Hiding Out : Fine Print for Online Advertisers
If you have a business and you aren’t spending your advertising budget on the web, you might as well be tossing it into the slots. Dot com mom and pop shops on the web are just like those budding brick and mortar stores that sink all their extra dough into the start up costs making the ROI for every advertising dollar directly impact the chance of make it or break it.
Reading David Szetela’s column on SearchEngineWatch.com about the class action lawsuit filed against Google this week got me thinking about the little guy. The lawsuit claims Google defrauds advertisers into paying for clicks on the content network without being given the opportunity to opt out. I read though David’s screen shot walkthrough for advertisers managing their campaigns and tsk tsk Google; that’s a little shady. It’s true, if you’re a savvy advertiser you’re going to be aware of this, know how to opt out, and manage your search and content campaigns separately and yes, that leaves a gaping hole of ignorance for the little guys fall through and the networks to capitalize on.
This bummer for the PI guy can serve as a great example for us on how important it is to know what your buying. If you are just starting out spending your precious advertising dollars on the various networks, take the time to do some research on how to navigate the interfaces for starting and managing your campaigns, and bidding on ad inventory. If you don’t know anybody personally that can make a quick buddy system and guide you through all the options, (not to mention help you identify a campaign strategy) READ, READ, READ! When you are done with that, read some more! Once you have your strategy developed (more tips on that to come in future) make sure you read the fine print and look at all the advanced options on your networks campaign management system. This is where the oppsie with Google’s latest lawsuit happened, the option is there, but its hidden in advanced menus and leaving the content cost per click bid amount blank does not exclude your ad from the content network rotation!
Moral of the story: The term “advanced options” could be thought of as fine print: READ IT!
Kiss Kiss,
Dawngrrl Gametart
(I am employed by Microsoft and this post only reflects my personal views.)
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