Comments on: PPC – Still Effective?

By: Tim

Tim — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 15:18:42 +0000

Interesting spam I received this morning. (01-25-09) The subject line read “Forget Google AdWords: Cutting Costs in Hard Times”. It was from exactseek.

They had a news article on their site also interestingly entitled: “Will SEO Be Dead Within The Next Two Years?”
http://www.seobook.com/will-seo-be-dead-within-next-two-years

Without consumers being in control, the answer is clearer and clearer daily.

By: Tim

Tim — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 02:15:19 +0000

Pete – really from all we are learning this is the course of wisdom. What an exciting time to be working in our field! This is really the biggest shift in commerce in the last 20-30 years and to be able to see it, and more importantly change with it, is going to put those ‘client first’ SEO’s in prime position to be of the most help in the future.

All the best to you my friend, and as always, keep up your excellent work!!!

By: The Wizard

The Wizard — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 23:27:16 +0000

Hi Tim

Thanks for the post and the good news, I’m sure from comments I have made on Linkedin and on my blog that it is obvious that I am not a great fan of PPC and it effectiveness.

I been talking to a client who currently has a $20,000/month spend on PPC, and you can be assured one of the first things I will be doing is lowering that looking at increasing Social Media spend and I am sure I will get improved ROI

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 14:15:56 +0000

I understand what you are saying here, but to be honest, I don’t know any better. All I am used to is PPC. While at first, to be honest, I thought “social media” was just the latest buzzword to get us on MySpace. I have learned that this is not the case. What you say is true, I just don’t know how to diversify my budget and to do this. I look forward to hearing more on this. Thx for bringing this up, it needs talked about instead of the typical ‘SEO resistance’ to change or new ideas.

By: Tim

Tim — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 14:04:50 +0000

Thanks David. There is truth to what you say, the “Eat or Be Eaten” reality is always present in what we do, right? At the same time, while acknowledging PPC has it’s place, I am encouraging all my colleagues to remain open-minded about the door that is open before us, to use it in addition to traditional means to help our clients. Social media is how customers are preferring to comsume information, especially regarding big ticket products or services. In these areas, PPC is showing a decline in it’s potency. Keeping an open mind is the key to unlock the door to the changing habits of society.

We appreciate your comment very much David! Keep them coming.

By: David Szetela

David Szetela — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 04:30:02 +0000

PPC is not losing effectiveness – the size of the target market (searchers) is still increasing. But more competition = increased difficulty to “break through.” Old story: the strong survive and prosper.