We as a business have found ourselves to be so dependent on adwords that this combined month lost has dramatically affected our sales. Simply put adwords converts the best for our product, yes we run yahoo, msn ads also, but adwords is by far the best. It really bothers me that our entire business is basically at the mercy of Google. If we aren't getting ppc sales, the next biggest source of sales is Google natural searches :( Talk about having all your eggs in one basket.
We have to take responsibility for some of the down time, but I find goggles’ response and remedy time to be unacceptable. Nearly 3 weeks to credit an account and reactivate, after the first week we would have been grateful to just have our account activated again and suck up the fraud clicks. This doesn't even take in to account the revenue Google lost for having us down. What do you do though in this case? Yelling through the phone at the company that basically sustains you and your employees sounds a bit like playing with fire. Believe me it took some restraint this last episode to keep our cool.
So with that said I'm curious to hear if any others have similar situations?
NOW is the time to reassess and fix. And I'd say the same for anyone who is in your position, or in a similar position, reliant on a single third party (e.g. ebay, or amazon).
YOU need to control your business. Don't give anyone else the ability to bankrupt you.
..or probably sooner then later, they will, not intentionally, but...
We tried to set up an affiliate network to promote our website. We tried Yahoo, bought some ad space on some popular local portals and did some offline marketing. It worked, but was time consuming and more expesive than adwords.
We went back to adWords when we got back our high QS after 3 months or so. The intervening three months taught us the value of backups, which we have now put in place.
(we also now have a good high organic listing, which also helps)
Business is a tough place. As for giving you suggestions, stop thinking of what you do as an "internet endeavor", and start thinking of it as a business. Unless you want to hire and pay a consultant who you can share your business details with, nobody can give you anything but almost useless general suggestions.
In the end it's your money. Either you'll learn how to do things better, you'll get lucky and nothing will go south, or you'll fail. If I was you I'd go after the first.
Obviously you go for organic as well as ppc traffic, but as the OP clearly stated both are dominated by google ( I am aware that some niches are not google traffic dominated, but these are few and far between).
If its an online business, well seems to me your stuck. If its a physical product you sell maybe the solution is to find real world outlets, thats a question of added value.
Or simply take some of what this google dominated business gives you and replant in a new more diversified field. Or new sites in different niches, so if one goes down the hole your still able to pay the bills.
Its not nice to have all your eggs in some eles basket!
I've only got one client who is really almost completely dependent on AdWords for his entire business, and we're actually looking at other advertising possibilities - unfortunately, most of the ones we'd like to use (affiliate marketing, television, newspaper, radio) are still somewhat outside his budget. The plan is to build up enough cash flow with AdWords to be able to start testing some of these other things.
My clients get really annoyed with me because I'm like a broken record - "no single point of failure" - until something happens to prove my point.
We used to spend many, many dollars with them but simply refuse to play into the QS trap. We've re-routed the money to Yahoo--which can be very effective with time--and back into SEO'ing Google.
I guess that you just have to find what works for you. If adsense works for you be happy and keep it--it doesn't for many. We always test other traffic sources and especially work to find ways to re-market to existing traffic.
Could it do some things better? Absolutely.
There is nothing wrong with your business or your business model simply because today it is "facilitated" by Google. To somehow say that there is anything wrong with it is naive because if Google were to disappear tomorrow, others will take its place.
However, till such time Google is here, we must exploit the options available to us.
AdWords is an amazing customer acquisition tool, but if you're paying to acquire a new customer on every sale then you're living in a difficult and dangerous world. If I were you, I'd focus all of my attention on fleshing out your product offering and building repeat business through loyalty programs, direct mail, memberships, and even email/RSS programs. (I know many here think promotional email is the devil, but it can be done ethically and profitably).
Try to get to a place where new customers account for 20-40% of your business. That way, if your acquisition model goes belly-up then you at least have some wiggle room to develop your next plan.
Good luck.
Why pay for top placement when someone can help you get there with some good old fashioned white hat SEO.
Second thing you can do, open a real walk in retail store. Get some local business to support your internet business.
Third thing, realize the world of advertising is a lot bigger than adwords. There is print ads, radio, telivision, etc... Expand your thinking a bit.
