Knowledge is the Foundation To Success  

New clients will often ask us here at JumpFly which search engine is the best to begin pay-per-click (PPC) advertising on. Clearly, Google is the first obvious choice if you are looking for the greatest volume of traffic. According to the latest numbers from Hitwise, Google received 71.7% of U.S. search queries in October 2008. That’s a huge chunk of online traffic and search volume moving through the Google search box. If you only had one search engine to choose, there is no question that you should choose Google.

Yahoo search volume is dropping consistently, down from nearly 22% in October 2007 to below 18% for October 2008. MSN took a drop from last year as well in their search volume, but it seems to be holding in the mid 5% range from month to month now. So that does beg the question, is it even worth running PPC campaigns on Yahoo and MSN? Clearly, there is some volume to be had on both of those search networks, so they definitely have some value to some advertisers. If your budget is tight, though, and you are testing the PPC waters, I would suggest starting on Google only and then see where you can go from there.

Another strategy to consider for Yahoo and MSN, which we have implemented and seen success with, is to start out strong on Google for a month or two and then only move your best performers over to Yahoo and MSN. Since Google does bring in the most volume by a large margin, their search platform can really give you a good indicator as to whether a certain product, or a certain groups of keywords, or specific ad copy, will bring you the ROI you are looking for. It isn’t always an apples to apples comparison, and what works on Google does not necessarily always work on Yahoo or MSN, but you can certainly get some strong indicators as to what might work on the other engines by analyzing what is working on Google first.

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Just last week one of my pay-per-click (PPC) advertising clients got hit by fraudulent Google activity; someone logged into their Google AdWords account, set up a new campaign and in a matter of 12 hours, spent $26,000. Google contacted us about the activity, and my client is not liable for the amount spent, but it’s certainly made for quite a bit of frustration, as their AdWords account is off and will be off indefinitely until the write-off gets posted to their account.

How did this happen and how can you prevent it from happening to you?

While we’re not 100% positive how exactly the perpetrators got a hold of the client’s Google AdWords login and password in this particular case, here’s how you can protect yourself:

1. Don’t Get Caught by Phishing Emails (three examples of Phishing emails are at the bottom of this Blog): if you get an email that looks like it’s from Google, and requests that you click a link within the email to login, DO NOT click the link. Phishing emails are emails that are web forgery designed to trick you into sharing logins, passwords, personal or financial information. They look official, but are devious. As a general rule, you should never click a link within an email and login to your account. Always open a browser window and type in the desired URL or use bookmarks.

2. Change your password: if you’ve never changed your password before, now is a great time. I know it’s difficult to remember all those passwords, but it’s a better alternative to getting scammed. We’ve started changing our passwords here at JumpFly on a monthly basis.

3. Hire an Experienced PPC Management Company: then you can forward any emails that look like they are from Google AdWords, Yahoo Search Marketing or Microsoft adCenter to your account manager and not have to deal with it at all.

Three Google Phishing Emails that are making the rounds:

~~~~~~ Phishing Scam Email #1 – Start ~~~~~~
From: adwords-noreply@google.com
Subject: Your AdWords Google Account is stopped

This message was sent from a notification-only email address that does not accept incoming email. Please do not reply to this message.

Dear Google AdWords Customer,

Please sign in to your account at http://adwords.google.com/select/login , and update your billing information.

Your account will be reactivated as soon as you update your payment information.

Your ads will show immediately if you decide to pay for clicks via credit or debit card. If you decide to pay by direct debit, we may need to receive your signed debit authorization before your ads start running, depending on your location.

If you choose bank transfer, your ads will show as soon as we receive your first payment.

We look forward to providing you with the most effective advertising available.

Sincerely,

The Google AdWords Team
~~~~~ Phishing Scam Email #1 – End ~~~~~

~~~~~ Phishing Scam Email #2 – Start ~~~~~

From: reactivation@google.com
Subject: The Google AdWords Team request you to update your
billing information

Dear Google AdWords Customer,

Your ads have stopped running because we were unable to process your billing information. We will reactivate you account after you update your billing information. In order to reactivate your account, please sign it to your account at http://adwordsgoogle.com/select/login, and update your billing information. Once your account is reactivated and your billing information has been processed, any your ads and campaigns can begin running immediately on Google.

You will not be asked to submit your billing information every time you create a new ad or campaign. If your payment has been declined and you’d like to resubmit the same credit card information, you may also do so by clicking the Retry card button on your Billing Preferences page. After updating your credit card information (regardless of whether or not you use a different card), it can take up to 24 hours before your ads start running again. You also have the option of providing a backup credit card to help ensure that your ads run continuously in the case that your primary payment method fails.

Sincerely,

The Google AdWords Team
~~~~~ Phishing Scam Email #2 – End ~~~~~

~~~~~ Phishing Scam Email #3 – Start ~~~~~
From: reactivation@google.com
Subject: Our programme terms have changed.

Dear AdWords Customer,

As part of our ongoing efforts to improve the Google AdWords programme for advertisers and users, we have updated our Terms and Conditions.

Please review the new Terms and Conditions below, then indicate your acceptance.

Yes, I accept the Terms and Conditions. [LINK]

This message was sent from a notification-only email address that does not accept incoming email. Please do not reply to this message.

~~~~~ Phishing Scam Email #3 – End ~~~~~

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More from Google about avoiding phishing

A blog entry released earlier today (view here) by David Drummond, Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer with Google, publicly announced Google’s decision to walk away from a planned partnership with Yahoo! (view details about the agreement here). This is not a huge surprise, as the deal was recently delayed, but it is now official.

The blog states, “… after four months of review, including discussions of various possible changes to the agreement, it’s clear that government regulators and some advertisers continue to have concerns about the agreement. Pressing ahead risked not only a protracted legal battle but also damage to relationships with valued partners. That wouldn’t have been in the long-term interests of Google or our users, so we have decided to end the agreement.”

In response, Yahoo! said it was disappointed by Google’s decision and maintained that the abandoned partnership would have been beneficial for everyone. Yahoo! just lost out on hundreds of millions of dollars in additional annual revenue that would have resulted from the deal. Yahoo!’s statement also said that they are, “disappointed that Google has elected to withdraw from the agreement rather than defend it in court.”

Several analysts speculate that losing the Google deal will make Yahoo! more likely to revisit a possible deal with, or outright buyout from Microsoft. Details of the Google-Yahoo! partnership put up significant barriers to a Microsoft buyout – barriers that no longer remain. Yahoo!’s stock price finished up today despite the DOW plunging 486 points, likely due to investor speculation and hopes for renewed buyout potential. We’ll see how this plays out, but I’m confident that Microsoft execs are talking about this situation as I type. Tic toc. Tic toc. Time will tell if Microsoft will come back to the table. In the meantime, Google continues to expand their search dominance.

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