off the phone with Tom Koletas, the VP in Sales, at IndustryBrains.com and they run a really nice specialty niche tech PPC engine. It's run sort of like Sprinks where they have Content Focus and Keyword Focus listings. For keyword listings, min. bid is $0.25 and if you're in the Top 5 (which is where you want to be) you get distributed to all the magazines for that subscribe. Content Focus listings have the same min bid and allows you to target a particular tech portal and categories (i.e. PC Magazine's home page). There's no monthly spending requirement (only that you commit to $25/account). Incidently, they're very customer oriented.

[Edited what seemed to be somewhat of an ad. Please read the Guidelines and Forum Netiquette for further clarification. - Jill]

Sincerely,

K.S. Katz

Edited by Jill, 01 August 2003 - 04:48 PM.

[Haystack]

Hi K.S., that does appear to be a Sprinks like service. I wonder why PC Magazine would use a rather obscure service like this rather than a more main stream PPC syndication solution like Overture or Google? They undoubtably have higher average clicks so it seems like it would generate more revenue for the magazines.

$0.25 per click seems a bit high considering you have little control over where your ads will be shown compared to true PPC advertising.

[Mort]

K.S.
I've been using IB for five months. For the keywords I manage, it offers a highly targeted opportunity to send text advertisements to my desired audience.

However, I'm not completely satisfied with IB. The 25 cents / click does not bother me (or the guys who pay the bills), but their ability to fend-off potential fraud. They allege to have safe-guards in place to prevent fraud, but I'm skeptical.

I had one particular keyword that received a disproportionate number of clicks versus all other keywords (combined). It took IB about a week to figure out why this was happening and to issue a solid response. (Meanwhile, I'm asking them on a consistent basis for a status update.) In another instance, it took well over that length of time to complete a work-request.

I did some investigating and it appears the top -three- listings in IB get outsourced to the major clients -- not the top five.

One other thing, you can decide if you want your listings targeted to either B2B or B2C. I'm not 100% how they do this, but it's an option they offer....
Mort-

[Haystack]

However, I'm not completely satisfied with IB. The 25 cents / click does not bother me (or the guys who pay the bills), but their ability to fend-off potential fraud. They allege to have safe-guards in place to prevent fraud, but I'm skeptical.

Thanks for the insight, Mort. Fraud prevention is a huge challenge for all PPC companies, and definitely makes me wary of smaller players in the industry. I'm a big fan of dumping a few bucks into new PPC programs for tests but find cases where I only see a handful (if any) leads I can track back to the particular PPC program I'm testing.

BTW, keep an eye out for a new special report by Andrew Goodman of Page-Zero.com addressing this very issue.