Content Adword Overcharge: Keyword 'Sucker'

Los Angeles, CAIt wasn't that long ago that entrepreneurs were trying to figure out how to make a buck from this new, and strange frontier known as the Internet. Today, the new frontier is all things mobile—phones, internet, email, music, videos and a wealth of mobile phone content. Advertisers shilling their downloadable mobile content on the Internet are not just spending a small fortune with the hopes of making back an even bigger fortune, they may be spending too much thanks to overcharges.

Chances are if you're reading this you're a business-savvy Internet geek of the highest order, with a pen protector in your breast pocket and a Porsche parked out front (oh, to be an 'netpreneur' these days…) and probably the only person who really understands this. And yet at the same time you could be forgiven for not having the time to break out all the numbers, in an effort to determine just what kind of a bang you're getting for your Internet ad buck.

Here's the thing: depending on what your Google ad words and Yahoo keywords are for the content you are promoting, you could be paying far too much based on the response rates, and/or traffic you're not getting. That's because popular keywords such as 'ringtones' and 'wallpaper' have become so saturated in the Internet world, you could be very well footing the bill for advertising that will ultimately benefit someone else, but not you.

This is especially true if you rely on linked pages connected to advertisers.

Naw, we don't understand all this stuff either, although the lawyersandsettlements.com Webmaster will know exactly what's up. And a good keyword or ad word lawyer can too, and he or she will be in a proper position to reveal to you whether or not you're getting ripped off, and to advise you on the proper course of action. Basically we're not talking about a blatant rip-off in the truest sense of the word (or ad word, if you prefer), akin to having to hold your hands in the air and fork over a wad of cash from a ne'er-do-well. The overcharges can be quite subtle, but they are very real.

Take ringtones, for example. That's an easy one—everybody and his cousin are advertising ringtones. A ringtone is as individual as you are, and few are satisfied with being stuck with the gawd-awful fare that comes pre-loaded with your phone. Hence the huge market for ringtones—and that market is growing by the day.

And so you have a nifty portfolio of ringtones to hawk. Say you employ a voice mimic who does a mean impression of just about everybody who is anybody. What you provide, in a nutshell, is a famous voice (or reasonable facsimile) speaking text that you pick, customized to your life and lifestyle. Imagine hearing former President Bill Clinton saying, "…hey Gord…Gord…GORDO! Take five and pick up this call. Unless it's Hillary, then just take a number. Okay?…"

Neat. So you advertise your portfolio on the Internet. The problem, and especially with linked sites, is that the search for 'ringtones' and other ad words or keywords that are similar in nature could lead to ads that in turn expand to other services. As the client paying for those ad words and keywords, you may not be achieving an effective match to potential clients, and therefore your ad dollars are not only disappearing into thin air, they're actually helping to put revenue into someone else's pocket—and you r keywords have little to no prospect of providing a return on the investment.

Your ROI is getting lost in a keyword vacuum.

This is bound to get worse too, as the advertising pendulum continues to swing towards mobile. Advertisers are expected to spend about $2 billion promoting mobile content this year. By 2012—in four short years—that figure is expected to mushroom to $17.5 billion.

With a market like that, you want to bet that you want a piece of it, or at the very least participate in it. However, you also don't want to be making someone else rich, either. The key (as opposed to keyword) is to get what you pay for…and if you feel like you are coming out on the short end of the stick and being charged too much for internet advertising of your mobile content through keywords that seem to disappear into oblivion, now is the time to contact qualified legal help.

Do it now, before things start getting hairy. If you think you're over-paying in 2008 in the midst of a $2 billion dollar industry, just imagine what your losses and overcharges might be in the middle of an $18 billion dollar bubble.

Don't wait for spring. Call your lawyer now. If you wait, your keyword just might be 'sucker'.