

Ask YC: Does web advertising really work? - kajecounterhack

The real question is: When was the last time you were inspired to buy something by an ad you saw on google adsense?<p>I can't recall any time that has happened to me. I also have a friend who has spent a couple hundred on google adwords at one point, without really seeing results. With this bit of disappointment in mind, my question is - does advertising on the web work?
======
babul
From a retailers point of view, yes, if you do it right i.e. phrase your ad
well, go for the niche keywords (cheaper, higher quality leads), have relevant
landing pages (ads go direct to the product buy page, not higher level
category page).

If you also provide a product people want at a price point they are happy with
(and ideally with service they cannot complain about - fast shipping, good
dispute resolution policy, etc etc) then once they see your ad/page, they
generally buy.

I actually manage about $100K of adwords spending each month for about 25
client sites which do about $2M gross revenue per month and have seen good
increases with the campaigns I have managed.

Many of the clients initially managed it themselves but got poor results. My
_basic_ tips would be...

[1]. ALWAYS have metrics in place to mesure campaign effectiveness (visitor
volumes, keyword search terms, click-through paths, conversion rates). you can
use google metrics (urchin) for free but it is worth paying for a decent
service from a cheap provider like zstats.

[2]. tailor ads to _specific_ products, not a broad range.

[3]. use the free google adwords analyser to find niche keywords (cheaper,
better).

[4]. make sure your site looks the part (professional)

[5]. try and sell your more unusual products first, as these are generally
harder to find online, sell more, and best of all raise awareness for you i.e.
return custom, and free word of mouth advertising.

Hope this helps.

------
rrival
It's a funneling thing - 10000 people see the ad, 100-300 people click
through, 2-3 people complete a transaction. A/B testing on ad copy and landing
pages can fine tune the process.

Check out AzoogleAds.com, ShoeMoney.com, etc.

------
ssharp
Obviously it's working. Anyone using PPC seriously is tracking ROI on their
keywords and if they weren't getting a profitable return, they wouldn't be
buying keywords.

------
bigtoga
Your title is misleading vis-a-vis your "real question." They aren't even in
the same ballpark. and it's ridiculous really - it's the fallacy that "Just
because I don't click and my friends don't click, then no one clicks."

Here's your question re-phrased:

Ask YC: Does spam really work? The real question is: When was the last time
you were inspired to buy something by spam email?

I can't recall any time that has happened to me. I also have a friend who has
spent a couple hundred on spam at one point, without really seeing results.
With this bit of disappointment in mind, my question is - does spam on the web
work?

