I've been intrigued for a while about Google's "Ad Words" advertising, and since I haven't had a Silhouettist Music Press order in about a week, yesterday I decided to give it a shot, especially because:
a) It's as cheap or expensive as you want it to be: I have a $20 limit on advertising per 30 days that Google can't go over, and it'll actually probably be closer to $10-$15, based on the number of clicks I got in the first day. Speaking of which:
b) You pay per click, not per impression, so it's only when someone actually goes to www.silhouettist.com that I have to pay up.
c) And for each person who does go there, I'm only paying between $.05 and $.07 for their visit, which, as long as every 50th or so visitor buys a piece or two of music, is certainly worth it.
d) Assuming they buy online rather than through the mail, I can track people and see exactly what Google query it was that lead them to make a purchase, whether it was "handbell trio," "bell tree" or "matthew prins."
e) Similarly, I can track the different Google queries I have linked to my ad to see which ones draw in more people (two clicks from 47 impressions for "handbell music") and which ones don't so much (one click from 226 impressions for either "handbell" or "handbells" alone).
f) Similarly, I can design different ads and track which of those bring in more clicks (the headlines "Handbell Sheet Music" and "Solo/Ensemble Sheet Music" are doing better than "Handbell Ensemble Music" and "Silhouettist Music Press").
g) Similarly...dang, I'm out of similarlys.
h) If the campaign hasn't worked after one month, I can stop it and only be out $20.00, tops. And since not every handbell ringer is on the Handbell-L (which has been almost exclusively my advertising venue thus far), this might be a way to get in touch for some new clientele.
So, we'll see how well this works or doesn't work. I'm optimistic, though.
(Note: If you're trying to look at the ads, be advised that they come and go from Google based on how many hits visits I've already had that day [as that's their method of ensuring I don't go over $20 a month]. So, if "handbell music" doesn't bring me up the first time, try again later.)
i sincerely do not know what you are doing here. are you lost? were you
looking for your delicate calico cat, and did you follow her up two flights of stairs
to this room? she is not here. she was here, yes. we gave her a warm bowl of milk, we talked with her about campaign finance reform for a time, and then she bid us good day. i believe she was
going to the post office two blocks down, but i don't quite recall.
for surely you did
not find your way from prinsiana, the least traveled site on
the internet. if you did, though, perhaps you are looking for humor. perhaps you are looking for profundity. perhaps you are looking for answers.
i'm sorry, but you shall go naught-for-three.
