Dirty Clicks on Google Keywords

telecaster

I've been running a google keyword campaign since mid December for my audio production services with the bulk of the clicks being focussed on the competitive 'phone message on hold' market.

I've had plenty of click throughs but very few followups. I *may* have a blind spot but I don't think there's anything wrong with the landing page I route the clickers to www.sonicart.com/phoneonhold.htm

However having delved a little deeper into the stats of the clicks, I can see that on at least two occassions the majority of my day's inventory budget was used up in 15mins through a flurry of clicks from Poland. Admittedly these clicks came from different IP addresses but you don't have to be a tech whizz to manipulate your IP address.

I am truly suspicious. Has anyone else encountered click sabotage on google?

leftofcentre

I had a huge reply but the feckin' site ate it. Here is the jist of it:

Click fraud is a huge problem http://news.google.co.uk/news?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=click%20fraud&sa=N&tab=wn

Target your google ads to the UK and ireland only, this is your main market.

Make the dollar and sterling prices more obvious.

Your site is not great, ditch the flash and buy a template from www.templatemonster.com

Include examples of work.

Fix dead links http://www.sonicart.com/jukebox.htm

As i said the more detailed reply was ate by the system but you get the idea.

telecaster

Thanks for your comments Brian. I've been reading your blog recently - you've got some interesting ideas.

Click Fraud is clearly a bigger problem than I'd expected (though I prefer my label of 'Dirty Clicks' don't you??). It's another obstacle to the all important targetted marketing.

I will remove the display of my ads to beyond UK and Ireland to see if that assists with the issue.

Not sure about ditching the flash and buying a template. I like the image we have - we don't want to look too corporate and square.

Having said that - no excuse for a dead link (which is of course fixed now;) !

leftofcentre

no worries, it can be rude to critcise others designs but I STRONGLY suggest you reconsider the site design.

Don't take my word on it, open up a post on the web forum and ask for feedback.

I am trying to sugar coat it, but the bottom line is you will lose sales if you stick with the same site.

I am very fusy about design so does any one else what to give their opinion?

Figment

Design does not inspire confidence enough to hand over my money.
It does not sell the value of the product to justify the cost.

telecaster

ok cool, lets hear some more opinions and don't spare the timber - this isn't a vanity exercise on my part. But rather than just knocking it let's hear specifics of what's wrong and how it can be fixed.

Brian and Figment - How would you repackage what I'm selling?

I would also make the point that the landing page for the google ads
www.sonicart.com/phoneonhold.htm is not a flash page although the company homepage and core navigation is. The philosophy is that the landing pages are there purely to sell the one product that the google clicker has expressed an interest in. The homepage at www.sonicart.com is for anyone who wants to know a bit about the company as a whole rather than one specific area.

alleepally

First thing that struck me is that the page is too dark and the area the eye immediately focuses on is the top left but it's just feathered cut out of a white box. That throws my eye off completely.

The reason for your existence is you are solving a problem for a customer. What exact problem are you solving? DO they just want a nifty new sound on hold? DO they want to increase sales? What do they want to do? Make that the focus of the copy on your website. Make it clear what your voicovers will do. Provide testimonials and sample of the work you have done.

Remove the focus on price. You are shoving price in my face before I've had a chance to even look at what you do. It overwhelms the page.

Get a proper logo designed and get an identity for your site. Get rid of that picture of the woman on the phone. I can see the pixels, it's a poor quality image.

So in summary:

Lighten the page up
Remove the focus on price
Concentrate on the problem you solve for the customer
Get a decent identity and logo
Get rid of the poor quality image of the woman on the phone

I'm not at all surprised you are getting no conversions but also, is google the best place to advertise? Are there not more specialised publications/sites you could concentrate on instead?

telecaster

I think the disagreements between the responses such as 'make the prices bigger'....'remove the prices' show what a subjective area this is.

Brian I think your sites look slick, very 'now' light oranges and blues with retro pastels and fonts are in, but I don't think it's for everyone.

In the context of a landing page that someone arrives on after they have clicked for info about 'phone on hold', with the exception of samples (which are on their way I'm not convinced about changing anything design wise).

We have worked with companies such as Walt Disney, Zurich Insurance, HSBC Bank and the biggest Casino in the world - clearly our look and logo didn't put them off.

I think people in the market for what I'm selling are more interested in price and quality than in site design anyway although I appreciate it is important.
We have the price so prominent on the page because very few if any of our compeititors publish their prices meaning the customer has to enter into a dialogue before knowing the price - thus adding another step to closing the sale.

alleepally

Why are you so closed to trying new copy and design on your site? it's a landing page -- keep testing until you are blue in the face and get the conversions you are obviously looking for (otherwise you wouldn't have posted).

