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Why you Ask? For cheaper CPC, that’s why!

Oct 7, 2008 Ask Search Listings, Google Adwords

As online marketing properties become more popular to advertisers, the likelihood is that cost per click and therefore cost per acquisition may increase across the board.  Indeed, many advertisers look to expand their reach through the long-tail and higher quality scores, but another option is to diversify your portfolio.  Rather than putting all your eggs in one basket with Google Adwords, you may want to consider 2nd and 3rd tier search engines, like Ask.com for instance.

Ask.com originated from the highly entertaining AskJeeves.com, which enabled visitors to put their search queries into the form of a question to a all-knowing butler.  Long before Google started suggesting keyword combinations on search queries, and long before blended search results pointed users to a logical direction, Jeeves was able to answer many queries such as “why do we drive on the right side of the road?” or “where can I research mammalian evolution?”

Nowadays, Google has a firm grasp on search share and introduces all the fancy match types and suggestions for users that type longer queries, thereby rendering Ask.com somewhat dated.  To make matters worse, Ask.com is a Google Search Partner, meaning Adwords ads run on Ask.com for the same keywords targeted in Google, should your campaign settings opt into “Search Partners”.  So why bother with Ask Sponsored Listings?

Well, you may not have to bother with Ask Sponsored Listings at all if you’re happy with the way Google serves up your ads on Search Partner sites.  For instance, if you have two identical campaigns, one targeted to Google without Search Partners, and the other opted into both Google and Search Partners, and creatively set your bids lower on the latter, you may side-step the need for Ask Sponsored Listings campaigns.

However, it’s never a bad idea to test the waters to see whether your cost per acquisition could stand to lose a few dollars or cents.  If you do end up testing your ads on Ask.com, keep the following in mind:

• Your Ask.com ads may end up competing with existing Google Adwords ads, especially if you’re targeting the same keywords and if your Adwords campaigns are opted into Search Partners.  That means your Adwords CTR might take a hit, thereby possibly affecting position in Google sponsored search results.
• If newly created Ask.com ads supplant Adwords ads and convert well, your Adwords campaigns may show relatively small but perhaps significant drops in return on investment (ROI), or return on ad spend (ROAS).
• Ask.com ads only allow you to target by broad match or exact match, not phrase match.  Exact match on Ask is usually very highly targeted, and can garner some significant returns, but traffic is few and far between.  You’ll have to take a huge click quality pill when stepping down into broad match, but doing so in Ask is typically not as dangerous as Google.
• The Ask Sponsored Listings interface isn’t much to write home about.  In fact, it’s somewhat draconian in nature.  Luckily, Ask.com makes up for it with helpful and friendly account representatives that are more than willing to go the extra mile for advertisers.

In conclusion, advertising on Ask Sponsored Listings - for the most part - is an easy sell for larger advertisers that want to diversify their marketing efforts and reduce overall cost per acquisition.  Smaller advertisers that manage campaigns manually, may want to first test the waters on twin Google Adwords campaigns to see whether inclusion in 2nd and 3rd tier search engines makes sense, otherwise managing additional campaigns in Ask could be an unwelcome burden.

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Tags: ask ppc, Ask Search Listings, ask sponsored listings, ask.com, Google Adwords, pay-per-click