Reading this thread, I can't help but wonder if the same thing doesn't happen to some extent on the AdWords side.
No offense intended towards the OP. I liken it to college entry requirements. Everyone doesn't belong in college and having entrance criteria helps to eliminate those who would show up then drop out when things get tough.
AdWords is just a business tool. If there's not a good business base, AdWords isn't going to save a dependent business model.
FarmBoy
If you can build a successful newsletter, you have captured an active audience that is both interested in what you have to say/sell, and not dependent on any search engine!
I just wish I followed my own advice 8 years ago. I've let newsletter lists build up and then go stale many times... Now that I see the light... It has become my #1 priority to build my list back up and keep it fresh and interesting.
My goal is to have as many newsletter subscribers as I get in daily traffic... At the rate I'm going, that will take me 5-6 more years!
But I'm a patient man... ;-)
Newsletters are the road to independence.
I agree.
The secret is being confident enough to write what you think/know and share it with others while being humble enough to realize people aren't going to take the time to read something just because you send it to them.
FarmBoy
It is bad that this is the world we live in, but it wasn't when our website started in 1998. Like other's have said, this is no different that the offline world. Google is Walmart. When retail manufacturers decide to sell through walmart, they are choosing the same dangerous path. Doesn't mean they are wrong to do so, but nobody is happy either way.
The failure of MS and Yahoo has enabled a giant, allmighty monopoly which is a current threat to many businesses.
At this time you may still have the option to invest not only into adwords. Why not put some funds into developing a backup infrastructure for those days, when mighty G will hit you again with this thing or that thing.
Google is not immune to massive Algo failure, questionable product modifications etc. so that maintaining a bunch of sites for various purposes and situations might help you out when big G will be after you.
I think paying for AdWords traffic is fairly rock solid in the world of online business -- much more so than depending on natural SERPs, which are just bonus these days. But it depends on your business model, margins, and how good your site is.
Diversifying your sources of customers is great if you have the time to get it set up. No job or business is a sure thing these days, just go for it, always keeping an eye on your other options.
Willie Sutton: "Because that's where the money is."
For better or worse, Adwords is where the money is.
I realise this is a serious accusation, but I believe I have seen relationships between Adwords spend and SERPS popularity follow patterns.
On a broader note the health of any company shouldn't be dependent on a single source of customers, but of course you already know that.
The biggest 2nd source, and cheapest to reach could be those who've already bought from you leveraged in the correct way.
I find goggles’ response and remedy time to be unacceptable. Nearly 3 weeks to credit an account and reactivate, after the first week we would have been grateful to just have our account activated again and suck up the fraud clicks. This doesn't even take in to account the revenue Google lost for having us down. What do you do though in this case? Yelling through the phone at the company that basically sustains you and your employees sounds a bit like playing with fire.
Little guy pretty much has to 'suck it up' with big company or monopoly company. We ship USPS heavily, and our local office now is one of the worst run that I have ever seen. I'd like to 'go postal' on them all but we smile and pretend to love their third-rate attitudes.
Good analogy limoshawn. If the road or train closes - that's life.
My clients get really annoyed with me because I'm like a broken record - "no single point of failure" - until something happens to prove my point.
Anyplace where one lives and dies on 'single point of failure' is inevitable disaster. One customer that represents a disproportionate percentage of sales, one employee that knows and does everything in a key aspect of the business.....
Try to get to a place where new customers account for 20-40% of your business. That way, if your acquisition model goes belly-up then you at least have some wiggle room to develop your next plan.
A great goal, but much depends upon the niche. I have a site that lives on repeat business - it costs money to get a customer and we work hard to keep them. I also have a site that lends itself to one-shot sales. Referrals from positive customer experiences is the best that can be reasonably hoped for. Some niches are one-sale businesses.
First thing you can invest in: SEO...Why pay for top placement when someone can help you get there with some good old fashioned white hat SEO.
Second thing you can do, open a real walk in retail store. Get some local business to support your internet business.
Third thing, realize the world of advertising is a lot bigger than adwords. There is print ads, radio, telivision, etc... Expand your thinking a bit.
If we had this kind of cash, we'd be retired. Have to settle for diversification. Multiple sites, multiple niches; spread the risks, look to hit a jackpot/cash-cow along the way.
