Let's Take A Look At LookSmart - The PPC Search Directory
Founded in 1995, Looksmart has since then become one of the three largest website directories, the two others being ODP and Yahoo. While the Looksmart site does not draw as many visitors as Yahoo, nor does its data have as many users as ODP's, the directory has several powerful partners that make being listed in it seem attractive. To mention a few of them, MSN, Mamma, Altavista and Dogpile all use Looksmart's data somewhere on their pages or search results. Also, it appears that at least Altavista gives a ranking boost to sites that are present in Looksmart's database.
Most webmasters can appreciate Looksmart's partnerships with Mamma, AV and Dogpile, but the reason why they are really drawn to submit to the directory is MSN. Microsoft's portal displays sites that are listed at Looksmart fairly prominently in its search results. Because the MSN site is very popular and because it is the default search engine of Internet Explorer, being well-ranked in it for the right keywords can produce significant amounts of traffic.
Pay Per Click Vs. Free Search Engines
In April 2002, Looksmart drastically changed its submission process. It abandoned the previous program, under which a site could pay $299/$149 to get reviewed and if found satisfactory, would be added to the directory. In its place, Looksmart introduced a new scheme named LookListings Small Business.
The new model is based on the pay per click concept and the prices have been adjusted accordingly. The submission fee has been dropped to $49. This only purchases you a review and a promise that if your site meets the Looksmart Listing Guidelines, you'll be accepted into the directory.
Should your site be rejected, you will not get a refund. Also, unlike the Overture $50 setup fee, this $49 will not buy you any click-throughs. In short, it gets you in the door, but that is all.
After your submission is approved, you'll need to make a minimum initial deposit of $150. This fee is refundable and also fully applicable to clicks. The clicks have a flat price of 15 cents, so you won't be able to bid any more or less than that amount per click. Sites receiving less than 100 clicks/month will be charged the minimum monthly spend of $15.
In Overture's pay per click search engine, the ranking of sites is determined by who pays the highest price. Since all clicks cost $0.15 at Looksmart, it naturally can't rank sites in the same way. Instead, it uses a ranking algorithm that is apparently based on the description, title, category and keywords you submit when creating your account. As in regular search engines and directories, there is no guarantee that you'll rank anywhere near the top for the keywords you are targeting.
Purely commercial sites that sell merchandise or services but have very little unique content must choose between two options. Either they participate in the pay per click program, or they aren't included at all. Later we'll discuss which of these two choices would be the better one, but for now, let's forget that issue. Instead, let's tackle another difficult question first.
There are many sites out there that provide excellent, valuable content to Internet surfers. Some of them might have a banner ad or two so that the webmaster doesn't have to worry about how to be able to pay the hosting fees, while others are completely ad free. What about these sites? Are their owners expected to simply pay $0.15 per click, even while they can hardly afford to?
You are probably wondering whether to participate in the Looksmart pay per click plan or not. The answer to this question largely depends on how much money you can make from an average visitor to your site and how well your site is able to rank at MSN. Unless your site produces over 15 cents of profit per visitor, it is obvious that Looksmart is not worth its price.
Even if you can afford to pay what Looksmart is asking for, it might be worth it to look at other possibilities first. For example, Overture has a minimum bid of only 5 cents and is cheaper to set up. To top it off, Overture results also appear in MSN under several keywords and are placed above the results coming from Looksmart.
Check Out Looksmart
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