21 replies to this topic

[Catz]

Don't you listen to them Jill.
The contributions here are priceless!

Imagine the state of SEO if High Rankings Forum didn't exist...
The other forums out there just don't come close to what you have created.

The day you decide you've had enough will be a sad day for all!

[MaKa]

Guess I better close down the forum and newsletter then...

Don't pull the plug just yet, I'd say the free advice on High Rankings is much more valuable than the price I pay for it!

[Jill]

I'd say the free advice on High Rankings is much more valuable than the price I pay for it!

At least you didn't say "only slightly more"

[jehochman]

This thread is a good example of what I call "over thinking". It is easy to test PPC. Do you have a credit card with $5 or more available credit? Open an Adwords account and buy some clicks and see if you can make any money at it. Usually at least few clicks are worth buying. Even for SEO services, which are generally sold by word of mouth to friends of clients (in my case), there is a benefit to advertising on my own name and the obvious misspellings and variations, as insurance.

SEO is a bit harder to test. You can do a ton of work, wait six months, watch your traffic go up, and then learn that it does not help your bottom line. On the other hand, even if web traffic isn't a good source of leads for your business, visibility can generate credibility, and help strengthen your brand.

[BlueSky]

This thread is a good example of what I call "over thinking". It is easy to test PPC. Do you have a credit card with $5 or more available credit? Open an Adwords account and buy some clicks and see if you can make any money at it.

Essentially I agree with you but I have some clients that went this route and lost alot of money... too many people think PPC is easy. Anyone who tries this needs to make sure they fully understand what they're doing and when to pull the plug! Especially as the economy is dragging right now and it is harder to convert leads (especially consumer leads)

[Scottie]

I gotta say, this is the equivalent of someone saying:

"Has newspaper advertising become irrelevant?"

And the answer is: It depends.

Without knowing your audience and where they get information, who they trust and what motivates them to buy, all marketing is simply a shot in the dark and you just keep shooting til something works.

Turn on the light and take a look at what you are shooting at. By understanding your customers, you'll learn what works instead of putting stock in random advice and articles.

[arlen]

... but I have some clients that went this route and lost alot of money... too many people think PPC is easy.

I have to agree that while PPC can be very profitable and worth doing if done well, it can also consume every bit of profit it generates if you're not careful. Tracking your ad performance, expenditures and ROI is critical. You really need to know what percentage of your revenue you can afford to spend to aquire a sale, and ACTIVELY MANAGE your campaigns to stay at or below that limit.

And it's not all about the money either ... it's not hard to think you're succeeding because you've increased sales dramatically, but if your time committment for order fulfillment increases a lot and your profit by adding those sales only increases a little, you have to determine whether it's a good enough return. Huge sales with tiny profits is not a route to success for many small businesses, just a lot of work.