Goodbye AdWords
AdWords was the main source we used to bring in new registrations at MelindasPenpals.com. We ran our ads in the Philippines for our free Filipina dating site. The results were decent for the first few years. There was a predictable ratio between the number of hits from the ads v/s the number of new registrations. I could expect 1 new registration for every 10 visitors brought in by the ads. AdWords was worth the expense at that time.
AdWords became less reliable for me after a couple of years. The ratio of new sign ups dropped to about 1 in 20 ad visitors. This was also when I noticed the AdWords campaigns becoming more complicated. All the new tools and gadgets meant more time trying to create an effective ad campaign. The results were also starting to drop off. I stuck with AdWords hoping the ad performance would improve over time. Unfortunately, the results remained sub par at best.
Over the past year I have watched my AdWords campaign turn into a money eating machine. The results have become abysmal. At one point this year my AdWords campaign was resulting in 1 new registration per 100 visitors from the ads. This is when a webmaster has to make tough decisions. Do you stay with what no longer works, just for the sake of traffic? Since we run a free dating site that was not an option. After five long years I made the difficult decision to close my AdWords account.
All of this left me wondering where my daily AdWords budget really went? Had I become the victim of fraud clickers? Is there a quality control problem when it comes to Google approving AdSense Publishers? Is the AdSense Network so full of unscrupulous website owners that using AdWords is like doing business in the wild wild west? Whatever the case may be, it has been disappointing to see all of this unfold. After 5 long years with AdWords I have thrown in the towel.
Steve
Melinda’s Filipina and Asian Dating
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