Overture Services, Inc. v. Google Inc.

Filing 116

Declaration of Ravind S. Grewal in Support of 115 Google's Responsive Claim Construction Brief filed by Google Inc.. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1# 2 Exhibit 2# 3 Exhibit 3# 4 Exhibit 4# 5 Exhibit 5# 6 Exhibit 6# 7 Exhibit 7# 8 Exhibit 8# 9 Exhibit 9# 10 Exhibit 10# 11 Exhibit 11# 12 Exhibit 12# 13 Exhibit 13# 14 Exhibit 14# 15 Exhibit 15# 16 Exhibit 16# 17 Exhibit 17# 18 Exhibit 18# 19 Exhibit 19# 20 Exhibit 20# 21 Exhibit 21# 22 Exhibit 22# 23 Exhibit 23# 24 Exhibit 24# 25 Exhibit 25# 26 Exhibit 26# 27 Exhibit 27# 28 Exhibit 28# 29 Exhibit 29# 30 Exhibit 30)(Related document(s) 115 ) (Grewal, Ravind) (Filed on 1/30/2004)

Overture Services, Inc. v. Google Inc.

Doc. 116 Att. 5

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EXHIBIT 5

Dockets.Justia.com

.'

Case 3:02-cv-01991-JSW
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Google Adwords and Overture

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Each month in our " Secrets To Their Success " private members ' web site , we interview e- business people who are making fantastic profits with their online businesses. We ask them for the details of how they ve come to be so successful - what exactly their secrets are , what tools they ve used , etc.

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In fact

, in one of the interviews we did last month , our

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interviewee told us he is generating an average of 13 000 UNIQUE VISITORS PER DAY by having keyword listings both Google AdWords and Overture: http://www. overture. com
Google AdWords Select is the pay- per-click side of the search engine giant we all know as Google. Just a few months old Google AdWords Select is an offshoot of its cost- perimpression sister Google AdWords , which has been available

for a little longer.
An ad placed with Google AdWords Select shows up in a colored box on the right side of the Google search results page , combining free (editorial) content with paid advertising. It' s another form of pay- per- click advertising that , done right
has proven to effectively generate traffic.
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The ads are extremely high in visibility, set off from the main text in Google s familiar pages that attract OVER 20 MILLION
UNIQUE VISITORS PER MONTH. Your URL can appear on the

first page of search results without all the hassles of search engine submi;;sion and optimization... and you don t pay
unless viewers click!

Sound like the ideal advertising set-up? Well , it' s been very profitable for some... But let' s have a look at what exactly Google AdWords Select offers , how it differs from competing sites in its industry, and how you can use it to your benefit.

Because Overture has dominated the pay- per-click industry
almost unrivaled until now , I' ll use it as a point of comparison to examine the merits of Google AdWords Select.
The main difference between the two programs is the way in which their ads are listed -- Google s are highlighted alongside the regular Google search results , and Overture appear AS regular search results. However , there are five other points of difference that are very important to

ndersta nd...
1. PRICING

The pricing structures for each are very different:

When you sign up for Overture , you must pay a $50 deposit
that is applied to your monthly click- throughs and your monthly " spend" (you must spend a minimum of $20 per month in click- throughs; if you don , the money will be subtracted from your deposit). The minimum bid amount is 5

cents.
In Google AdWords Select, you must pay a $5 non- refundable fee that is not put toward your click- through fees. There is monthly minimum to pay. The minimum bid is said to be 5 cents , but this is not the case f0r all keywords -- in fact bidding on popular keywords tends to be more expensive here.
2. BIDDING YOUR WAY TO THE TOP
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If you want to bid on the term " baseball bats " in Overture you could run a query in their " View Bids " tool , which you fi n d at: http:j jwww . overture. comjdjUSmjadcenterjtoolsjindex. jhtml Using this tool , you can determine that (at the time of writing) the number- one position has a maximum bid of $1.17 per click. You d have to beat that bid to get the
coveted position.

In Google AdWords , there is no " View Bids " or equivalent tool; you don t have any access to the amounts other advertisers are bidding. What you can do is fiddle with the numbers in the "Traffic Estimator Tool" (which you ll find

when you go to set up your ad) to find out how much you have to pay to get a top position with your keyword. testing different amounts in the Traffic Estimator , we found that the minimum bids changed according to the popularity
each keyword.

