Overture

[DocMaya]

Hello,

I am new to this forum and have a question about Overture PPC program. Overture is killing me. I have but a small business on the web and the competition steadily increase their bids forcing me to up mine just to stay within the first page.

Here is my question: I have a very good ranking with Google (80% of the visitors are from Google), also I am listed with Alta Vista, Yahoo, AOL, and many other engines and directories not sponsored by Overture. Is it necessary for me to spend $500.00 a month on Overture's PPC or is it possible to drop Overture? I am not sure which of the search engines are sponsored by Overture, I know MSN, Looksmart, are a part of it. I do not get that many visitors due to the nature of my business. I receive about 1,000 hits per day and only about 30 are from PPC. I am afraid if I drop Overture that I will disappear from the Internet all together.

Any suggestions?

Thank you[/img]

[rlrouse]

I am afraid if I drop Overture that I will disappear from the Internet all together.

You won't. My personal preference for PPC is Google AdWords for several reasons, number one being the bids on Overture tend to be inflated a lot more.

[cbp]

For one site I used both Overture and Google Adwords - the bid for my keyword on Google was lower.

Also I never made the minimum amout per month on Overture, so got charged $50 (I think) anyway for the month - so dropped it after 3 months. I am still using Adwords.

If Overture is costing $500 - that is only worth it if the click throughs are worth it. How many are you getting from Overture? Is it quality traffic? (ie are they buying?). Dropping it won't affect you much if 80% coming from Google.

CBP

[minstrel]

Also, didn't I read somewhere in the WPW forums that MSN was about to sever it's connection to Ouverture?

[Whit]

According to http://www.beyonder.co.uk/msn-overture.htm

"Microsoft announced today that it has extended its paid listings agreement with Overture, now owned by one of its biggest rivals Yahoo, until June 2005."

On a seperate note, I agree with cbp. If the traffic you are getting turns a profit then it is worth it.
If the program is just costing you more money than you are making from it then drop it.

[Whit]

According to http://www.beyonder.co.uk/msn-overture.htm

"Microsoft announced today that it has extended its paid listings agreement with Overture, now owned by one of its biggest rivals Yahoo, until June 2005."


I just realised that might be confusing. The article is dated October 17 2003. The "today" referred to in the quote is not the date of this posting.

[DocMaya]

I appreciate your feedback. How can I find out which of the engines are included in Overture's PPC program? I've utilized Google's Adwords and will allow Overture to take it's course and drop it when the bank is depleted. Is Looksmart a part of Overture? I know these are silly questions but I am a novice without the added luxury of a webmaster. I've designed and created my own site and am not sure if same is even search engine friendly. Where do I go to have one of your experts check my site for any flaws that I should correct? Although scary, this has been a challenge to me and I am learning more with each day passing.

Again, thank you, gentlefolk.

[rlrouse]

You can ask for a site review here:

http://www.webproworld.com/viewforum.php?f=4

[awall19]

How can I find out which of the engines are included in Overture's PPC program?

Here is my page on Overture
http://www.search-marketing.info/search-engines/price-per-click/overture.htm

it should cover most of the details