Anonycat
Crusader
I'll do my best to explain this as quickly as possible, because it's pretty boring. Here's how cost-per-click advertising works on Google: a company sets a maximum bid that they're willing to pay for an internet user to click on one of their ads. These bids are associated with keywords that internet users type when searching. Based on the ad's relevance to searched keywords and the maximum amount that the advertiser is willing to pay per click, Google determines where to place those ads.
For example, if a dessert company wanted their ads displayed any time a user searches for “ice cream cakes,” it would cost, at the time of writing this article, about $0.60 per click in English-speaking countries.
To figure out how much Scientology pays, I tried to advertise for Scientology myself. I set my maximum bid at one dollar per click and selected multiple keywords involving Scientology. All of my bids were rejected, meaning that the person who is currently paying to advertise on those terms is paying more than a dollar per click.
[article features Google ads for the cult here!]
In order to advertise on the first page of Google’s search results for Scientology-related searches, I would have to shell out a minimum of three dollars per click for “creed of the Church of Scientology.”
Interestingly enough, whoever is advertising for Scientology-related keywords pays a much higher rate to appear when users Google things relating to cults, such as “is scientology a cult?” In fact, they are paying 70 percent more for that one, at a rate of $4.25 per click.
Scientology appears to be the only religion concerned with its cult status. A search for “is Catholicism a cult” shows that zero dollars are spent advertising on this query. The same goes for Presbyterianism, Pentecostalism, Methodism, Judaism, and Islam.
Another way that the Church appears to be advertising is through Google’s Display Network, which is a network of websites that are paid to show ads from Google.
Google has a thing called a contextual targeting tool that provides you with keyword groups and the historical costs associated with advertising for those specific keywords. For example, if you want your ads to appear on blogs that mention “ice cream cakes,” it'll cost you $0.90 per click.
According to Google, here’s how much is being paid to advertise, per click, on keywords relating to Scientology:
"Scientology Religion" $6.91
"Scientology" $6.18
"What Is Scientology" $5.46
"Dianetics" $6.50
Which is a pretty huge amount compared with other religions. Baptist keywords cost $2.77, Catholic ones are $0.92, and Jewish ones are all the way down at $0.55.
Full article: http://www.vice.com/read/how-much-does-the-church-of-scientology-spend-on-advertising
For example, if a dessert company wanted their ads displayed any time a user searches for “ice cream cakes,” it would cost, at the time of writing this article, about $0.60 per click in English-speaking countries.
To figure out how much Scientology pays, I tried to advertise for Scientology myself. I set my maximum bid at one dollar per click and selected multiple keywords involving Scientology. All of my bids were rejected, meaning that the person who is currently paying to advertise on those terms is paying more than a dollar per click.
[article features Google ads for the cult here!]
In order to advertise on the first page of Google’s search results for Scientology-related searches, I would have to shell out a minimum of three dollars per click for “creed of the Church of Scientology.”
Interestingly enough, whoever is advertising for Scientology-related keywords pays a much higher rate to appear when users Google things relating to cults, such as “is scientology a cult?” In fact, they are paying 70 percent more for that one, at a rate of $4.25 per click.
Scientology appears to be the only religion concerned with its cult status. A search for “is Catholicism a cult” shows that zero dollars are spent advertising on this query. The same goes for Presbyterianism, Pentecostalism, Methodism, Judaism, and Islam.
Another way that the Church appears to be advertising is through Google’s Display Network, which is a network of websites that are paid to show ads from Google.
Google has a thing called a contextual targeting tool that provides you with keyword groups and the historical costs associated with advertising for those specific keywords. For example, if you want your ads to appear on blogs that mention “ice cream cakes,” it'll cost you $0.90 per click.
According to Google, here’s how much is being paid to advertise, per click, on keywords relating to Scientology:
"Scientology Religion" $6.91
"Scientology" $6.18
"What Is Scientology" $5.46
"Dianetics" $6.50
Which is a pretty huge amount compared with other religions. Baptist keywords cost $2.77, Catholic ones are $0.92, and Jewish ones are all the way down at $0.55.
Full article: http://www.vice.com/read/how-much-does-the-church-of-scientology-spend-on-advertising