Click Convert SEM

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2015/05/26) */
We provided a complementary audit of the Google AdWords Account for *** ***'s *** owned by *** ***, and provided a comprehensive review and assessment of how we felt his account could be better optimized and managedWe then submitted an
estimate to perform the work on the account on a month to month basis at an exceptionally low monthly rate of $400, and also to provide strategic consulting so that the owner understood how it all worked better and could make more informed decisions with his marketing dollarsWe did ask for a Day Notice in the event that *** *** wanted to cancel the program with us, and explained that he would be charged on the 5th day of every month
We never promised an increase in sales, and from the beginning we carefully explained that all Google AdWords can do is bring in better qualified leads to his websiteBut once people click on the Google ads and go to his website, there is no way to guarantee they will actually end up buying one of his productsOur terms and conditions make this very clearFurthermore, we informed the owner in the beginning that the website for *** ***'s *** was problematic and had several functionality issues that might affect his ability to generate salesHe acknowledged that he would need to improve his website at the same time as approving the estimate and getting started with us
There is no way for us to confirm whether the client's sales increased or decreased during the time we worked on his account, but we fully stand behind the quality and integrity of all the work we performedOur account management and optimization work included developing and optimizing two complex campaigns, creating a set of graphically designed remarketing ads, and providing several hours of consulting for the client in order to work on his overall online marketing strategy and determine the best way to utilize his budget and resourcesMost other agencies would have charged twice what we charged for the same services
We did not mismanage any of the client's account settingsWhen we first performed the audit on the client's account, we let him know how badly his settings were off to begin withFor example, his Google ads were showing up all over the world when he actually only wanted them to show up in the U.SIt was clear that he did not totally understand how the AdWords program worksWe immediately began correcting such issues, and trying to educate the client about what we were doing and whyAt one point we changed the client's bid settings to allow his ads to show up on the first page of Google searches, which is the only way to have a chance at getting clicks that lead to salesThis is all part of standard best industry practices and did not require or result in the client having to spend more at all, but did give him a chance at getting more business
We tried to communicate routinely with the client, but on several occasions, the client was not available even for calls we had scheduled in advanceWe were very flexible in rescheduling calls whenever necessary, and we were available at all times via email or phone to contact for any questions or concerns
After the first month of work, we recognized that the client had altered or reversed several of the changes we made on his account without telling us or asking us about itWe tried to contact him to find out whyWe were so confused by this that we actually postponed charging the client on his next scheduled fee date of April 5th because we wanted to speak with him first to find out what was going on
On April 8th, before we could get in touch with the client, he submitted an email indicating that he thought we did something wrong with his settings and providing his Day Notice to cancelWe had not charged him yet for April, and we were so confused by his actions that we decided to let him end the contract without any further chargesA couple days later, the client contacted us because he thought we had already charged him for April and he wanted to have a meetingAt that point, I explained to him that we did not charge him because he was unhappy with the service, and we had assumed that he did not wish to meet with us any longerHe then specifically stated that he did wish to continue service with us, but he just wanted us to explain more about what we were doingWe arranged a meeting the following week to get everything clear for moving forward
On April 13th, we met with the client to explain the changes we had made to his settings, and also explained that we could not work with him any longer unless he trusted us and let us know before he reversed any more of our workHe seemed embarrassed by undoing our changes in the first place, and specifically said that he wanted to keep working with usWe even showed him how to track our changes on the account so that he could ask us about anything he wanted to know more aboutHe authorized us to change the settings back the way we had originally had them, and we ended up having to duplicate a fair bit of the work we had previously completed, at no extra charge to the clientHe also specifically authorized us to charge him for the month of April so that we could develop his graphically designed banner ads for remarketingSo, while we should have charged him on April 5th, we postponed taking that payment until we were quite sure he approved it and wanted to continue working with usThat charge was processed two days later on April 15th, and after that we spent a considerable amount of time developing graphically produced banner ads for his remarketing, which he approved enthusiastically
A week later, on April 22nd, after we again had trouble communicating with the client and did not receive the essential information we needed from him to develop his Google Shopping campaign, we met with him to check in and discuss progress and next stepsWe informed him that Google had just made an update to their algorithm that required all websites to be mobile-friendly, and that because his website was already outdated and not mobile-friendly, he may soon experience even more challenges with sales because of the changes Google had madeThis change affected everyone using Google AdWords and was popularly termed 'mobilegeddon', it had nothing to do with us or our services