A minimum bid for the keywords " baseball bats " in Google AdWords Select requires (at the time of writing) $0.40 per click and ranks your ad fifth. This is the same as the bid for the number- five position in Overture. But to attain the number- one position in Google AdWords Select , you ll have to cough up a hefty $2. 60 per click , while the ace spot
Overture goes for a maximum bid of $1.17.

3. KEEPING YOUR BID COSTS LOW
When Google AdWords Select first came out , it got an edge on its competition by creating the " AdWords Discounter. " This tool automatically keeps your bid one penny ahead of the competition , up to your stated maximum amount , thereby

accomplishing two very important tasks:
. It

keeps you from having to monitor your bids and your competition all day every day, and . If your next closest competitor lowers his or her bid your bid will automatically be lowered to only a penny over the lesser amount.

This prevents " bid gaps " which occur when a wide margin exists between one bid and the next lowest bid , causing the higher bidder to spend unnecessary money.
URL: http://searchengineoptil11ism. com/SEO Tutorial/google - adwords - oveliure. htl11l

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referred to as its " Auto Bidding " tool. careful , however, to make sure you sign up for this service in
a similar tool ,

Since then , Overture has taken the hint and has implemented

Overture -- it does not happen automatically, and you may
be caught paying much more than you need to!

Allow me to illustrate: In our search on " baseball bats " the top bid was, as mentioned , $1.17. The next highest bid however , was $O. 65! That means the unfortunate soul in the

fortunate position of being number one could be SAVING 52
CENTS PER CLICK!

And if this calculation is taken into consideration , and if we drop the number- one listing s bid amount to $0. 66 cents (all
AdWords Select costs four times more than in Overture for this particular keyword.

it needs to be), it means that the number-one spot in Google

I know that sounds expensive , but Google s approach to advertising could mean an excellent return on investment on your ad (depending on your ad , of course!) -- so although you pay more , you could profit more as well. NOTE: If you
not sure how much is too much to bid on the keywords you want , take a look at issue 54 of our newsletter , where we
discuss how to determine the

dollar value of your customers -

- if you bid over this amount , you could end up losing money. Go to
http://www. marketingtips. comjnewsletterjissue54jindex.
The only way to really determine both the value and the
html

volume of your traffic from your Overture ad as compared your Google AdWords Select ad is by tracking your advertising.
Each program will allow you to assign a tracking URL
to your

ad -- a URL

that

contains a special identifier so that you can

tell which ad is pulling the most response from where and ensure that it is generating enough revenue to be worth the cost of advertising.
Google AdWords Select makes it very easy to create a tracking URL when you initially set up your account. In Overture it' s not quite as easy, but they ll tell you what to do

at: http://www. overture. com/d/USm/learning/track howb. jhtml Your viewers won t see this URL -- they ll click on your web
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site link and be redirected through your tracking ID.
We personally track all of our advertising with our affiliate

software , AssocTRAC -http://www. marketingtips. com/assoctrac It' s the easiest and most effective way we ve found to keep an eye on our ads and ensure that they re turning the profit we expect.
4. LISTING POSITION

Your listing position is more than just a matter of catching viewers ' attention -- in both Overture and Google AdWords Select , a top- three listing can dramatically increase the

exposure of your ad.
Overture s massive reach is enabled not only by its wellknown name , but also by its partnerships with:
. Yahoo
. Ask Jeeves . InfoSpace

MSN
. AltaVista

. Netsca pe

But Google AdWords is no shrinking violet either; its partners
incl ude:
. America Online
. Earthlink

. SympaticojLycos

Your ad is guaranteed listings on all partners ' sites only if it appears in the top three listings for your search term. So how do you achieve this position?

In Overture , the process is simple: the more you pay, the better your listing. If you outbid all the other people competing for your keywords , you ll attain a top listing in the
pages of search results. Simple as that.

In Google AdWords Select , the listing process is very different , and is unique in the pay- per- click industry. First of
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all , Google AdWords ads are listed at the top right of Google

search result pages. This means that your ad shows up in prominent position alongside (but set apart from) Google
editorial (unpaid) listings.

a

your ad generates. The more you bid , the better your chances of attaining a top ranking are n but if your ad doesn t perform , it just slides on down the rankings.

