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And They’re Off…Palin PPC Finalists Selected…Ads Live on Google

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Palin PPC contest (see post below).

sarahpalinlg 769c397578 pixels 300x186 And Theyre Off...Palin PPC Finalists Selected...Ads Live on Google

It was difficult to select 4 ads to test live on Google, but ultimately I choose these:

Sarah Palin’s Secrets
What the GOP doesn’t want you to
know about McCain’s running mate

from James Archer (@jamesarcher)
I like this one because it’s a solid tease with a lefty slant.

Sarah Palin Revealed
What makes her so special
and why the Democrats should worry

from Johnny M (@thesoop)
This is a great counterbalance to the first one. Similar approach with a righty slant.

Who is Sarah Palin?
Exclusive stories, photos and more
on the Vice Presidential candidate

from Russ Hollmann (@hollmann)
This one is very plausible as an actual ad. I’m interested to see the CPC of this more factual approach.

Lastly, but not leastly….

McCain is 72 Years Old
Avg US life expectancy is 78 years.
Is Palin qualified? Read this.

From Tony Sirois (@tbonemalone)
Solid. I love that this effort hits right at the core issue of Palin and does it in 15 words.

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What? No Nudity?

Certainly, there were some entries that probably would have generated a higher CTR than those above. However, since I have to actually build an ad group and run these ads – and link them to a landing page – I wanted to stay away from anything along the “Palin: Naked and covered in Skippy peanut butter” vein.

All good interactive marketers know that it’s not about clicks, it’s about qualified clicks, so I selected the 4 finalists in that spirit.

I’m running the same display URL for all ads www.thesarahstory.com since it fits all of the ads. I scoured the Web and found different news coverage and blog posts about Palin to fit each of the ads, in an effort to keep Quality Score high enough to keep the ads live.

Cheaters Never Win

Finalists, please don’t recruit an army of friends to click on your entry so you can win my $200. Hopefully, you value the scientific and social media nature of this experiment enough to not do that. I reserve the right to not pay you if I think you gamed the system.

Ads should be live until Thursday night – again assuming the CTR stays high enough for them to keep running. Results will be announced on Friday. Thanks for playing!

Who Do You Think Will Win? Make Your Prediction In The Comments

5 Great Workshops to Train Agencies on Digital Marketing>>


pf button both And Theyre Off...Palin PPC Finalists Selected...Ads Live on Google
About Jay Baer

Jay Baer is a hype-free social media and content strategist & speaker, and author of Youtility: Why Smart Marketing is About Help not Hype. Jay is the founder of http://convinceandconvert.com and host of the Social Pros podcast.

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  • James W

    These are great picks Jay. I’m looking forward to the results.

  • James W

    These are great picks Jay. I’m looking forward to the results.

  • Jason Baer

    Thanks. And I appreciate your comments about the tenor of the entries. I probably should have stated in the rules to keep it semi-mellow. My apologies.

  • Jason Baer

    Thanks. And I appreciate your comments about the tenor of the entries. I probably should have stated in the rules to keep it semi-mellow. My apologies.

  • Russ Hollmann

    so a friend just shot me an email link (
    http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/09/02/sarah_palin_shooting_star.html) that had the following…
    “Sarah who?” has been replaced by, “Who is Sarah?” and “What was John McCain thinking?” has been replaced by, “What did John McCain know?”

    Reminded me to come check out your contest and I see I’m a finalist! Hopefully that bodes well for my ad ;)

  • Russ Hollmann

    so a friend just shot me an email link (
    http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/09/02/sarah_palin_shooting_star.html) that had the following…
    “Sarah who?” has been replaced by, “Who is Sarah?” and “What was John McCain thinking?” has been replaced by, “What did John McCain know?”

    Reminded me to come check out your contest and I see I’m a finalist! Hopefully that bodes well for my ad ;)

  • http://www.libertyinteractivemarketing.com/ Liberty

    Good job Tony S. – your ad is rock solid. Hit the scary factor. Winner hands down IMO.

  • http://www.libertyinteractivemarketing.com Liberty

    Good job Tony S. – your ad is rock solid. Hit the scary factor. Winner hands down IMO.

  • Jilly

    Read all about it! Mr. Sirois could write headlines for the New York times. That man is concise. And this ad is simply compelling. I’d click “Read this.”

  • Jilly

    Read all about it! Mr. Sirois could write headlines for the New York times. That man is concise. And this ad is simply compelling. I’d click “Read this.”

  • Mary Lohnes

    Tony Sirois’ entry is funny, scary and slightly BBC-esque!

  • Mary Lohnes

    Tony Sirois’ entry is funny, scary and slightly BBC-esque!

  • saraannmarie

    Also, Mr. Sirois has impeccable taste in sweaters and tacos.

  • saraannmarie

    Also, Mr. Sirois has impeccable taste in sweaters and tacos.

  • letstalkandchat

    If you’re looking for webinar software, then check out Evergreen Business System. Its perfect for marketers and let’s you automate the scheduling of your webinars, build your list, and even follow up with your webinar registrants. If you’re going to buy Evergreen Business System, then you might as well get a free bonus! So check out http://www.mikelmurphy.com/evergreen-business-system-bonus-webinar-software/ and you’ll get a great bonus that tells you how to create a webinar, what is a webinar, and a blueprint for making a successful one. None of the other people offering bonuses are offering this. Hurry in case the guy (some dude that worked on Lord of the RIngs) offering the bonus decides to pull it down.