Chris
05-23-2003, 07:17 AM
I came into this hating LookSmart. Their change from a pay directory like Yahoo to a PPC directory annoyed me to no end, as it did many webmasters. However, what I realized is that while LookSmart may be a bad directory, they're an excellent PPC program. The main draw with LookSmart is getting into the primary results at MSN. See Overture provides MSN with a couple sponsored listings, then LookSmart provides primary results, and after LookSmart results (which can go on for pages) Inktomi comes in and provides secondary results. So for the time being the only way to get into MSN's primary results is through LookSmart.
LookSmart also differs from the other two in that they don't allow you to bid for keywords, everyone in the program pays 15 cents per click. This price fixing is nice because it prevents bidding wars like what you'll find at Overture. It also means that you can get to the top of the listings if you know how to optimize for directories and still only pay 15 cents per click. You can also budget your listings with Looksmart and once you reach your maximum they'll turn your listing off for the remainder of the month.
LookSmart does have its downsides though. It charges a high $29 setup fee, and you could still rejected. It also charges for listing changes and requires a minimum of $15 a month.
However LookSmart does have one bonus that the others don't, that is link popularity. Being listed in LookSmart gives you incoming links from LookSmart itself and from places that use LookSmart's directory (such as AltaVista).
Reluctantly I am forced to recommend LookSmart's PPC program. The fact that it is the only way for a commercial site to get into MSN's primary results adds tremendous value to the program. Plus the link popularity is a nice bonus, and the most you'll be paying is 15 cents a click which should be manageable for most commercial sites.
Original Source: http://www.websitepublisher.net/article/3-ppc-programs/2
LookSmart also differs from the other two in that they don't allow you to bid for keywords, everyone in the program pays 15 cents per click. This price fixing is nice because it prevents bidding wars like what you'll find at Overture. It also means that you can get to the top of the listings if you know how to optimize for directories and still only pay 15 cents per click. You can also budget your listings with Looksmart and once you reach your maximum they'll turn your listing off for the remainder of the month.
LookSmart does have its downsides though. It charges a high $29 setup fee, and you could still rejected. It also charges for listing changes and requires a minimum of $15 a month.
However LookSmart does have one bonus that the others don't, that is link popularity. Being listed in LookSmart gives you incoming links from LookSmart itself and from places that use LookSmart's directory (such as AltaVista).
Reluctantly I am forced to recommend LookSmart's PPC program. The fact that it is the only way for a commercial site to get into MSN's primary results adds tremendous value to the program. Plus the link popularity is a nice bonus, and the most you'll be paying is 15 cents a click which should be manageable for most commercial sites.
Original Source: http://www.websitepublisher.net/article/3-ppc-programs/2