We did not say that we could do nothing more for himIn fact, we were entirely willing to continue working with him in any way possible, but we absolutely had to be honest and transparent with him about the fact that even while he was getting good leads to his website the people who visited were not buying anything because his website was outdated, unappealing, and too difficult to navigate for most consumers, and a significant number of his previous sales had come from mobile searches, which was not going to be possible unless and until he got a new website in the near future
We did not provide any estimate or quote for building him a new website, we just informed him that he would need to update his website in the near futureWe could have provided an estimate and offered to build him a new website at a reduced rate, but it never got to that pointThe client instead decided he would halt all his paid search advertising until he could get a new website on his own, and we agreed that we would be ready to pick up where we left off once that was done
After the last meeting we had on April 22nd, the client sent another email indicating that he wanted to end the relationship for nowHe also requested a refund of the charges for AprilI replied to his email stating that we were not willing to refund his last charge since he had previously approved the charge, and since we had done so much work on the account and in consulting with him before and after that charge, and since he was the one who wanted to discontinue the relationshipIn that reply, I also stated that we would be more than willing to continue working with him at any time, and that we would even offer him a limited amount of complementary consulting at any time and/or a reduced rate on any future services when he was ready to get started again
We never guaranteed an increase in sales, we performed a tremendous amount of work on the client's account in a short period of time to try and help him get results as fast as possible, and we acted with good faith, integrity and transparencyI am surprised and disappointed by the statements made by *** ***'s *** in this complaint
The last email I received from *** ***'s Kite's he offered to split the final charge with me, indicating that he might accept a partial refund of $In this situation, I would be willing to refund half of his last payment, as he suggested, if he is willing to rescind his complaint and agrees not to make any additional claims against us
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 9, 2015/05/29) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I will rescind this complaint if a partiel refund of $is applied as previously requested
Final Business Response /* (4000, 11, 2015/06/01) */
Today on June 1st, I refunded $to the client per his request and sent out an email confirmation
I hope this resolves the issue and no further action is necessary
Final Consumer Response /* (2000, 14, 2015/06/11) */
6-11-
Sent via email from consumer:
*** -*** *** ***
Yes it hasThanksAll is good

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2015/05/26) */
We provided a complementary audit of the Google AdWords Account for [redacted]'s [redacted] owned by [redacted], and provided a comprehensive review and assessment of how we felt his account could be better optimized and managed. We then...

submitted an estimate to perform the work on the account on a month to month basis at an exceptionally low monthly rate of $400, and also to provide strategic consulting so that the owner understood how it all worked better and could make more informed decisions with his marketing dollars. We did ask for a 30 Day Notice in the event that [redacted] wanted to cancel the program with us, and explained that he would be charged on the 5th day of every month.
We never promised an increase in sales, and from the beginning we carefully explained that all Google AdWords can do is bring in better qualified leads to his website. But once people click on the Google ads and go to his website, there is no way to guarantee they will actually end up buying one of his products. Our terms and conditions make this very clear. Furthermore, we informed the owner in the beginning that the website for [redacted]'s [redacted] was problematic and had several functionality issues that might affect his ability to generate sales. He acknowledged that he would need to improve his website at the same time as approving the estimate and getting started with us.
There is no way for us to confirm whether the client's sales increased or decreased during the time we worked on his account, but we fully stand behind the quality and integrity of all the work we performed. Our account management and optimization work included developing and optimizing two complex campaigns, creating a set of graphically designed remarketing ads, and providing several hours of consulting for the client in order to work on his overall online marketing strategy and determine the best way to utilize his budget and resources. Most other agencies would have charged twice what we charged for the same services.
We did not mismanage any of the client's account settings. When we first performed the audit on the client's account, we let him know how badly his settings were off to begin with. For example, his Google ads were showing up all over the world when he actually only wanted them to show up in the U.S. It was clear that he did not totally understand how the AdWords program works. We immediately began correcting such issues, and trying to educate the client about what we were doing and why. At one point we changed the client's bid settings to allow his ads to show up on the first page of Google searches, which is the only way to have a chance at getting clicks that lead to sales. This is all part of standard best industry practices and did not require or result in the client having to spend more at all, but did give him a chance at getting more business.
We tried to communicate routinely with the client, but on several occasions, the client was not available even for calls we had scheduled in advance. We were very flexible in rescheduling calls whenever necessary, and we were available at all times via email or phone to contact for any questions or concerns.
