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AdGrok (YC S10) Simplifies Keyword Bidding And More On Google AdWords

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Re: AdGrok (YC S10) Simplifies Keyword Bidding And More On Google AdWords

#11

Post by marcamillion »

antongm wrote: post #9
barmstrong wrote: post #7

Great idea - I'm running a decent sized campaign for UniversityTutor.com and have found the Adwords tools a bit lacking in terms of generating targeted keywords for the thousands of pages and keywords I have. I ended up having to write some massive scripts by hand and using the Adwords desktop tool to import all the data (maybe 20,000 pages with several ad variations each, and targeting different keywords). The whole…

Your experience is pretty typical, except you had the hacker skills to hack around AdWords' crappy UI. Most AdWords users do not, hence AdGrok. The devil is most certainly in the details in a product like this, which is why we welcome any and all feedback from beta users. You've got first dibs on our product pipeline, so any feature you need we can push out very quickly. Sign up here: https://adgrok.wufoo.com/forms/a…

Hey Antonio, What will the pricing structure be like?

I would hate to sign up for something, get used to it and really like it, and get hit with some absurdly high price.

Perhaps putting the cost upfront might prove to be useful.

Besides, your biggest competitor - clickable.com - buries their price two or three menus deep, which smacks of sleaze.

Please don't follow their lead. Looks like there is a lot of promise here.

Re: AdGrok (YC S10) Simplifies Keyword Bidding And More On Google AdWords

#13

Post by thorax »

I was going to comment that their name may not be great for non-techies to "grok" what the URL means to type it correctly. Hence it might hurt their adoption rates with mom-and-pop web stores (since I was about to recommend it to one).

But then I noticed they also purchased adgrock.com, too. Good planning there.

Re: AdGrok (YC S10) Simplifies Keyword Bidding And More On Google AdWords

#14

Post by antongm »

thorax wrote: post #13

I was going to comment that their name may not be great for non-techies to "grok" what the URL means to type it correctly. Hence it might hurt their adoption rates with mom-and-pop web stores (since I was about to recommend it to one). But then I noticed they also purchased adgrock.com, too. Good planning there.

Thanks for noticing.

We also got adgork.com.

Ha!

Re: AdGrok (YC S10) Simplifies Keyword Bidding And More On Google AdWords

#15

Post by almost »

paolomaffei wrote: post #8

Hmm. Signed up for the private beta. Let's see... Memo: if i'll ever be in this situation give HN users a pass to skip my web app private beta queue since they're likely to be more useful than random people

I've signed up too. I'm skeptical, but anything that helps with adwords directly increases the amount of money I make so I'm definitely up for giving it a try!

Re: AdGrok (YC S10) Simplifies Keyword Bidding And More On Google AdWords

#16

Post by hristov »

So this is basically their business plan:

1. Write an angry blog post insulting New York, New Yorkers, and ibanks.

2. Ride the popularity wave as a heated discussion rages about whether New York is the greatest place on earth or an over-priced, roach infested pit of assholes and prima donnas.

3. Get on Techchrunch.

4. Profit.

As an ex New Yorker, the only thing I can say is "Why didn't I think of this myself!".

Re: AdGrok (YC S10) Simplifies Keyword Bidding And More On Google AdWords

#17

Post by badgergravling »

marcamillion wrote: post #11
antongm wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your experience is pretty typical, except you had the hacker skills to hack around AdWords' crappy UI. Most AdWords users do not, hence AdGrok. The devil is most certainly in the details in a product like this, which is why we welcome any and all feedback from beta users. You've got first dibs on our product pipeline, so any feature you need we can push out very quickly. Sign up here: https://adgrok.wufoo.com/forms/a…

Hey Antonio, What will the pricing structure be like? I would hate to sign up for something, get used to it and really like it, and get hit with some absurdly high price. Perhaps putting the cost upfront might prove to be useful. Besides, your biggest competitor - clickable.com - buries their price two or three menus deep, which smacks of sleaze. Please don't follow their lead. Looks like there is a lot of promise he…

I'm following the call for a clear pricing structure - I manage a lot of Adword accounts as part of my day job, and I'd be keen to look at anything that makes it simpler and easier. But only if it's also cost-effective...

Re: AdGrok (YC S10) Simplifies Keyword Bidding And More On Google AdWords

#18

Post by antongm »

hristov wrote: post #16

So this is basically their business plan: 1. Write an angry blog post insulting New York, New Yorkers, and ibanks. 2. Ride the popularity wave as a heated discussion rages about whether New York is the greatest place on earth or an over-priced, roach infested pit of assholes and prima donnas. 3. Get on Techchrunch. 4. Profit. As an ex New Yorker, the only thing I can say is "Why didn't I think of this myself!".

The business plan is more along the lines of:

1. Recognize an under-served market segment with huge potential.

2. Build a product which fills that segment's need

3. Profit.

Our views on the East Coast tech scene are completely orthogonal to those goals.

Re: AdGrok (YC S10) Simplifies Keyword Bidding And More On Google AdWords

#19

Post by antongm »

badgergravling wrote: post #17
marcamillion wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey Antonio, What will the pricing structure be like? I would hate to sign up for something, get used to it and really like it, and get hit with some absurdly high price. Perhaps putting the cost upfront might prove to be useful. Besides, your biggest competitor - clickable.com - buries their price two or three menus deep, which smacks of sleaze. Please don't follow their lead. Looks like there is a lot of promise he…

I'm following the call for a clear pricing structure - I manage a lot of Adword accounts as part of my day job, and I'd be keen to look at anything that makes it simpler and easier. But only if it's also cost-effective...

Totally fair questions.

We're taking a somewhat Radiohead position on it.

What would you be wiling to pay for it?

I'll tell you our thoughts on it so far:

A tiered pricing structure, with a fixed monthly subscription fee. Probably starting somewhere around $20 for the smallest budgets, and going up from there. We'll set the tier price points wherever there seems to be obvious market segmentation.

Really big power users, or agencies who are white-labeling our product, might get a more industry-standard percent-of-spend deal.

Our view is that Mom-and-Pops might be wary of a percent-of-spend pricing model. That said, the small SEM shops of dubious quality, who are our real competition, commonly use a percent-of-spend pricing model. So we might have to go with that just to make it comparable. Even if that were true, we'd charge nowhere near the 15-20% of spend many SEM shops charge.

So, worry not. You're not going to get used to our product, and then get screwed by us on price. We'll leave the first-dose-is-free business model to the enterprising young gentlemen around the 16th Street BART station in the Mission.

Regards, Antonio.

Btw, feel free to hit me directly with any customer/pricing ideas at antonio@adgrok.com.

Re: AdGrok (YC S10) Simplifies Keyword Bidding And More On Google AdWords

#20

Post by zackola »

antongm wrote: post #18
hristov wrote: post #16

So this is basically their business plan: 1. Write an angry blog post insulting New York, New Yorkers, and ibanks. 2. Ride the popularity wave as a heated discussion rages about whether New York is the greatest place on earth or an over-priced, roach infested pit of assholes and prima donnas. 3. Get on Techchrunch. 4. Profit. As an ex New Yorker, the only thing I can say is "Why didn't I think of this myself!".

The business plan is more along the lines of: 1. Recognize an under-served market segment with huge potential. 2. Build a product which fills that segment's need 3. Profit. Our views on the East Coast tech scene are completely orthogonal to those goals.

In that case it's a bit odd you posted that on the adgrok blog.
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