Should I pay for AdWords ads for my own domain name?
If your site has reasonable page rank, typically you will have a very high search engine position for your domain name. If you're conducting an AdWords campaign, should you also pay for ads that are displayed when a searcher enters your domain name? Even if you might be listed first among the free search results?
An Example A client of mine has good page rank for his site, obtained over years, and of course his domain name shows up at the head of free search results. He also has an AdWords campaign to generate additional traffic. We've seen AdWords bring significant additional traffic of good quality to the site. But should he pay for AdWords to bring him a visitor who queries on his domain name?
The Data
We chose his domain name as one of the terms in his AdWords campaign for three months, and
did a detailed analysis of his site log, also using results reported by AdWords. The number
of visitors brought by AdWords was identified from log analysis, as well as the number that reached the
Order page (the site sells a device direct to consumers). The cost per click reported
by AdWords was used to compute a cost for each visitor who reached the Order page, an actual estimate
of the cost per order.
Remarkably, over the three-month period, the estimated cost per order for visitors who queried on the
domain name was lower than for any other term, including the terms that are known to be the best for
traffic! Not only was the domain name an effective way to bring business through AdWords, it was
the most effective of all terms!
If you use AdWords to promote your site, be sure to include your domain name in the list of search terms you promote. |
GOOGLE ADSENSE
Entire site contents copyright 2011, David C. Roberts, all rights reserved.