More than a few email marketers and opt-in email list builders are up in arms over the many recent “Google Slaps”. For those who don’t know, Google suddenly started raising the Adwords bids on certain keywords for certain people back in July of 2006, and has changed the rules again a few times since then.
UPDATE: Google did it again in late 2009, summarily deleting numerous Adwords accounts. Some people claim they were given no warning, and never have gotten an explanation as to why their accounts were canceled. Smart marketers *never* depend on just one method to build a list, and this is a perfect example why!
Folks who were trying to build an opt-in email list driving inexpensive PPC traffic to bare bones landing pages and to squeeze pages have been hit especially hard.
Basically what happened was that Google decided to crack down on people who were bidding on inexpensive keywords for the purpose of sending traffic to a squeeze page, or to a one-page sales letter. They were also after the “arbitrageurs”, who were making money by buying inexpensive Adwords traffic and sending clicks to pages that were crammed with higher paying Adsense ads, in the hopes of profiting for the difference between what they spent for the traffic and what they earned from it.
Most pertinent to us focused on list building was the effect it had on our ability to buy inexpensive Adwords key words and send the traffic to a squeeze page. More than a few folks suddenly found themselves out of the game.
So what do you do? Well, word has it that Google is now using a “Quality Score” to rank your landing page. Some of the factors thought to be relevant include whether or not there are links to a Privacy Policy and a page that provides Contact Information for the site owner. Also thought important are outgoing links to other pages on your site that provide relevant, free content. It’s also thought that you need to provide some free content right on the landing page, and/or a description of what the prospect will get if they fill out your form.
That’s my take on it, at least.
What have YOU been doing for email list building after the Google Slap?
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