Are the Kids Growing Up?

So, eBay ended their “boycott” advertising on Google on Friday after hours in a move that many were discussing would be followed by a major announcement today … which didn’t happen. And what was the reaction? “They will make the announcement tomorrow” one “expert” said in a conference call today.

Please.

If it happens it happens. Personally, I feel too much time and energy is spent trying to figure out what is going to happen next while not taking care of present business. And that is true with this story, and here is what I feel you can learn from this:

eBay said that in their 10-day boycott of Google they were able to make more efficient buys and reallocate their spending in areas that made more sense. The best part, according to eBay, is that sales didn’t take a hit and neither did traffic.

Okay, let me see if I follow this correctly.

1) eBay says that they saved money on their advertising;
2) eBay says that they advertised in other areas;
3) Sales did not go down
4) Traffic did not go down

So, why is eBay advertising on Google again? Didn’t they just solve their problem? Why would they spend MORE money to get the same result? Yeah, I don’t get it either. Oh yeah, Spin Doctoring. I forgot. It is Corporate America’s favorite pasttime. But, you would think that they would actually review what was going to be said publicly before actually saying it.

Maybe I am just out there in left field, but it seems from the clueless quotes coming from eBay, they have no idea how to even read the simple reports from Google Analytics. I mean, it isn’t that tough guys. It doesn’t matter if the campaign is for $500.00 or $5 million, you read the reports the same.

eBay’s ads were stupid anyway. I loved searching for “dirt” and seeing, “Looking for Dirt? Find it on eBay!” However, even though eBay said that the ban has been pulled, I struggle to find any ads for eBay in Google searches that I have performed over the weekend and for a solid hour today.

I know lots of affiliates who have been thrilled at the boycott, as it has allowed them to compete in the space for about 40% reduced cost. I see the trend continuing as eBay still is not a player. I even saw a post today that stated eBay did it as a marketing ploy to get more backlinks to their site and another suggested it was Link Bait.

Are you serious? I doubt anyone at eBay even knows what SEO is based on their marketing approach … and Link Bait? Seriously? Why would a corporate giant have to revert to tactics used by small marketers to get recognition.

Have the stupid eBay ads stopped? Um, no. Check this out:

That was sent to me by a good friend of mine, who also sent me the great clip of Alec Baldwin on Saturday Night Live years ago.

Let’s face it, eBay doesn’t have a clue how to run a PPC campaign and Google should have said “Stick It” to eBay in Boston and thrown their own party. Personally, I am glad to see the ads gone from Google. Makes the search experience much more clean … but then again, when the holidays are here, I will know where to get some Schweaty Balls.