I went to see the new AdWords at google. It looks good but has one major flaw that may kill the whole program if not corrected.
The problem is that google has created a system that is leaves everybody wide open to bait-and-switch idiots – Google does not place the highest bidder at the top.
Listen to what they say:
“Rank is determined by combination of CPC and clickthrough rate. If an ad is irrelevant to users, they won't click on it and it will move down the page. Your relevant ads will rise, at no extra cost to you. “
MAJOR MISTAKE! Everybody is left open to being victims of the bait and switch people.
Let’s say I am selling widgets. I make a great widget ad and I get 10 click throughs a day from my ad, which I consider great. Then somebody decides to put up an ad up that says “Fee Widgets”. The person really doesn’t offer free widgets at all. It is just a bait and switch ad to get traffic. Perhaps they are not even in the widget market. Perhaps they are just paid by someone to get traffic to their site. My ad, which I may be paying $2 a click for, will go to the bottom and theirs, at 5 cents a click, will be on top.
Here it is again in their own words:
Your ad is placed on the Search Results page based on a combination of the maximum cost-per-click and the clickthrough rate for your ad. The higher the maximum cost-per-click you specify and the higher your ad's clickthrough rate, the higher your ad's position. For example, if your ad is twice as effective as another ad, Google will rank your ad as if your maximum cost-per-click were double what you actually set. But you still only pay the amount you originally chose.
This means that I can send everybody to my casino site by putting up ads offering a free (choose your keyword).
Example: For widgets my ad says free widgets at this site! I will get a lot of click throughs and they go to my casino site. At the top of my casino site I simply have a one line tag at the top that says win a thousand dollars at casino and you will have enough money for a free widget!
Here is where they will really get killed. People like Citibank are willing to spend tons of money to get mortgage clicks. They offer a lot to be on top. Dirty Joe, Mean Harry, Liar Bill, Casino Bob and a host of others will pay dirt cheap rates and be on top because they lie and bait-and-switch in their ads. Impossible to catch these guys - google couldn't even begin to figure out how to police it.
Other than that, it seems that google may have something here.
I bet a dollar they are talking to YHOO right now. |
