Google AdWords - Will Changes Hurt Small Business?

If you are running one page sales letter websites, squeeze pages that gather email addresses before giving out information or reports that are given at no cost, a site whose sole purpose is to display adSense ads or any affiliate site, you may be in for a big surprise when Google ups your minimum fee from .05 to .50 or more.

So why would Google want to knock out paying customers and drive them to Yahoo or MSN? They say it is because they want the customer to have a good experience with good content so that they will be encouraged to click on other ads in the future. This means that when the customer has a good experience from clicking on one ad, they will likely click on another one in the future. And if Google continues this way, they will stand to make a lot more money for each click.

The biggest thing I question is that the content on the site doing the advertising has to be unique and not the same as any other site. I believe this is pointing directly at affiliate sites that are similar or almost identical to the parent site. It may also involve the usage of syndicated content or using article marketing sites that have RSS feeds. Does this mean that a newspaper that carries a story from the newswire can only be carried by one paper throughout the world? I guess if you are buying AdWords, it will be the case.

As with anything Google does, they only seem to grow and rake in more money. However, Google proclaims that they are after the interest of the consumer and not the advertiser. It is the consumer that needs to have a fantastic experience and keep coming back for more. The question is then, "How will current AdWords advertisers adjust to make sure they follow the new rules?"

My guess is that the advertisers will have to comply with the new rules for squeeze and landing pages to make sure they are keyword dense to match the ad. As far as looking like another site in content, that may be a bit difficult. If you are using articles from companies that are using affiliates, there will need to be a way to customize the information or use writers that are good at reworking content to make it unique (contact the writer for more on how to do this).

The one thing that you can do to comply with the new rules is to make sure that all your content is useful and relevant (especially for the keywords you are using). And one more thing, if your viewers need to register on your squeeze page, let them know what they are getting - be brief but be informative.

Bette Daoust, Ph.D. is a speaker, author (over 170 books, articles, and publications), and consultant. She has provided marketing, sales, business development and training expertise for companies such as Peet's Coffee & Tea, Varian Medical Systems, Accenture, Avaya, Cisco Systems to name a few. Dr. Daoust has also done extensive work with small businesses in developing their marketing, training, and operational plans. You may contact Dr. Daoust at http://BizMechanix.com You may also view her latest publications at http://BlueprintBooks.com Dr. Daoust also writes for the National Networker http://NationalNetworker.com