Secondly, and most surprisingly, your ranking is determined both by how much you bid AND by how many click- throughs

Google s argument for this kind of approach is that ads that perform are (obviously) of more interest to viewers , so this kind of system creates the best quality results for users. Google also maintains that performance- based placement

keeps competitors from getting locked those with more money to spend.
But the problem with Google

out of top positions by

s payment- plus- popularity placement system is that it can be very difficult to figure out

exactly where your ad will appear.

actually getting the top position on Google s results page you ll not only be a little disgruntled -- you ll also have to do some work on your ad to try to get the response you
aiming for.
5. CHOOSING KEYWORDS

And if you re paying the top price for the top listing but not

on them and talk about the process of choosing them in the first place...
AdWords supply tools to help you determine which keywords would be best for you to use. However , Overture provides a much more extensive and
Both Overture and Google

Back to keywords -- but let' s

take a step back from bidding

useful range of tools.

Google s " AdWords Keyword Suggestion Tool" does give you a

list of synonyms and similar phrases for your keyword. For example , when I punched in " Baseball Bats " I got a list of related terms.
However , when I entered " Baseball
Bats "

into Overture
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Search Term Suggestion Tool " I got a list of 99 related terms , PLUS how many times each of those terms has been searched in the last month.

Flip over to the " View Bids " tool to determine how much is being bid on these terms , and your bidding strategy is

underway.
But if you want to get a good pay- per- click listing on Google there s no reason why you can t use Overture to get a feel for which terms are most searched , and which are available at low cost (you can do this free and without committing to anything with Overture), then use these terms to create your
ad in Google AdWords Select.

, better yet , use the more comprehensive tools offered by WordTracker: http://www. marketingtips. com/wordtracker
The free version will give you search numbers and bidding amounts from AltaVista, while the paid version compiles results from the top 24 search engines , directories , and payper- click engines , including Google.

This is the best way to find those overlooked keywords and
you can capitalize on at a very low cost.
FINAL THOUGHTS:

misspellings that your competition hasn t noticed... and that

The success experienced by our Secrets To Their Success interviewees -- http://www. secretstotheirsuccess. com -- who used Google AdWords Select is a good indicator of what you can do with this somewhat elusive form of pay- per- click

advertising.

Google has a very good reputation and is widely used as a search tool with quality (unpaid) listings , and you just can miss the " sponsored links " listed down the right column of the page.

It is perhaps this degree of visibility that has made such a
difference to those advertisers who have generated a great response with Google AdWords Select.

And now that you know how to use Google AdWords Select to achieve the best results possible , you can start getting in
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some of Google s masses of traffic. To maximize the

performance of your ad , make sure to...
- Choose the keywords you bid on very carefully. Try to choose keywords that are frequently searched by your target market but that are not being bid on by as many of your

competitors.
- Write an effective ad (see issue 65 of our newsletter at

http://www. marketingtips. comjnewsletterjissue65jindex. html for tips on how to make the best use of the space you have).
- Monitor your bid position. Whenever possible , make sure you rank in the top 3 listings as this will get your ad the highest exposure.

- Track your results and make adjustments and
improvements based on what you learn.

Learning the search engine game is a trying and time

the time or the resources to undertake the arduous task of
getting a good ranking.

consuming lesson , and a start- up e- business may not have

But if you can choose your keywords carefully and find the most attractive bid amounts available , you can bid your way

to the top of the search results pages without
budget.

blowing your

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Corey Rudl is the owner of four highly
successful online businesses that

attract more than 6

million visitors and generate over $5. 2 million each year. He is also the author of the # 1 best- selling Internet Marketing course online.
To check out his site that' s JAM- PACKED WITH THE EXACT INFORMATION YOU NEED to start , build , and grow your very

own profitable Internet business , I highly recommend visiting http://www. marketingtips. com/tipsltr. htmi This guy really knows what he s talking about!

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Return to FREE articles index
Search Engine Marketing: Special Reports from Page Zero Unleash Amazing Profits with Google AdWords Select! You
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I t use the techniques taught in this special report

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