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How it works and why you should avoid it.

You may have seen ads or even received a phone call from someone who claims to work for a company that has a "special arrangement" with the top search engines using "new proprietary technologies".

"We can guarantee #1 rankings for any search term you choose."

And the salesperson can even demonstrate it to you while you are on the phone.

They ask you to go to a search site such as AltaVista and type in a specific search term. They point out a listing that is currently at #3 on the list. They do a little typing on their computer, then ask you to search on that term again. Presto... the listing is now at #1. And they say they can do the same thing for your website.

How it is done.

What they are hoping you don't know is:

  1. AltaVista lists results from the Overture pay-per-click site.
  2. Anyone with an Overture account can get top placement by outbidding the competitors. All you need is enough money.
  3. Placing the highest bid moves your listing to the top almost instantaneously.

Gee... sounds fantastic! So what's the catch?

  1. Competitors can just as easily outbid you again to regain the top spot.
  2. Depending on the search term, outbidding can involve paying several dollars... even tens of dollars... per individual click. That can wipe out an ROI real fast.
  3. Just because you rank #1 for a search term doesn't mean people will search on that term. Or click on your listing. Or buy from you even if they do click on your listing. It is much more complicated than that.
  4. You can bet they're going to charge you lots of money so they can pay outrageous click fees to keep you #1 and still make a hefty profit.

There is nothing wrong with using pay-per-click listings as long as you do your homework, choose search phrases that are likely to give you a good ROI, and avoid getting into a bidding war with your competitors.

But there is something very wrong about someone playing on your ignorance and convincing you they have "new proprietary technologies" when they don't. So beware when considering search engine marketing schemes. If it sounds too good to be true... well, you know the rest.

 

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