If you have ever used a professional online advertising company for pay-per-click management, learn the real story about your options.  You may be shocked.

If you are running a small to medium sized business and are, or ever attempted to use a professional online marketing service to pay-per-click

It may save you money… and some frustration. advertise on Google, Yahoo or Microsoft/Bing… you need to read this article.

In fact, I personally feel at times like a crusader trying to rescue businesses from this situation.

We found out that advertising a business on the internet using pay-per-click has some pretty lousy options (and results) out there.  No, it isn’t Google or Yahoo’s fault.  The blame falls squarely on companies that do the internet marketing and online advertising for companies like yours.

We know this… because of what we keep seeing over and over… and what are clients told us they experienced.

Here is the reality:  Most businesses have two prominent choices when they want to use professional assistance for their online marketing.

Pay a large, local internet marketing/advertising agency to set up an advertising campaign on Google or Yahoo.

Pay a national company (like Yellowpages.com, Reach Local, Market Hardware, Yodle, Jumpfly) to set up an advertising campaign on Google or Yahoo.

Houston, We’ve Got A Problem

The first option, paying a local professional marketing agency, can be a great move.  They spend the time every month testing and improving your campaign to get you the best results at the lowest click costs.

The problem is they are often mucho expensive ($5,000-10,000 a month in a retainer arrangement).  For most businesses under $1 Million in annual revenue, this is just not a realistic option.

The second option (a national advertising company) seems like a better, more affordable option ($500-1,500/mo) and they do work with a lot of your competitors.

And Now… The Rest Of The Story (with all due respect to Paul Harvey)

Yes, the second option is more affordable.. but what they do for you month in and month out to earn their money and maximize your results… leaves a lot to be desired.

They do just enough to get by.

That may sound harsh or even self-serving, but it is true.  Just ask our clients… who used to work with them.  We can give you names if you want to verify.  You can also ask the people who used to work for these companies.

These companies (like Reach Local, Yellowpages.com), in our professional opinion (and according to our clients), are focused primarily on one thing—signing you up.  Once they got you, they focus their attention on the next prospect.

• Set it, and forget it

- They set up your AdWords advertising campaign… but they don’t do the things needed to improve the campaign every month (which lowers your click cost and gets you more traffic/leads/customers).

How do I know this?  Because I have looked at campaigns my clients had with them.  One client had a blatant problem with one of their ads (which was leading to unnecessary clicks and poor performance) but they never noticed it.  The only way this could have happened is if they treated your account like a vacant house… they didn’t attend to it very regularly.

In my opinion, my client was being billed every month but the company was not earning their money.

• Out of touch… unless. My clients have told me they never heard from these companies after they were wined and dined for their business.  Wait… that is not totally correct.  They would get a periodic phone call from their rep—when the company had a new product or service they were trying to upsell the customer.

• All about making money off of you.  One former account manager at one of these companies reported that they were forced to manage over 100 accounts at the same time.  Why?  It is all about maximizing company profits… not providing the best service or results to the customer.  Folks, there is no way you can attend to 100 accounts… unless you ignore most of them in any given month.

Hearing From The Lawyers

I wouldn’t be surprised if I get a letter from some $500 an hour attorney telling me I can’t say these things (even if they are true).

In fact, in one of my correspondences, I included a testimony from one of my clients who was incredibly frustrated with one of these companies (which is why he switched away from them).  I simply reported what he told me.

Guess what?  The president of the offending company called me to tell me to cut it out.  He didn’t seem concerned with what the client was saying… or how to improve that situation so no other clients went through it in the future.  It was all about damage control.

Are We Really Any Different?

Fair question.  I concede that this article can be viewed as self-serving.  But, as God is my witness, I believe we are committed to… no, we are driven to provide a better option (with better results) for small to medium sized companies out there.  We see ourselves as champions to small-medium sized businesses.  We are energized when we can be heroes to our clients—

• Being accessible to them
• Giving them great ongoing advice for ALL their marketing
• Getting them much better results

… all at the same price they were paying before.

Don’t take my word for it.  Read our reviews.

To better understand our philosophy, watch this story:

OR- http://player.vimeo.com/video/37785996?

Find What You Are Really Looking For

Are you currently running an AdWords campaign?  Why not take advantage of a professional evaluation of your AdWords campaign from 2^nd Mile Marketing?   We can let you know if your campaign is being run efficiently to maximize your results.  We even provide you with 5 specific actionable items to Improve Your Current Pay-Per-Click Campaign.

Don’t worry… there is no obligation or strings attached.  This professional evaluation, normally $79, is being offered for free using coupon code EVAL79.  Follow the link… and signup for your free evaluation today!

Patrick McDaniel