After the first month of work, we recognized that the client had altered or reversed several of the changes we made on his account without telling us or asking us about it. We tried to contact him to find out why. We were so confused by this that we actually postponed charging the client on his next scheduled fee date of April 5th because we wanted to speak with him first to find out what was going on.
On April 8th, before we could get in touch with the client, he submitted an email indicating that he thought we did something wrong with his settings and providing his 30 Day Notice to cancel. We had not charged him yet for April, and we were so confused by his actions that we decided to let him end the contract without any further charges. A couple days later, the client contacted us because he thought we had already charged him for April and he wanted to have a meeting. At that point, I explained to him that we did not charge him because he was unhappy with the service, and we had assumed that he did not wish to meet with us any longer. He then specifically stated that he did wish to continue service with us, but he just wanted us to explain more about what we were doing. We arranged a meeting the following week to get everything clear for moving forward.
On April 13th, we met with the client to explain the changes we had made to his settings, and also explained that we could not work with him any longer unless he trusted us and let us know before he reversed any more of our work. He seemed embarrassed by undoing our changes in the first place, and specifically said that he wanted to keep working with us. We even showed him how to track our changes on the account so that he could ask us about anything he wanted to know more about. He authorized us to change the settings back the way we had originally had them, and we ended up having to duplicate a fair bit of the work we had previously completed, at no extra charge to the client. He also specifically authorized us to charge him for the month of April so that we could develop his graphically designed banner ads for remarketing. So, while we should have charged him on April 5th, we postponed taking that payment until we were quite sure he approved it and wanted to continue working with us. That charge was processed two days later on April 15th, and after that we spent a considerable amount of time developing graphically produced banner ads for his remarketing, which he approved enthusiastically.
A week later, on April 22nd, after we again had trouble communicating with the client and did not receive the essential information we needed from him to develop his Google Shopping campaign, we met with him to check in and discuss progress and next steps. We informed him that Google had just made an update to their algorithm that required all websites to be mobile-friendly, and that because his website was already outdated and not mobile-friendly, he may soon experience even more challenges with sales because of the changes Google had made. This change affected everyone using Google AdWords and was popularly termed 'mobilegeddon', it had nothing to do with us or our services.
We did not say that we could do nothing more for him. In fact, we were entirely willing to continue working with him in any way possible, but we absolutely had to be honest and transparent with him about the fact that even while he was getting good leads to his website the people who visited were not buying anything because his website was outdated, unappealing, and too difficult to navigate for most consumers, and a significant number of his previous sales had come from mobile searches, which was not going to be possible unless and until he got a new website in the near future.
We did not provide any estimate or quote for building him a new website, we just informed him that he would need to update his website in the near future. We could have provided an estimate and offered to build him a new website at a reduced rate, but it never got to that point. The client instead decided he would halt all his paid search advertising until he could get a new website on his own, and we agreed that we would be ready to pick up where we left off once that was done.
After the last meeting we had on April 22nd, the client sent another email indicating that he wanted to end the relationship for now. He also requested a refund of the charges for April. I replied to his email stating that we were not willing to refund his last charge since he had previously approved the charge, and since we had done so much work on the account and in consulting with him before and after that charge, and since he was the one who wanted to discontinue the relationship. In that reply, I also stated that we would be more than willing to continue working with him at any time, and that we would even offer him a limited amount of complementary consulting at any time and/or a reduced rate on any future services when he was ready to get started again.
We never guaranteed an increase in sales, we performed a tremendous amount of work on the client's account in a short period of time to try and help him get results as fast as possible, and we acted with good faith, integrity and transparency. I am surprised and disappointed by the false statements made by [redacted]'s [redacted] in this complaint.
The last email I received from [redacted]'s Kite's he offered to split the final charge with me, indicating that he might accept a partial refund of $200. In this situation, I would be willing to refund half of his last payment, as he suggested, if he is willing to rescind his complaint and agrees not to make any additional false claims against us.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 9, 2015/05/29) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I will rescind this complaint if a partiel refund of $200 is applied as previously requested.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 11, 2015/06/01) */
Today on June 1st, 2015 I refunded $200 to the client per his request and sent out an email confirmation.
I hope this resolves the issue and no further action is necessary.
Final Consumer Response /* (2000, 14, 2015/06/11) */
6-11-15
Sent via email from consumer:
[redacted]
Yes it has. Thanks. All is good