You cannot afford to have a precious attitude and say you have worked with xyz and that your look didn't put them off? Are those few clients going to sustain your business?

You are too close to your site and business to know how it is viewed by a potential customer.

Why bother asking for opinions when your mind is already closed to suggestions.

Clinical Waste

leftofcentre wrote:

.....Your site is not great, ditch the flash and buy a template from www.templatemonster.com

Include examples of work...............

QUOTE]

Just made my day..
Thanks

telecaster

I am not closed minded in terms of changing design or copy otherise I wouldn't be in this dialogue. However I believe after each change is made to a site or page you must allow a few weeks (preferably four) to pass before making any further adjustments so you can properly evalutate the effects of the last adjustment.

Because I don't agree with some of the suggestions here does not make me closed minded, it means I need to be convinced of their merits and worth before I implement them.

Our last set of redesigns on the landing page were in mid Jan, I will redesign the page for mid Feb and am merely here to discuss the ideas with the people in the forum.

Sorry if my opinions have got on your nerves alleepally, but on the contrary I believe if you don't have a precious attitude you are doomed to fail. There is every reason to question why the look works for some of the major clients that we have had while it's not getting google conversions.

alleepally

telecaster wrote:

I am not closed minded in terms of changing design or copy otherise I wouldn't be in this dialogue. However I believe after each change is made to a site or page you must allow a few weeks (preferably four) to pass before making any further adjustments so you can properly evalutate the effects of the last adjustment.

Because I don't agree with some of the suggestions here does not make me closed minded, it means I need to be convinced of their merits and worth before I implement them.

Our last set of redesigns on the landing page were in mid Jan, I will redesign the page for mid Feb and am merely here to discuss the ideas with the people in the forum.

Sorry if my opinions have got on your nerves alleepally, but on the contrary I believe if you don't have a precious attitude you are doomed to fail. There is every reason to question why the look works for some of the major clients that we have had while it's not getting google conversions.

Nope it didn't get on my nerves, I could care less but since last March I've learned a huge amount from others on what does and doesn't work and you don't need weeks to discover this... more like days.

paulocon

Sorry to hijack the debate...

leftofcentre, have you used templatemonster?
How portable are the designs - are they easy to change?

cheers,
paulocon

leftofcentre

I don't use template monster, generally you are better off with a custom design from a designer. I only suggest template monster for people who don't have enough money to hire a designer.

Template monster is a great option if you don't have the funds for a custom design, I think the files should be easy enough to edit.

Telecaster you asked for feedback, we gave it. Its your call what you do next.

Clinical Waste

paulocon wrote:

Sorry to hijack the debate...

leftofcentre, have you used templatemonster?
How portable are the designs - are they easy to change?

cheers,
paulocon

They have free samples you can download.
Play with these and your question will be answered.
(They also show software you require to edit each different template.)

Cianos

Hey Telecaster,
I hope I'm not being rude here, just want to give a bit of friendly advice regarding your site.

I'm not sure about the way you have the breakdown of costs of set up on the linked page.

From a customers point of view, I dont really care how much it costs to script something, or to record something. Fair enough they know what they are paying for, but if anything the breakdown would more make me think "surely it doesnt cost €70 for someone to speak into a mic for 3 minutes", or something along those lines. All I would care about is;

a. The final price and
b. The quality

Maybe it would be good to include some samples so the user can get an idea of what the end product could sound like.

Maybe you could list some content-suggestions to get their imagination rolling;

Special offers
Upcoming promotions
New products/services
Company policy, philosophy

etc etc.

Something that would allow your clients to think "hey, that would be handy"

Just me 2 cents!

telecaster

Thanks Cianos,

there's a method to the breakdown....
some customers want to provide their own script
some customers want to provide their own backing music

This just allows the customer to decide which components of the message they want and show a transparency about how the costs of it will be calculated.

I will try some new content when the 'sample montage' file we are putting together is published. Cheers

Duck Soup

The major glitch for me is the missing examples of work. Imagine a landing page for a car that didn't show a picture of the car. Instead it just said "Only €6,000!" and then left contact details. You have to make the consumer hungry before they bite. If people have bothered to click through an ad, they want their participation rewarded by having everything they need to see and hear on a single page.

Falstaff

Having restricted your Google ads to Ireland / UK, have you found you've had more traffic or at least less dirty clicks?

By the way, I know I'm getting some rogue clicking from my competitors to mine too. Un fortunately they're in Ireland / UK!

telecaster

I ultimately decided against restricting to UK and Ireland, as what we are selling is applicable to the entire English speaking business world and I didn't see the benefit in cutting off the US, Australia and more for the sake of preventing someone in Poland wasting my inventory.

It worked out that pretty much one day every week my entire inventory was burned. I decided as long as the 'sabotage' was staying at that level it was an affordable downside to using that style of marketing.