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Should You Really Pay Per Click? Cost Saving Alternatives
by Richard Bailey ©Copyright 2003

Many advertisers continue to use pay-per-click advertising 
because they are unaware of any alternatives. The fact is, 
there are very promising search engines that may be used as 
an alternative or supplement to a PPCSE campaign. Even if you
have dropped your PPCSE advertising altogether because you 
cannot find that blend of quality, high-volume traffic along 
with a low bid price, you will want to consider these 
alternative search engines. 

This article will look at three search engines. If you have not 
already added your site to these search engines, it is highly
recommended that you do so. 

::TowerSearch (http://www.towersearch.com)

Why only allow one advertiser to be number one? This is the 
question that TowerSearch has posed to the pay-per-click search 
engine industry when they introduced their "Equalized Results". 
TowerSearch guarantees that advertisers will receive a top 
listing for their site under the keywords that they choose 
without bidding on those keywords. This is done through a 
constant re-organizing of their results to ensure that each 
advertiser receives fair treatment. 

Because there is no per click cost associated with listing your 
site on TowerSearch, your monthly expenditures will remain 
consistent even if the traffic from your listings increases 
significantly. TowerSearch advertisers can select from two 
account levels. The "Standard Listings" ($29.95/month) account 
allows advertisers to list their site under as many as 100 
keywords. TowerSearch does provide an account that allows for 
unlimited keywords, but be prepared to pay a little extra for 
that account ($49.95/month). 

Over 1,200 websites currently participate in the TowerSearch 
network. Unlike a pay-per-click search engine that pays its 
network partners to provide searches, TowerSearch rewards its 
partners for new clients. The result is that TowerSearch traffic 
is driven by users interested in finding a product or service, 
not an affiliate looking to make a commission. TowerSearch seems 
to be the only search engine that effectively reduces your per 
click cost as you receive more traffic. Because they charge a 
flat monthly fee for their services, as you improve your 
listings, add keywords and increase traffic to your listings, 
your per click price will quickly drop to an insignificant level.
TowerSearch is well worth the $29.95/month they are charging. 

::ExactSeek (http://www.exactseek.com)

It is possible to get a number 1 listing without paying for 
every click you receive. The people at ExactSeek have built an
engine that allows you to move up their rankings by simply 
providing them with some traffic yourself. 

ExactSeek blends innovative search and listing techniques with 
the traditional search engine model. At the core of ExactSeek is 
a Meta-tag search engine using site titles and meta-tags to 
classify sites under keywords and phrases. However, unlike a 
traditional meta-tag search engine, the most important aspect 
of your ranking (under their priority listings) is the amount 
of traffic you provide to their site. 

ExactSeek Priority Listings use a system of "Search Points" to 
determine a site's ranking. A single search point is equal to 
20 searches provided within a day. As your listing accumulates 
more and more search points, your site rises in their listings. 
And, of course, as your site rises in their rankings, you will 
see more and more traffic. When you add your site to their 
listings, you will certainly want to participate in their 
Priority Listings as it guarantees your site a place among the
top 100 search results for the keywords in your site title and 
meta tags. Of course, your position within the top 100 will 
continue to improve as you send more traffic to them. With over 
30,000 new site submissions daily (yes, that's 30,000 site 
submissions per day), ExactSeek is quickly making its impression 
on webmasters across the globe. Also, visitors are able to search 
for more than just websites. They can search for images, mp3 
files, images, comparison shopping sites and email addresses. 

If you have not added your site to ExactSeek, you are missing 
out on something that is becoming more and more rare: the 
opportunity for free traffic. With that price tag in mind and 
the ability to be listed at the top of their listings, listing 
with ExactSeek is an easy decision. 

::LookListings (http://listings.looksmart.com/)

One of the main problems pay-per-click search engines have 
presented to advertisers is the "ego bidder". This is the bidder 
who bids so much higher than what everyone else is willing to 
pay that all competition is effectively cut off. 

The negative consequence of this is that the bid price is 
artificially inflated and all advertisers suffer less traffic or
higher bid prices. To avoid the ego bidders, and to provide all 
advertisers with a fair price for their listings, LookListings
charges a flat per click fee of just $0.15. Try finding a quality 
keyword on Overture or Google for $0.15 - I promise you will be 
hard-pressed to find one. 

This system has worked very well for them and their advertisers. 
Because there is no bidding process, advertisers are able to 
concentrate more on how their listings read and what keywords 
they are listed under rather than focusing on whether they have 
been outbid, are paying too much for their listing, or other 
time-consuming activities. 

LookSmart was already recognized for being a top search engine 
before launching LookListings. Since LookListings became 
available, LookSmart has added MSN, AltaVista, About, Excite, 
Netscape, InfoSpace, Cnet, and RoadRunner to participate in 
their program. 

LookListings will probably be the most expensive option out of 
the three search engines presented here. However, with the search 
traffic they are able to provide, their services are well worth 
the asking price. Conclusion This article has mentioned three 
search engines that act as alternatives or supplements to 
PPCSE's. PPCSE's are not a bad marketing investment. However, 
they can be expensive and difficult to manage. 

These alternative search engines all offer one thing: more 
traffic for your money.

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Newsletter compiled by Richard Bailey of Client By Design. 
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