"One of the things that sets us apart is our matrix of side by side comparisons. Our experts review products and then rank them against other products in the same category," notes Mark King, Director of Marketing for TopTenREVIEWS. "The consumer is now able find the best product and information without having to scour the internet." The challenge? Making sure consumers…

"One of the things that sets us apart is our matrix of side by side comparisons. Our experts review products and then rank them against other products in the same category," notes Mark King, Director of Marketing for TopTenREVIEWS. "The consumer is now able find the best product and information without having to scour the internet." The challenge? Making sure consumers didn't need to search the internet to find TopTenREVIEWS.com either. TopTenREVIEWS was already using Google, Yahoo and MSN, so the company decided to try Ask Sponsored Listings.

It's a choice that paid off.

"One of our most popular paid keywords generates a slightly better-than-breakeven ROI on Yahoo and MSN (relative to other keywords). ASL generates a 750% ROI for the same keyword," shares King.

For TopTenREVIEWS, success is not only measured by the amount of traffic SEM efforts yield, but the quality as well - specifically, those visitors who view multiple pages, make a purchase, or both. With ASL, the company can count on nabbing those qualified eyeballs. "Plus, ASL doesn't seem to be flooded by every advertiser on the web like Google and Yahoo; and MSN just doesn't seem to convert as well."

"I was more than surprised by the benefits of advertising with ASL. In fact, I often wonder why others haven't been as quick to jump on the bandwagon," notes King. "I wish I would have started using ASL sooner, but I'm currently trying to make up lost time by adding more campaigns on a regular basis."

In fact, TopTenREVIEWS has a review of their own for ASL: "I highly recommend!" says King - which might not come as such as surprise, as the two companies have a crucial core element in common: saving their customers time and money.

Aptimus is the marketing arm of The Apollo Group, one of the world’s leading education providers. "Aptimus solely focuses on the Apollo business, 95% of which is comprised of University of Phoenix." said Rico de León, Senior Director of Media Services Operations.

Search Engine Marketing had always played an important role for Aptimus, but even more so now, with all eyes turned toward a very specific industry. "(SEM) generates the highest quality…

Aptimus is the marketing arm of The Apollo Group, one of the world’s leading education providers. "Aptimus solely focuses on the Apollo business, 95% of which is comprised of University of Phoenix." said Rico de León, Senior Director of Media Services Operations.

Search Engine Marketing had always played an important role for Aptimus, but even more so now, with all eyes turned toward a very specific industry. "(SEM) generates the highest quality (leads) compared to any of the channels out there, and it brings in the most volume," de León noted.

However, not all SEM resources are created equal, as Aptimus discovered by introducing Ask Sponsored Listings into their SEM mix. With ASL, Aptimus has enjoyed higher conversion rates, not to mention the most precise results – ASL provides the most qualified consumers for the University of Phoenix directives, more so than Google, Yahoo, and MSN. "ASL beats out all three," said de León. "The quality is unbelievable."

Aptimus dedicates a substantial piece of their entire marketing budget to SEM initiatives, to the tune of 75%. Thanks to delivering proven results, ASL accounts for a considerable percentage of that slice.

"ASL has exceeded our expectations," commented de León, going on to describe the company’s quality experience as "surprising" and "efficient." As it turns out, a change of pace in both Aptimus’ business focus and SEM resources has proven to be a formula that works.