How to Waste Money and Annoy Potential Customers > NetSparsh

Home
>
Pay-Per-Click Advertising
>
How to Waste Money and Annoy Potential Customers

How to Waste Money and Annoy Potential Customers

Why do some companies bid on keywords for products they don't even sell? Or fail to provide the basic information people need to make the decision to buy? Here's a cautionary tale-- with a happy ending.

HAS THIS EVER HAPPENED TO YOU?

I'm looking online for lamp shades. I go to Google and click on the top Sponsored Link in the right column: Expo.com. I'm taken to their "Lighting and Fans" page. There are 29 links in the left navigation, but no lamp shades. So I do a keyword search. Products Found = 0. All I can do is wonder why they wasted my time and their money, and move on to the next ad.

CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR.

Clicking on the second ad takes me to a home page with a "Shades" tab. I click on that and arrive on a page with information about sizes and a link to the lamp shade collection.

I start browsing and find one I'm interested in. The text instructs me to "Click on lamp image for detail." I guess they mean lamp shade image. I click, and to my surprise, I see the exact same thumbnail I was looking at, but now I have four color choices and an "ad to cart" button.

OK, I'm a designer. I can appreciate subtlety. But what's the difference between White, Off-White, Beige and Coffee? All this site shows me is a little grey photo-- but "Dirty" isn't one of the color choices.

I see the toll-free phone number at the top of the page. I call (during their normal business hours) and get voicemail. They say my call is very important to them, but I'm not so sure...

THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM?

Back to Google, click on another ad which takes me to a page with lamp shades (YAY!). I can sort by nine different criteria, but even so, I don't see exactly what I want.

There's a link to talk to a lighting consultant. I'm skeptical, but I call. Someone answers the phone! I explain what I want and I'm told I need a custom shade. This company doesn't make them, but the consultant refers me to two other sites where I can order custom-made shades.

Even though I didn't find what I was searching for I really appreciate this experience. I'd be happy to return to this site and do business with this company in the future.

THE MORAL OF THIS STORY

Have some respect for your customers. Think about their needs and do everything you can to meet them. If you're advertising a product for sale it should be available on your site. If you expect people to make a choice, provide the information and pictures they need to feel comfortable making a decision. And even if you can't make the sale today, you can and should offer a good customer experience because there's always tomorrow.

TIPS TO TAKE AWAY

If you place an ad for a product your site should sell that product. Don't waste your money bidding on keywords for products you don't sell.

If someone clicks on your ad they should be taken to a relevant landing page. Don't make people hunt around or do a Search on your site. Show them what they're looking for right away.

Give them the information they need to make a good decision. Don't expect them to guess what your product is "really" like.

--------------------------------------------------------

Barry Harrison is the author of "REDiTIPS" eMarketing Newsletter and a partner in Resolve Digital, Web Strategies for the Real World.

Visit his site at http://www.resolvedigital.com

In The News:

This RSS feed URL is deprecated, please update. New URLs can be found in the footers at https://news.google.com/news

Rocks Digital (blog)
David Szetela to Speak on PPC Advertising and Artificial Intelligence at Rocks Digital 2018
Rocks Digital (blog)
David Szetela is Owner and CEO of digital advertising agency FMB Media, and one of the world's best-known experts in online advertising. A former Apple Computer executive and serial entrepreneur, David's career has been dedicated to helping companies ...

Search Engine Land
Sarcasm aside, how strict PPC advertiser policies may actually benefit us
Search Engine Land
Over the years, I've nicknamed Google “The Guvernment” (which was the name of a popular former nightclub in Toronto's East Waterfront area) and dubbed them the “Sheriff” — for what sometimes appear to be quite detailed and heavy-handed policies ...

and more »

Search Engine Land
How to outdo the PPC robots in shopping ads
Search Engine Land
Automation driven by improvements in artificial intelligence and machine learning will bring significant changes to how we manage pay-per-click (PPC) in 2018 and beyond. There's still a role for humans to play, one of which is to use what we've learned ...
Optmyzr Introduces Optmyzr Express - Pay-Per-Click Optimizations Designed for Quick and Easy Campaign BoostPR Web (press release)

all 2 news articles »

Bitcoin Exchange Guide (blog)
BiNeuro ICO (BNR Token): Blockchain Google Adwords PPC Advertising?
Bitcoin Exchange Guide (blog)
Today we'll talk about a fascinating software which is having an Initial Coin Offering soon: BiNeuro. This company is a Google partner and has been developing solutions to be used in neuro ads by using the blockchain technology. Created by UTC World ...

Business MattersBusiness Matters
5 easy & effective ways to market your mobile app
Business MattersBusiness Matters
PPC Advertising. PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising can be a powerful tool when it comes to building visibility for your mobile app. Online ads allow you to target your ideal audience and those who are looking for your business. There are a number of ways ...

Trial Version Of New ManageByStats PPC Tool Released
Digital Journal
Today ManageByStats announced a trial version of their new PPC Advertising tool has been released. The PPC Advertising Manager in ManageByStats is designed to give faster and better insight into the performance of Amazon Sponsored Products Ads. The ...

Forbes
Four Ways To Get The Most Out Of Your Pay-Per-Click Strategy
Forbes
Having been in the paid search space for over a decade, I've seen a lot of changes and amazing advancements in the targeting, delivery and measurement of paid ads. But with all of those changes, there are still four fundamental tips everyone should ...

Modern Ghana (press release) (blog)
Why are PPC campaigns not effective in Ghana?
Modern Ghana (press release) (blog)
The motivation for this article was this very question asked during a Digital Marketing workshop Ibukun was facilitating a couple of weeks ago in Accra. PPC: What is it? PPC stands for Pay-Per-Click, a model of internet marketing in which advertisers ...

Edgy Labs (blog)
How to Know the Difference Between SEO and SEM
Edgy Labs (blog)
(in comparison to SEO) SEM helps you successfully target users of search engines via advertising (paid) links in search results in addition to organic search to send targeted traffic to your website”. As we discussed above, SEM includes using paid ...

and more »

Small Business Trends
How to Use Pay-Per-Click Advertising for your Small Business
Small Business Trends
While search engine optimization is an important marketing strategy for all businesses, big brands and companies receive the most hits because they rank higher in searches for wide-ranging keywords. Google doesn't feature small businesses and smaller ...

and more »

Google News

How to Waste Money and Annoy Potential Customers

Pay-Per-Click Advertising Pay-Per-Click Advertising