Done

Open University have an advertising campaign running that asks people to search for “done” to find out more. A general search on Google brings up their ad at the top of the page through Adwords. So basically, they are paying for the TV ad, and paying to get people to click on their ad.

The PPC ad takes people through to a landing page that says the following;

“Whether you’re seeking a new challenge, a promotion, or a new qualification, Open Universities Australia (OUA) has what you’re looking for….” etc

Not so done?

There are a few problems with this campaign. The first is that it looks like the website is not really optimised for the keywords they are using. So why not? They could have picked up some easy points by getting the page to rank for the keyword. Looking at the meta title and description tags, they don’t even use the word. Not even the page itself uses the word. They could at least attempt to rank for the word, and maybe pick up more clicks than just through the paid advertising?

The second is, as far as branding, marketing etc goes, why not use a keyword that is related to your promotion? “Done” has to be one of the most generic, unoriginal and unimaginative keywords to choose from. Why not use keywords like “open education” or even better something that conveys an actual advantage like “education anywhere”. That way at least they will pick up some other marketing benefits from the program.

The final thing we think the campaign missed out on, is that the landing page has no remarketing tags. Open Universities could use the Adwords remarketing to serve personalised ads to everyone who clicks through on their campaign. At the moment, all the traffic they drive through to their site is lost. They could use the remarketing to remind everyone who found them, that they offer open courses, or whatever promotion they want to use.

done 
v.
Past participle of do1.
adj.
1. Having been carried out or accomplished; finished: a done deed.
2. Cooked adequately.
3. Socially acceptable: Spitting on the street is just not done in polite society.
4. Informal Totally worn out; exhausted.

The final definition of the word could probably apply here. Its a shame the campaign wastes so many opportunities to wrap up the users who are coming through to the site.