Paul Allen has been at SES Chicago and after talking to some exhibitors is letting loose some codes for $300 at looksmart and $50 at ask.com. I just signed up for the LookSmart ad center and have $300 in credit now. It’s not as nice/usable as Adwords but it works. We’ll see what kind of traffic we get from LookSmart. (Ask.com code: SESCHI06 … LookSmart code: SESCHQ4)
Less ad competition
For some of you in certain industries using a non-Google search engine for advertising can save you tons and get you the traffic you’re looking for. Many companies overlook non-Google/Yahoo search engines, but they obviously still get traffic and will hopefully bring in some conversions for you. The conversion rates should be interesting to watch. Perhaps there is a different type of user that uses non-Google search engines. The answer for your industry may be in your conversions.
Just a side note about Paul Allen, he is a remarkable entrepreneur and now works to incubate start-ups (Provo Labs) and inspire entrepeneurs. He’s also a professor. His blog is a great one to subscribe to, he shares resources relevant to web marketers, start-ups, entrepreneurs, and small business in general.