This is an interesting thing about some social media firms: They don't believe very strongly in integration. If you'd let them, they'd put your entire budget into things like AdWords.

Which, if you're selling on price and don't see any reason for anybody to distinguish your brand from anybody else's, is probably a pretty good idea.

But, as the headline says, AdWords are a lot like the old Yellow Pages. They can't do much to tell anybody why they ought to do business with you. Except price. And actually, in that sense, the old Yellow Pages provided for display ads that let you say something about yourself.

The success of AdWords is often measured in clicks, not conversions. And certainly not conversions at a premium price. To a certain extent, they operate on the throw-a-whole-lot-of-stuff-against-the-wall theory and plan on a certain amount of it sticking. That's the same theory that drives robot telemarketing calls. And spam e-mails.

Perhaps it's better to employ some re-targeting and put a brand message in front of people who are looking at your category. Or even your competition. Then they'll know something about you and perhaps even visit your website. And the next time they fire up the old Googletron, they are more likely to be looking for you - not just people who look like you.