Here is a very revealing article about Google’s recent algorithm switch that is forcing advertisers to look to alternative traffic sources.

Some interesting advertiser/analyst responses:
“I am seeing large-scale advertisers whose general cost per clicks is trending up … and they’re seeing impressions go down,” Chatfield says.

“If it were just a rate increase, I would have tolerated it. But my ad rates have doubled and I’ve got no business,” says one longtime AdWords advertiser, “Sam”, he got about 100,000 impressions on ads served for two keywords in February (which resulted in $250,000 in revenue), and in March that number dropped to 20,000 impressions and essentially zero revenue. To compensate for lost sales, he says he started buying advertising from Yahoo and Microsoft.”

This over saturation of advertiser competition has forced Google to create new ways to further qualify the most relevant ads for the user, which is commendable. At the same time however, Google is straying from its original PPC platform: the advertiser pays for the positioning and they get it. Now, in addition to a fairly exorbitant bid price, the advertiser has to meet the standards an organic listing would have.

We have seen a direct result of this as many advertisers have come to seek refuge from the diminishing ROI they have been experiencing. The problem is, too many advertisers have put their all of their advertising dollars in one proverbial basket making them vulnerable to risks like this where all of a sudden their once profitable campaigns are floundering due to a pretty hefty switch in infrastructure. Networks, traffic sources and users are fickle, it’s up to the advertiser to make their stake in various traffic sources to protect them in the event one oasis dries up they’ll have another. Its always a good idea for advertisers to constantly be testing new sources of traffic, even if you’ve tried it 6 months ago, that’s like 3 internet years, give it another shot! Of course there are certain traits to look for when evaluating new PPC traffic sources, but when you find the right fit, you’ll be surprised how much traffic is out there that’s cheaper and just as good of quality.

-Simon Chernin, Director of Marketing ABCSearch