Linda and Brent, thank you for the answer. I thought about it, and I think I have found an answer, especially after watching the Google Cash Detective videos. Why should I spend money on 500 clicks, if I can assign only as much for a campaign as the highest commission I can get on selling the product? All the vendors claim that their sales pages convert at 3-5%, so statistically 40 clicks should be enough to verify it. It may be an over-simplification, but if I can find a good keyword (high traffic, low price even despite competition), I'll bid on it. And if this is 0.30 per click, and I can get, say $30 in commission for one sale, then I can risk 100 clicks. That's it. If I get this one click before reaching 100 clicks, OK, let's see what happens next. If there is another (2% conversion), then it's worth continuing, if not, I quit.
Now you can say that it is hard to expect even distribution of conversions (2 conversions every 100 clicks), and you are right! Why, however, should I waste money in expectation of better conversion? I move on to the next campaign, until I find one that lives up to my expectations.
Final conclusion: Now I find only those campaigns worthwhile where the cost of 100 clicks is not greater than the commission I can earn. Otherwise I pass. I'm a newbie and I rely mostly on the materials provided by the vendors themselves. Still I think that the cap I apply makes sense. Do you agree?
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