New Google AdWords Policy
Google recently changed their AdWords policy so that only one domain can be advertised for each keyword. To me, one of the more interesting things about this change is that affiliate marketers can’t decide if it’s a good thing or a bad thing.
Of course, the pure arbitrage bidders (those who just bid and link directly to the merchants’ sites) are not happy. But even those who build their own landing pages liked being able to test before doing the work of building new sites.
What do you think?
Posted by Brad Fallon on Wednesday, January 12th, 2005 at 8:06 pm 
Personally, I think it’s a good thing. I’m in Canada and it seems like 90% of the Adwords ads I see are for eBay.ca. No matter what I’m searching for, people seem to be buying related ads that go to eBay. Maybe now I’ll see some interesting ads for a change.
John
Vegetable Gardening Resources
Party Ideas - birthdays, anniversaries and more
I agree. Everytime I do a search for something I can almost guarantee that I’ll come across an ad by eBay. I think it makes it a little more fair for the average guy with average bucks.
Andrew
My Cargo Nets
I’ll agree with the ebay thing too.
Seems like some of the larger advertisers are able to bid on all terms regardless of relevancy.
I’ve only rarely sent traffic directly to another site via google. 95% of time to my own landing pages. Seems to pay better in the long haul usually.
All the best all.
Eric
Graco Strollers
Brad, could you do a primer on properly using PPC and Adwords in your next ezine?
And…if its not too secret…can you talk about making money from your ezine…capturing subs and monetizing the list? I know you get huge traffic, you must have a massive list. Any tips?
Best practice is to use a landing page anyway. And this does take a little effort to set up. So it should be better for those of us who are or are planning to handle affiliate programs in this manner.
Mike
Dental Patient Education
Well I wouldn’t call it a landing page. But I agree link from your own site.
Guaranteed SEO
hermafix
personally I think it’s a good think, but then I’ve always used at least a landing page, often dedicated domain. I found it leads to a much higher click through rate, which gets you a higher rank for less cost. Well worth the time and effort imho.
Anonymous Surfing
I am another satisfied Stomper owner — thanks Brad!
My opinion is that it should be fairly easy to get around this new Google policy (if you want to).
Assuming you like to track clickthroughs on your ads (and if you don’t, shame on you!), then I would recommend installing a link tracker/redirector script on your own website. The link from Google comes to your website, the link tracker logs the click, and the redirector then sends the person to the “real” website.
Since the Adwords ad is coming to your website, rather than the real one, then Google has no reason not to run your ad.
I think this is a good thing for serious affiliates.
I’ve tested using direct links and a link via a page on my web site describing the benefits of a product before. I can tell you the conversions rate is higher using a page om my web site first.
Factoring Broker
It would be nice if google would restrict adwords from being used by public companies or i’m afraid one day we’ll be stomped out ourselves.
Chico
Misdemeanour.com
Misdemeanour.com
Ebooks
I think this is a good thing – no doubt. And it opens opportunities for affiliates who are willing to at least set up a landing page and capture contact information from the people they redirect to the affiliate sites. And for those
Arbitrage could never be a long term strategy anyway. The click costs eventually reach break-even. Value-add is necessary for longer term profits.
There’s another side of the coin too. As an adsense publisher I guess I will see click revenue going down (temporarily?) in a few areas where there are a lot of affiliates buying ads…
Invoice Factoring
Limited Liability Corporation
Brad:
I was experiencing some fierce competition for my keywords from those affiliate marketers that just linked directly to the retailer. I think it will just be a matter of time until all the direct link affiliate marketers build a landing page with it’s own unique domain and things will be back to the same old same old. Google will have to quantify further…domains will have to be more than just a landing page in order to participate in adwords. The domains need to provide “content” and have a set number (20, 30 or more pages) of relevant content to be able to participate.
For the time being it helps us “real affiliates” and “content providers”.
Thanks for this great blog!
Worldsbest-Cheap-Contacts-Guide – Contact lens price comparison shopping made easy!
Evidentially, none of you read what Perry Marshall said about the change. I’d have to agree with him.
Very helpful information! I’ve been using Google Adwords. Will make adjustments accordingly!
