Reiki Music. Video Marketing

Google Goggles Review Part 3 – What’s in a name?

What’s in a name may seem a strange start, but it is a major part of the scenario here.

Google Goggles happens to be the name of a fairly high profile GAME involving Google Maps and some sort of flght simulator AFAIK, dating back quite a while. So when you do an organic search, guess what comes up mixed in the results?

“Goggles” is , strangely, quite a non SEO search term. so when you try to use any tools, even Hexatracks own Keyword suggestion tool, guess what you get? Yep spectacles and ski’ing sports wear.

Why do I mention this? Simply because my Google Goggle led Adsense campaign is BOMBING. And that isn’t quite what is supposed to happen, is it?

The reasons are fairly simple.

1. I am no Adsense expert. I seem to have the Midas touch on PPC in reverse.
2. The name is a hard one to pin down on
3. The field (market) is actually highly competitive
4. This is a REALY BAD product to promote
5. And as always seems to e the case, Adsense is just NOT ECONOMIC! Goggled or not!

Let’s look at what I am saying;

1. I am an Adsense numpty. But exactly the sort of person who could have Google Goggles.
2. Goggles is just not an SEO word (yet) plus the high profile game, plus the glasses semantic language. Bottom line is people won’t be typing in Goggles for anything to do with SEO, UNLESS they already know about this product from some other source (i.e. news, a blog, an (affiliate) email). That source could presumably have a link to the authors, just like my own blog here does.
   This is verified by Googles own search estimates; 320 in a month for the entire USA. (210 during pre-launch, so the buzz hasn’t been noticed yet).
   

   At 320 hits per month for the entire USA, there isn't enough traffic for a DIRECT promotion

   Simply put, the Google Goggles niches is way too small for a direct approach like this.

3. SEO and PPC optimisation and Adsense in a box and VRE and all the other scum IM magic bullets are all fighting for this potentially lucrative traffic. So going in via the front door, is probably too hard too.
   

   More main stream keywords have traffic, but also higher competition

4. So this isn’t a good product to promote via a direct route via Adwords. It isn’t well known enough yet to be recognised by name and the name has too many other semantic connotations and disparity with SEO.
5. Adsense is not economic. Always seems to be “my” problem. Google says a position 1~3 place will cost me around £1.30 (about $2.60). The reality seems to be less than that, but people in the UK do seem to get STIFFED with the dollar price, at a £ to $ rate, not the exchange rate. Guess I need to move to the USA then Note that this price is the PLEB price, with no quality score being done on any site yet, just the average Joe price, or possibly the typical price from all the unoptimised PPC advertisers. Not sure which!
   But let’s make the maths simple and say $2 per click. The affiliate commission on this product is about $30. So at best we would have to sell 1 product for every 15 clicks. That’s almost a 7% conversion rate, which is unlikely to happen.
   If we assume a more realistic conversion rate of 2%, then we sell 2 for every 100 clicks we get. At $2 per click that has cost us $200 to sell $60 worth of stuff.
   Does that work for you?!
   Let’s caclulate it the businesss way.
   $30 and 100 clicks to sell 1. The PPC cost needs to be 30 cents. It isn’t!! Even with optimization, on a competitive term, it isn’t likely to get there either. As a UK advertiser I will also be paying 30 pence (60 cents), not 30 cents.

Position 81 for what should be the main result

So what does this mean?

It means Adsense is stupidly expensive and on normal priced profit stuff, no click price should be above 30 cents. But it just isn’t, except on more extreme fringe words, but then they have no traffic. So that means a LOT of work to optimise for a 5 click a month phrase in the off chance. Ridiculous!

OK so I picked promoting Google Goggles using Google Goggles as a cheeky joke, and not as a serious business proposition. But look how it has turned out. I’ve lost money. Something which Goggles is not supposed to facilitate. Hexatrack do NOT claim any results, which is correct. But this tool alone cannot help you to make money. It can only show you if you are in with a starting chance. As I’ve proven here, there are a million other factors involved as to whether your Adsense campaign will work.

Also the PPC rate I have earnt from Google is frankly appaulling. Despite passing the Goggles test, on most factors.

Let’s look at the factors I failed on again.

Domain name: Well I have a “blog”, so it should have worked like a sub folder, but maybe that really isn’t enough. That means that Google is so stupid that it needs a domain name (or sub domain) to tell it what a site is about. Doesn’t seem to be needed for “Amazon”. Notice the word “book” in there? But OK so fair enough $10 pa for a focused domain name. But then it’s MANAGING 500 domain names and not looking like a web spammer at the same time. Which is it Google?

The landing page was, as far as the GG report went, “bad”. Hmmph. Upon external analysis the Keyword Density was TOO MUCH. OK so I could have sorted that and should have. But really, I need to remove on topic genuine copy, just to please a search robot?

Ultimately I don’t have any more time or money to spend on this experiment. GG said I would do OK. I haven’t. That is NOT GG’s fault, but just reflects that GG is a minor part in the Adsense panacea.

All it confirms to me is that Adsense is not an advertising medium to “sell” stuff. It is a way to build a customer base. Very few people can afford to spend $1 per head, let alone $1 per click (if it takes 100 clicks to get a lead)

Now, am I doing a terrible job? Well you tell me!

• I have a small PR (2) blog, with “blog” allegedly being some mystical power word.
• Google Goggles gave me a pretty big green light on 3 of the 5 search terms I asked it. Overall Good.
• I created genuine UNIQUE content, highly relevant, quite valuable to the theme, and in terms of site SILO’ing, it is! So Google, (with great respect and a timid expression) get a life!
• I currently have achieved positions 25 and 81 in ORGANIC SEARCH for “Google Goggles”. Not good enough by any means, but something. And proof that Google per se doesn’t think I’m totally dreadful. So why the $2 PCP rate? Well high competition is the obvious answer. And guess what, Goggles doesn’t tell you about that.
  Hexatrack, their own Adword spy system, does tell you something about this of course. IF you can understand it and have the time to delve.

So what have I learnt?

• Don’t do Adsense just to sell stuff. Use it for list building. The cost is just too high otherwise.
• Don’t rely on superficial tools. Use your brain as well.
• That Google Goggles is an amusing toy largely to promote mother ship, Hexatrack, which is fair enough. I don’t like it personally, but I am just a percentage.
• Just don’t expect Goggles to earn you any money. DOH!

I’m sure many of you will be screaming and laughing at my failure here. I have little doubt that some of you can do way better than me. get a better ad rate and even make a profit. But for Adsense, I am average Joe, the sort of Joe who thinks he needs Google Goggles. I think my results speak for themselves…

And if you can make Adsense work, I put it to you you don’t need no Goggles to help you!
OK I’m off to pause my campaign and stop losing money now…

Good luck! You may need it…

BTW you’ll notice I haven’t bothered putting a link to the product in this post…

Oh what the hay, you’ll buy it anyway – don’t do it now for $97 plus $14 per month  includig Hexatrack (standard).

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