If they were any good, they wouldn't need a tie-in because people would stay anyway. So I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole, on the money for old rope basis, but you could always ask some of the people (mostly agencies) who are there.

Steering 600 visitors your way (is that total, per month, per week?) would be trivial - you could pay them 10p each and still have ?7 profit at the end of the first week!

You don't want general visitors, you want people genuinely interested in booking an escort like you, and ?67/week would buy an awful lot of ads on the various client message boards.

Thanks xw5 you are confirming the unformed doubts I am having, I forgot to mention that she wanted me to sign there and then and mentioned that the price would go up if I delayed - which always rings alarm bells. I hate it when someone pushes me to sign right now.

The 600 would be per week - and I said to her that 600 people looking doesn't guarantee they will make a genuine booking and I get that number and more to my website anyway. Her argument was that if I got 1 booking a week out of it I would still make a profit, which is true, but it's still fishy to me.

You are right about the message board ads of course and I'd trust them more too.

I've had another look at their site and have found that I can sign up for free, but wouldn't get the google optimisation and visitor guarantee.
I might do that, lol.

The free ringback aparently is free to client and escort and touch local connect you and cover the cost.
This is something I don't think clients would like, as their number is logged on the system and I can go in and check all numbers who have contacted me including missed ones and I agree it is an invitation for TW to use.

Hi Everyone,

Does anyone advertise with http://www.touchlocal.com/ ?

If you do how, has it worked for you? or if you've heard anything about them what do you think?

I was just offered a contract to advertise through them, the contract option I was given is a guaranteed minimum of 600 people directed to my site, free callback service, on top of the usuals stuff for ?67 a week. The minimum term is 12 months, with a buy out option after 6 months of 15%.

I am very reluctant as I am unsure if they really offer any more than a good SEO can do and because I would be tied in.

I don't think it is a scam, just possibly money for old rope?

 

Haven't got time to hang about but DO NOT touch this one (no pun intended). They will charge you extortionate rates, refuse to refund you when you cancel (which you are likely to do pretty damn fast given that they will show your full address on the website) and will ring you constantly from different numbers (I store all these under 'Ads' but they still keep a-coming - they were ringing me twice a day at one point). Read this thread for further details: http://www.punternet.com/forum/showthread.php?p=249806

Apart from anything else they lie through their teeth - when I told them I wasn't interested the prat on the phone made up a load of crap about all the other escorts in my town that were advertising on it (not knowing I was looking at the same screen and there was nothing to be seen). Seriously - VERY wide berth.

Even worse than I thought!

Some of the advice on the Digital Spy forum isn't relevant, alas. As a consumer in a transaction with a business, you have some serious rights. As a business (such as an escort) in a transaction with another business, you have far fewer and a whole swathe of laws don't apply. This is doubtless one reason they target businesses.

Honestly, I'm stunned by the gall.

There are lots of less than lovely people targeting small businesses and charities with things like this. Photocopier sales people make double glazing sales look nice, for example.

The 600 would be per week

I wouldn't be amazed, having seen more, if they sit there themselves clicking on the links
that haven't got enough visitors from web 'spiders' / other programs.

Overall, another thing to file under 'if I were evil, I could be rich'!

The free ringback aparently is free to client and escort and touch local connect you and cover the cost.

Speaking of which - there are companies that will give you an 0871-style number and pay you for calls received on it. Anyone with such a number could, if they were sufficiently naughty, enter it into such a system and wait for the profits to come ringing back.

I had what I would class a bad experience with these people. After being badgered by them for months, explaining that general classified sites like theirs do not result in quality hits, I relented and took up a half price offer. I think it was something like ?150 for the year (can't remember really).

Then the follow-up calls started, which were always at an inconvenient time - ok not their fault but they didn't seem to understand I didn't want these calls. I had thought once I paid them and gave it a go they'd leave me alone, not so.

Anyway their advisor went on and on about how successful my ad was, I said I'd not noticed and that NO-ONE mentioned them when booking (well bar one in 12 months!), that clicks through to my site were miniscule (roughly one per month) and explained again that responses from classified sites are usually very low, guys go to dedicated Escort sites these days. The advisor said what should I expect for half price I was getting a good deal so should be happy.

I wasn't and we ended up in a bit of an argument. I later emailed their support complaining about the advisor, and saying I was giving them a go after months of sales calls, so please back off.

I got zero response. On their next follow up the guy was a little nicer, but I reiterated I didn't need these calls, and I knew I wasn't getting much business from them - oh and has anyone got my email?He said he'd look into it.

I never got any sort of acknowledgement of my complaint, and they just fobbed me off everytime.

When it came to renewal I simply said it hadn't worked (ah but you have 15 clicks this month - errr that's nothing and none have gone to my website and still only one person in 12 months mentioned they'd seen me on there) so would not be renewing.

They've accepted it and have stopped calling me.

Expensive and ineffective. Also suspect the advisors work on commission and are being forced to make all these sales calls. They should still listen when I'm trying to explain that general classified sites don't get much response in this line of business, and if they do their fees are still high in proportion to sites such as Pnet which are highly respected and more likely to be used by prospective clients.

Many years ago I had the misfortune to deal with this company.

Was not an annual payment and on first month they took money out on 19th month; second month on 12th of month; 3 rd month on 10th of the month.  At that time they did not use DD but kept your card details and took it out manually each month.  Now i was fortunate to keep enough money in the account that i didnt incur extra charges but when the 3rd payment was taken out over a week prior to the first I saw red and called them up and gave them a bollocking.

After this I was continually emailed re not getting payment for account to which i responded that acc had been closed - they said they hadnt anything in acc re it being canx. 

Then continual calls came and like someone else stated - at very inoppurtune times - and i repeatedly told them i had canx account.

Then one called and by this time i recognised the dialing code.  I told him I wasnt prepared to talk to him to which he lied his teeth through and said he was from a national paper (aye right  ) and he would just hand on the 'special offer' he had to the next person.  Was just a total mixer. 

What I did in the end was call the number one above his and one below his pretending i had rung a wrong number and hung up, but it was defo Touch Local.  Totally the most unscrupulous company I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with.

By the way, my ad is still listed online FOC so they can go fk themselves.

I hate Touch Local.
They cold-called me, oh maybe 3 or 4 years ago.  I was dubious about their product reaching my target audience effectively.
I figured clients go to directories or google escort+name of town.
I appear on first page results in a few results, so at best I'd be competing with myself!
I didn't go ahead and I was clearly a disinterested lead.
But they went on and on for months
calling and calling.

I blocked them.