Google has made changes to their their landing page algorithm for Google Adwords. Needless to say the changes were unsettling and in some cases have harmed some online businesses.
The scenerio of changes
Before the changes took affect, many advertisers were promoting their keywords for 5 to 10 cents a click, but after the change the keywords jumped to between 50 cents to a $1; Other advertisers were able to keep their bid prices on their keywords, but the page positioning of their ads shifted from their original page 1 standing to page 3 or 4, etc.; Other advertisers were unable to continue with their PPC campaigns; and last but not least, others saw no change at all.
The following type landing pages for Google Adwords were hit the hardest:
- Squeeze pages
- affiliate sites
- one page sales letter sites
- adsense sites (those involved in Adsense arbitrage). Adsense arbitrage is where people make money by bidding on less expensive terms to drive people to a page with only AdSense or Network ads.
- affiliate sites
It seems that Google has assigned scores to the landing page, and thus, determined the positioning, pricing, etc. What to do? Through all my readings on the issue the following seemed to be consistent:
- provide relevant content
- Link to the page that provides the most relevant information.
- Remove Adsense Ads from your landing pages
- Add more content to your site
- Your landing page should have at least 500 words -- and relevant to your product/ad.
In my readings, some applauded the change, some wanted more changes, others were angry and yet others devastated by the changes. Whatever the case, there is only one thing that I am sure of, the Internet is an ever changing environment -- whether you like it or not, you have to roll with the punches -- or make individual choices to stay or leave the online arena.
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