What it is about cheap prices that draw us in? We can’t help but flock to cheap services, especially when the economy is down and we need to increase business. But beware of companies that have killer salesmanship and offer big promises for cheap because you may not see the catch right away. These companies certainly are not going to advertise the drawbacks of their services, and trust me, there are always drawbacks.
Take Reach Local for instance. They “specialize” in PPC campaigns for anybody and everybody. They have amazing salesmanship and seem quite inexpensive. They advertise that they can get a cheaper cost per click because they have a special relationship with the search engines. Sounds great, right?
When a company has over 700 clients, it can apply for a special certification through Google that allows it to pay less per click because the company is supplying so much business to the search engines. Most companies don’t have a client list numbering over 700, unless it is a very large company that uses software to manage client campaigns. And this is exactly how a company like Reach Local can do this “cheaper” pricing.
Reach Local uses very flashy and seemingly advanced software to manage its client campaigns. After running multiple campaigns with Reach Local, I was very disenchanted with the results, despite the flashy system and great phone tracking. And I’ll admit that its system for tracking phone calls is quite an amazing little system, but a computer does most of the actual work. With PPC you don’t want a computer doing most of the work. Reach Local does a very good job for some people, I’m sure. But at the end of the day I felt like this company is more about volume than quality.
A campaign needs to be fluid, and you need to be able to look at and adjust the campaign on a daily basis based on what keywords are getting you conversions (leads). Reach Local’s system doesn’t do that, and doesn’t give you transparency or control to do that. When talking with a representative about my campaigns, in the very beginning I was told that “We limit the client’s control over the campaign.” Okay, so they don’t have transparency, they base their fees on what you spend, and use computer software to manage the campaigns. Why would anybody want to work with them? Because they’re cheap and easy. But cheap and easy is not the best use of your money, especially during a recession. If you want to do PPC, hire a PPC specialist who will:
- Not use software to manage your campaign
- Give you ultimate control over your campaign and provide complete transparency
- Charge you a flat fee, rather than base their monthly fee off of what you spend
Cheap and easy is attractive, especially in these difficult economic times, but with PPC it’s not worth the price you’ll ultimately pay. And if you feel like you are being sold a used car, then you probably are. Do your research and ask the tough questions.
Monday, 13. April 2009
Thanks for the clear info. I have been hearing things about Reach Local but didn’t really know what to think.
Tuesday, 14. April 2009
Very informative article, thanks for de-mystifying some of this!
Tuesday, 21. April 2009
A friend of mine told me that they promised him a lot in the initial sales pitch that they never followed through with. They just kept trying to get him to spend more money, saying that he wasn’t spending enough.
Thursday, 11. June 2009
As an SEO and PPC company, I have had a few run ins with Reach Locals clients and business practices and I was blown away at what they get away with in the PPC management market. It’s the old “throw it at the wall and see what sticks” method of marketing and most PPC customer have no idea how much better it can actually be done. It’s unfortunate that Reach Local is taking advantage of businesses by doing sub par PPC however the customer does have a responsibility to know what they should be getting also. I’m glad to show anyone how PPC really works if they are wasting money with Reach Local and need to get some insider info on how their business can do even better with a little personal PPC attention.
Sunday, 14. June 2009
Great article. It’s just too bad that Reach Local really goes after the uninformed and uneducated business owner so they probably will not see this post. Oh and they like to keep it that way, the less informed and educated the customer the better it is for them – go figure.
I’m surprised that a Reach Local Sales Rep or “Internet Consultant” as they called themselves, hasn’t chimed in here yet. This sums it up perfectly ” if you feel like you are being sold a used car, then you probably are.” The seem to be kind of boiler room ish.
Oh, I’m also so curious as to what exactly their “Tuesday Morning” routines are. I had a client who was working with them. The Sales Rep mentioned that Tuesdays morning they are blocked from accessing email to focus on phone work or something like that. Huh? What does this mean? Anybody?
Wednesday, 17. June 2009
In fact Reach Local did contact us about this blog posting and wanted to find out whether or not we ever an actual client of theirs. I explained whom I worked with at Reach Local, and told them that if they had any other questions or wanted feedback on my experiences that I would be happy to speak with them further. They have never contacted me back and I got the impression that they were interested in trying to discredit the information in this posting rather than find out from a previous client how they could improve their services. In any case Reach Local was not happy about this posting, as you could imagine.
The most important thing to remember is that asking the tough questions and doing your research is vital to choosing any service provider.
Thursday, 25. June 2009
Responding to “Michelle” –
Phone work typically means they are on the phone in a “boiler room” type mode calling on businesses trying to get apts.
It’s common place in aggressive sales to set aside time for the sales team to “hit the phones” to set apts to get in front of more potential clients to get more sales.
Sales reps love to go on sales calls but hate the phone. The phone is usually where you are going to get most of your apts though. You can call 50 to 100 people faster then you can walk the street.
Responding to anyone –
I’ve heard both sides of Reach Local’s pitch. I work for a direct competitor of them and I usually don’t hear good things. Ultimately though the representative has to work on 80% of the campaigns to ensure they are dialed in correctly. There are a lot of variables in play on any PPC campaign that have to be dialed in. If they aren’t it’s a waste of money.
Recommendation to all searching for a PPC, SEM, or help on the internet. Search out long standing companies that have a personal touch and a great history. Get testimonials that are not produced.
Remember the excitement in your mind and body is being driven by the sales rep. ALWAYS sit on an idea for a week and do your research. Killing the “1 call close” is always done on the decision makers that don’t think – they just react.
Personally I don’t recommend ReachLocal but they do have a great service if done correctly.
Good luck out there . . . . .
Tuesday, 30. June 2009
To bad I did not read this first. Look before you leap we are told. I did not on this one .I am now locked into a contract for four months, while I still having to run my own google campaign. So its cost me big time. The main reason is lack of control. Further we seam to be head of the list at night time only!!!!!.
Saturday, 15. August 2009
Our company was completely scammed by ReachLocal and I would caution anybody to beware of their sales tactics. It appears they mark-up the PPC costs by exorbitant amounts and offer little ROI to the client. They convinced us that they have a cutting edge software system that results in much better PPC results when in fact they brought our campaign we were managing in house down by 80% over 4 months. Buyer Beware!!
Friday, 23. April 2010
To bad I did not read this first. Look before you leap we are told. I did not on this one .I am now locked into a contract for four months, while I still having to run my own google campaign. So its cost me big time. The main reason is lack of control. Further we seam to be head of the list at night time only!!!!!.
Thursday, 29. July 2010
Thanks for sharing your knowledge.