Adwords update

The use of Google AdWords is having a definite effect of site traffic. I've now implemented conversion tracking so that I can see which of the keywords I've got in place is have the most effect. Google don't update their stats very often at keyword level (about once a day) so you don't get very immediate feedback.

I did have some initial problems with advert delivery, and in the first couple of days Google sent out over 100,000 advert impressions, but many of those got poor click through ratios as some on my keywords were too generic. I've now got some pretty good, specific keywords which are yielding good click through returns, and the addition of conversion tracking will tell me which of those give good sign up rates.

I'm going to have to watch the budget here, as without a lot of throttling on Google's part I'm going to overrun my initial budget quite severely. Impression rates are much lower now (a couple of thousand a day) which will reduce the actual click throughs and keep the spend down, but of course that reduces the number of new users which is what helps drive the usability of the site.

The good news is that there is a lot of new interest, and that interest as pulled some of the original members back to see what new information there is, and that in turn has spurred some of those people to take a more active interest. It's been my belief that new users and a critical mass (ie. constantly developing content) is what will keep people engaged. There are only so many policies any one person is likely to create, and it requires voters and complimentary and opposing policies from other members to spur on the debate.

So far, so good ;-)