Competitive Keywords or is Google really that greedy?

chassm · 01-16-2009, 10:48 PM

Hi there warriors!
I've got a question for those of you doing PPC. I recently applied to several Affiliate Networks and I'm now browsing through the tons of offers they all have and in order to get an idea for the types of keywords I should be bidding on, I'm doing a website content search with the adwords keyword tool. Some of these offers are in the edu and financial niches, and the list of keywords I'm getting is not only long but the estimated average cpc is anywhere from $1.94 to $23.40, how the heck do you make money when you have to spend that much?

Some of these CPA offers only pay $1.50 to $11.00, so I'm a little discouraged to even test some of these by direct linking since it almost seems like a would just lose all kinds of money.

How are you guys dealing with the highly competitive keywords, does your quality score really help the cpc of a competitive keyword?

Thanks

dburk · 01-16-2009, 11:59 PM

Hi chassm,

Some niches are highly competitive and you really need to be at the top of your game to compete. If you just go for the obvious keywords and setup up a campaign and throw all your keywords in a single ad group, you're gonna fail.

You need to use the research you've done so far as a seed list and come up with a lot more, less obvious terms. Think in terms of thousands of keywords.

Direct linking may not be your best option, there is not much you can do to improve the landing page optimization when you direct link. However, you have a lot of control if you use a presell page, plus you can capture names and emails for future offers and sales recovery campaigns. I have even heard of people that shoot for break-even campaigns and make their profits from future sales.

Those really low paying offers usually work for follow-on sales to your list. You probably can't make a profit advertising them unless you can get a really high conversion rate.

Yes, Quality Scores are of paramount importance. You could be paying many times the cost if you ignore QS.

chassm · 01-17-2009, 01:13 AM

Thanks Don,
Yeah I'm only direct linking to test the offer, I will build landing pages eventually I just wanted to get a feel for the keywords. It was just a bit scary how some of these keywords just go up that much. So basically not every offer can be promoted via paid search, some should only be done through email and seo I imagine. I really am looking for offers with high payouts for PPC and there are some, but not all of them allow direct linking and it's kinda tough putting a landing page together with enough content fast enough to try something out.

Thanks for commenting.
Charlie.

alby · 01-18-2009, 03:35 PM

Dburk is spot on,

one other point i would make is that google always give average cpc, that in my experience tend to be high. I have built my keyword list then started the bid at very low values to guage some reponses, i tend to split the keyword into quite specific groups and tailor the ads for that particular group, the reason being, as dburk mentions, quality score, it has a major effect on your cpc. Also make sure you set a daily budget to ensure your not made bankrupt by a popular keyword overnight.

01-16-2009, 10:48 PM	#1
chassm Sweet-Charlie War Room Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: California Posts: 86 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts Contact Info	Competitive Keywords or is Google really that greedy? Hi there warriors! I've got a question for those of you doing PPC. I recently applied to several Affiliate Networks and I'm now browsing through the tons of offers they all have and in order to get an idea for the types of keywords I should be bidding on, I'm doing a website content search with the adwords keyword tool. Some of these offers are in the edu and financial niches, and the list of keywords I'm getting is not only long but the estimated average cpc is anywhere from $1.94 to $23.40, how the heck do you make money when you have to spend that much? Some of these CPA offers only pay $1.50 to $11.00, so I'm a little discouraged to even test some of these by direct linking since it almost seems like a would just lose all kinds of money. How are you guys dealing with the highly competitive keywords, does your quality score really help the cpc of a competitive keyword? Thanks

01-16-2009, 11:59 PM	#2
dburk Senior Warrior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Tampa, Florida Posts: 4,645 Thanks: 163 Thanked 673 Times in 583 Posts Contact Info	Re: Competitive Keywords or is Google really that greedy? Hi chassm, Some niches are highly competitive and you really need to be at the top of your game to compete. If you just go for the obvious keywords and setup up a campaign and throw all your keywords in a single ad group, you're gonna fail. You need to use the research you've done so far as a seed list and come up with a lot more, less obvious terms. Think in terms of thousands of keywords. Direct linking may not be your best option, there is not much you can do to improve the landing page optimization when you direct link. However, you have a lot of control if you use a presell page, plus you can capture names and emails for future offers and sales recovery campaigns. I have even heard of people that shoot for break-even campaigns and make their profits from future sales. Those really low paying offers usually work for follow-on sales to your list. You probably can't make a profit advertising them unless you can get a really high conversion rate. Yes, Quality Scores are of paramount importance. You could be paying many times the cost if you ignore QS.
	Don Burk * Get Results - Outsource Your PPC Management * Get a Keyword Domain Name - www.SeriousNames.com

01-17-2009, 01:13 AM	#3
chassm Sweet-Charlie War Room Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: California Posts: 86 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts Contact Info	Re: Competitive Keywords or is Google really that greedy? Thanks Don, Yeah I'm only direct linking to test the offer, I will build landing pages eventually I just wanted to get a feel for the keywords. It was just a bit scary how some of these keywords just go up that much. So basically not every offer can be promoted via paid search, some should only be done through email and seo I imagine. I really am looking for offers with high payouts for PPC and there are some, but not all of them allow direct linking and it's kinda tough putting a landing page together with enough content fast enough to try something out. Thanks for commenting. Charlie.

01-18-2009, 03:35 PM	#4
alby Active Warrior Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 36 Thanks: 0 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts	Re: Competitive Keywords or is Google really that greedy? Dburk is spot on, one other point i would make is that google always give average cpc, that in my experience tend to be high. I have built my keyword list then started the bid at very low values to guage some reponses, i tend to split the keyword into quite specific groups and tailor the ads for that particular group, the reason being, as dburk mentions, quality score, it has a major effect on your cpc. Also make sure you set a daily budget to ensure your not made bankrupt by a popular keyword overnight.