Question:
In your opinion, what are the top three mistakes made by new users?
Craig:
The top three are: 1) They do not focus on the keywords that are actually delivering the ROI. 2) They do not focus on an accurate description. 3) They let their account run out of money over the weekend when we experience heavy usage.
Comment:
I just wanted to add that my company has been a FindWhat.com customer for a couple of years now and I really do love FindWhat.com and have placed many sites with FindWhat.com instead of other pay engines.
Craig:
But do not sell the others short. This is a dynamic sector and other companies do have benefits.
Question:
Does FindWhat.com have some kind of keyword tool to determine which are the popular keywords?
Craig:
Yes, in our keyword center. You can also call one of our reps and they will assist you in picking out the best keywords for your site. The keyword center is in our account manager section — you need an account to access it.
Question:
I filled out an application for your affiliate program the other day and was told it would be reviewed. How long does that typically take?
Craig:
Anywhere between 1 to 5 days. We get a lot of apps but are very selective on who we partner with. If you have any questions, call 888-882-3178 and ask for the Business Development Division.
Question:
Craig, is your BusinessBuilder a new offering? What has the response been? Is the $25 a cap (limit 2500 keywords or 500 URLs, whichever comes first), and one can increase the “pot” or if not, it stops the bids at $25/month?
Craig:
We’ve had the BusinessBuilder product for quite some time. The response has been fairly good, but it is not something we push. We would rather assist as much as possible rather than push someone into a paid service if they do not need it. BusinessBuilder itself is a one-on-one consultation service for those who either don’t have time to put together their own keyword ad campaign or are unfamiliar with keyword-targeted text ads.
$25/month is the minimum amount we allow a person to open an account with. The entire $25 is applied to click-throughs, so really there is no fee per se. As you can imagine, we do not have a max!
Question:
Let’s say you’re in top 10 for a particular keyword. Is it better to place a FindWhat.com bid on that term anyway, or to maximize for lesser keywords?
Craig:
You need to make the call. If the listing is getting the ROI you desire, than I would concentrate on other keywords. But if the listing is not getting the desired number of clicks and your ROI is high on that keyword, then I would focus my resources there. There is no blanket answer. It really depends on your results.
Question:
Are there resources for learning more about strategy?
Craig:
I think you are participating in the best one on the Web right now the Academy of Web Specialists’ online training programs (http://www.onlinewebtraining.com/courses.html).
Question:
Could you tell us more about FindWhat.com’s relationship with Lycos?
Craig:
Our relationship with Lycos is the first of its kind. We have developed a new private label initiative that we are offering to the largest portals. Lycos is the first to launch. Basically it puts the largest portals in business for themselves, allowing advertisers to pick and choose who they want traffic from rather than all of the traffic getting lumped together.
As we all know, all traffic is not equal. We feel over the next few years, the largest portals will have their own service, and we intend on helping them do it.
Question:
Could you tell us a few of your 200+ partners?
Craig:
Sure… Lycos – HotBot – Webcrawler – Excite – Metacrawler – CNet -Dogpile. More information can be found at our site at – http://www.findwhat.com/content/pressreleases.asp. And, since we are a NASDAQ company, you can find more info by looking under our symbol: FWHT.
Question:
Is it still important to focus on the top three results?
Craig:
It really depends on the results one is getting. Some people get the ROI they are looking for at lower levels. But since some distribution partners only show three listings, it helps to concentrate on the top three.
Question:
What is the best way to measure ROI?
Craig:
It depends on what you are looking for when a user clicks. If you want sales, then the best way to look at it is what are your “sales to click” conversion.
In Conclusion
FindWhat.com (http://www.findwhat.com) is one of the more popular keyword-targeted performance-based text advertising services, and you’ll generally be able to pay less for keywords purchased there versus at some of the other pay engines and still see good results. With over 200 partners displaying FindWhat.com results, it’s an excellent choice when considering where to purchase keywords.
FindWhat.com has partnered with the Academy to offer Academy students up to 3,500 qualified visitors to their sites for only $25! For more information, visit: http://www.onlinewebtraining.com/findwhat_offer.html
Robin Nobles conducts live SEO workshops
(http://www.searchengineworkshops.com) in locations across North
America. She also teaches online SEO training
(http://www.onlinewebtraining.com). Localized SEO training is now
being offered through the Search Engine Academy.
(http://www.searchengineacademy.com) Sign up for SEO tips of the
day at mailto:seo-tip@aweber.com.
