Has Google "sold out" on their adwords since going public?

I say this because in my industry, keywords have been bid up as high as $8-10 each, and more. That's some pretty serious PPC. No one can afford that but the big, big boys. Honestly, I don't even know how they do it. Maybe that's why Google has more money than Oprah.

Also, I have niche keywords I've focused on because we do something that no other site does. But here's the thing, when I put those keywords in, the big boys' ads come up even though they don't actually do what the search phrase requests. Google sees just one of the words in the term and searches on that, bringing up the big boys' ads for the PPC I'm sure. Instead, it should look at the whole phrase because that's entirely different than one word in the phrase.

I might be rambling here so I hope this is making sense. I guess I thought adwords results we're suppose to level the playing field between huge and small companies. This way the user is able to discover something that might be perfect for them, not just who's paying the most to get in front of their face. It makes me wonder if they've succumbed to the pressures from Wall Street.

It's probably just that the keywords are profitable enough for some companies to bid up the price. The playing field is leveled in the sense that $8-$10 per click is still a lot cheaper than traditional advertising.

And if you dig deeper into keyword research you should be able to find profitable keywords that haven't been bid as high. Then you can take the profit from those keywords and put it into bidding on the more general terms if you think they're profitable enough.

Originally Posted by blogdog

Maybe that's why Google has more money than Oprah.

Nope. That's because Oprah is an individual, and Google is a company. With public traded stock, no less.

I'm not sure what keywords you're using, but they sound hideously expensive. That's the real issue here. You're in business to make a profit, so is Google, so the question isn't about philosophy, it's how the both of you can work together at that, right?

Maybe you're focusing on the wrong keywords? Without knowing what industry you're in, I'll pick a common example. If I sold houses, I'd be smart to optimize around "Sonoma County, California, Real Estate" and not just "Real Estate". There are a lot of reasons.

One is that the keywords are a lot more expensive. But another is that the more specific ones aren't just cheaper, they're better. A person who types in "real estate" is window shopping. You want the person who brought their checkbook.

^Oprah is a company working under the guise of an 'individual' for the public's perception. Google is just bigger business.