Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Local Search Pay Per Click Advertising: What Are Your Options?
From the Local Pay Per Click Analyst (who knew there was such a thing?):
Overture’s Local Match (Yahoo!)
Google AdWords (Local targeting)
SuperPages.com
Overture’s Local Match (Yahoo!)
- Minimum CPC: $0.10
- Distribution: Yahoo, Alta Vista, AllTheWeb, InfoSpace, Citysearch
- Information shown: results link to a “Locator Page” including business contact details, business description, location map, driving directions and link
- Geo- targeting: Based on the location included in the search
- Notes: Bidding in Local Match is separate to Overture’s standard pay per click program
- Verdict: This is the first local search advertising program to trial for your website.
Google AdWords (Local targeting)
- Minimum CPC: $0.04
- Auto bid management: free
- Distribution: Currently shown in main Google SERPs and on Google Local.
- Information shown: Standard AdWords text and link to the advertiser’s website.
- Geo- targeting: Based on the IP address of the searcher within Google’s main results; based on the keywords and location in the search query on Google Local (e.g. for Lawyers New York).
- Verdict: Google’s ad targeting uses the IP address of the searcher (for the main Google results) and this is the weakness in the system. IP addresses are not always an accurate indication of the location of the searcher because of the way ISPs assign and reassign them over time.
SuperPages.com
- Minimum CPC: $0.20
- Auto bid management: free
- Distribution: SuperPages.com - 20% of the IYP market (comScore's January 2003)
- Pay per call: advertisers can add an optional “Free to talk” link to their listings. Searchers click this and enter their phone number in the box provided and receive a call from the advertiser. Alternatively they can talk via their computer. Powered by eStara.
- Geo-targeting: Based on the location entered by the searcher.
- Notes: SuperPages.com’s PPC advertising is powered by technology supplied by FindWhat.com
- Verdict: SuperPages.com’s PPC offering is well-designed; the site is a well established destination for local searches and worth trialling as a source of traffic.
