…gang aft agley, according to Mr. Burns. As I am a modern & sophisticated human being, that naturally puts me in mind of a character in a John Cusack movie (which one? I dunno) who said something like this: “Some drink from the fountain of knowledge. Others…gargle.”
So here we are. I’ve had a lot of fun with Google AdWords. I learned some interesting things…would you have guessed, for example, that “Files Changed? Server Down?” would attract roughly twice the clicks I got from “Site Hacked? Server Down?”? I sure didn’t. But hey, I changed the text on Scarecrow’s site to match the better-performing ad headline as soon as I found out.
I learned it’s possible to get 57 clicks in a few hours from people using Android devices, for roughly $.15 each, without any way to identify where the heck they’re coming from. And without a single one of them choosing to click on a single additional page once they landed on Scarecrow’s site.
I’m sorry, but I really am wondering right now: do mice gargle? I’m guessing they don’t. But does anybody out there know for sure? How?
Here’s the thing, today: I get better walk-ins. I’d love to be able to test various elements of the site, such as the logo–which I created in roughly 5 minutes in an attempt to irritate a coworker, who then claimed to like it, about which I call shenanigans–but testing is impractical without attracting more visitors, and when the visitors who do come in via the ads are so unlikely to actually pay for the service.
Hey, a couple of weeks ago a Google search on “obvious usernames and passwords” brought up a blog post of mine in the #1 spot. Did I plan that? Did that phrase, before today, actually appear anywhere in this blog? No. But neat stuff like that happens for free. We do pretty well on “contracts are evil” too, which pleases me no end, though nobody coming in through that particular door has actually bought anything. So far.
I think it’d be possible to find sweet spots where paid ads of one kind or another can provide a measurable profit. But I also think managing that may be a full-time job. It’s not actually a full-time job I want, though–I’d rather build something.
The official Cabin Fever plan, therefore, is to spend more time blogging. More time commenting on other people’s sites. Hey, maybe I’ll put up a personal site with a link to buy my novel from Amazon. And a link to this blog too. Whatever.
Oh, and you may have noticed the blog looks a bit different. The Cabin Fever & Scarecrow sites are also getting a makeover–expect it within a week or two. Cabin Fever first…it’s much easier.
Meanwhile, our irregular programming continues. As current users, for those of you who are: what would it take to get you to tell more of your friends about Scarecrow? We’re listening.
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