Donate Car to Charity
This is a question for the guy from Guaranteed SEO. That’s a pretty big claim, fantastic if really produce the results. Are you mostly using the tactics you learned from The Stomper?
regards,
John
Samurai Swords
Paul Chen Sword
So, how will this affect people who us programs like Traffic Hurricane to create thousands of pages?
Brad, in your next ezine can you talk about tips for customizing landing pages in order to qualify for Google’s new rules?
Actually, it is a good thing for me because it will keep me focused on my main business. My first web site was http://www.americanhearinglab.com, which is for my “land locked” business. A few months ago I put up http://www.hearlikeadeer.com which is still a work in progress, getting ready for next fall’s hunting season. My most recent site is http://www.repair-your-hearing-aid.com, which offers services rather than a product. I was just beginning to get distracted by Google Cash, and this change will get me back to concentrating on my own businesses.
Bob Bare
I think it is a good thing. A stagnated market is a bad thing. There must always be change to keep it growing and sought after.
You should not count on a loop hole to stay open forever. You should be ready for action and have anticipated the closure.
Bryan B
I am kind of surprised this change took so long to happen. The Google Cash book has been out for about two years, and the bad ad results caused by these kind of tactics have been very visible for at least a year or more. They were really getting bad in the last 6 months. I wonder if the footdragging was because this change might negatively impact Google’s Adwords revenue.
Mark
Weatherproof Outdoor Furniture
Well…it’s better in the long run. Kind of forces you to use namesqueeze pages
———–
Transducers
Have you done any studies yet as to whether it’s better or worse for affiliates? And affiliates with their own web pages and still using adwords?
Christine
registry cleaner
Yeh, it’s a good thing.
Cheap Computers Information Center
Just another proof that when some technique like Google Cash gets out into the public domain it as good as useless.
Alex
Forex
I would also appreciate tips on customizing one’s landing page to take advantage of the new rules.
Thanks
KiP
http://www.worldofcelebration.com
Yeah, there’s always that specter of change, where we feel we may have a handle on things and then the wheels spin. The best we can do is stay informed, and it seems we have a good source.
Eric
Ananda Apothecary
Personnaly I think that this is a good thing , as well. I sell on eBay, so the traffic is great. But it’s getting over the top. It will be better to more ads from unique vendors.
Webguru - reference and answers to questons
-G
I successfully advertised for Amazon using Google Adwords over the Holiday season. I still have a couple direct links from Adwords to Amazon and I’m finding it easier to stay in the top five positions, even after the Google policy change. I think a good quality keyword-rich ad and a link that takes the user to exactly what they are looking for works in the end.
Jennifer
St Valentines Day Gifts
I would think Google’s revenue will take a hit on these type of search terms for awhile. But in the long run it will keep their results a higher quality and keep Google’s competitive edge.
Nancy
Manufacturing News
No comment at this end. Google Cash has been outdated for some time now; RSS is on its way in; in less than a year, the footdragging will have to cease.
Steve (Dr. Mac’) Maclin
http://www.buyfromart.com
http://www.buyfromart.com/links.htm
http://www.tropicalfishsite.com
It makes sense to me, more variety of ads from more places. Thanks
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i think change is good , theres to many people getting rich for all the wrong reasons .
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Bonjour Cher,
Email;ali_1_daudu@yahoo.com
Ma lettre va sans doute vous surprendre mais compte tenu de
l’urgence j’ai jugé de procéder de la sorte.
Tout d’abord permettez moi de vous rassurer que nous avons
fait des recherches très rangées, qui nous ont conduit vers
vous et nous sommes convaincus de ce que nous pouvons vous
faire confiance. Pour en revenir au fait, j’écris de la
part de ma Mère pour vous proposer de nous aider dans une
transaction financière que je me permets de vous expliquer.
En effet, mon défunt père Boga Daudu était Conseiller
personnel du feu Président General Robert Guei de la
République Démocratique de Cote D’ivoire. Blessé lors du
coup d’Etat contre ce dernier chez lui en Cote D’ivoire il
y’a quelque années, il décéda le lendemain
Bonjour Cher,
Email;ali_1_daudu@yahoo.com
Ma lettre va sans doute vous surprendre mais compte tenu de
l’urgence j’ai jug
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