Author: plugin

  • The Future of Advertising

    by: Jon Wuebben
    Advertising is a medium that constantly evolves. It changes with the times. It adapts to new technologies. It is unrelenting in its desire to find new and better ways to reach an ever-growing consumer marketplace.

    But its not simply advertising that evolves. Consumers and consumer behavior are changing too. As we look at the future of advertising, it’s important to look at how the two interact and change together over time.

    Without a doubt, the Internet has revolutionized the industry. It has taken the world – and the advertising world by storm. And it has only just begun to make an impact. The Internet has become a global medium with massive potential. Forty years ago, television was considered new media. Fifteen years ago, it was cable. Today, people spend increasing amounts of time online at the expense of other media. The first evidence of this audience migration appeared in 1998 in a Forrester Research report.

    The researchers asked PC users which activities they were giving up to spend more time on their computers. 75% of the respondents said they gave up television.

    Interactive. That is the real key behind the power of the Internet in advertising. The Internet is really the only medium where we see true interactivity. In addition:

    � It means greater viewer involvement.
    � It means users can access services according to their interests and their tastes.
    � They can request and receive specialized product information, make an instant purchase, all the while saving time and expense.
    � The effectiveness of Web advertising appears to relate to the fact that surfing the web is an actively engaging experience, similar to reading magazines.

    Consumers also have the choice to “opt-in” to receiving additional information on a particular product or service. In Seth Godin’s groundbreaking book, Permission Marketing, he said, “By reaching out only to those individuals who have signaled an interest in learning more about a product, Permission Marketing enables companies to develop long-term relationships with customers, create trust, build brand awareness- and greatly improve the chances of making a sale.”

    All the Rage: Pay Per Click and Natural Search Using SEO

    It’s no secret what has taken over the business world, in industry after industry. Pay Per Click and Natural Search Using Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Today, being on the first page for your most popular keyword phrase is like having the most memorable prime time television commercial in 1973.

    Pay per click advertising on search engines allows you to choose keywords you would like your site to appear under when a potential customer engages in a search. You decide how much you are willing to pay each time a person clicks on the search results. But it can be competitive and expensive if you are trying to use keywords that are very popular.

    Natural Search or Organic Search is the non-biased, non-paid results that come up when you do a search. This can be influenced heavily by what’s called “Search Engine Optimization” the complex and time consuming practice of ensuring that your website is doing all the right things in order to rank high for certain search terms. In this arena, smaller companies can out maneuver large corporations, so there’s a lot of excitement generated because of this.

    Essentially, that’s where the power of advertising is going. It’s all about Search. And Search is only going to become more important over the next ten years. If you can get on that coveted first page organically, well then, more power to you!

    Web Sites, Banner Ads, etc..

    The other forms of on-line advertising vehicles are of course, web sites, banner advertising placed on others sites, newsletters, ezines, and email. They are used in many different combinations, for different purposes at different times. But most savvy companies are using all of them. The value of banner ads has been hotly debated for a number of years. Opponents argue that the click-through rates have gone down so much, that banner ads are nothing but wasted money. But research clearly shows that banners are very effective in building brand awareness. On-line users may not click on a banner, but if they see it enough times, the company’s name is drilled into their head. When its time to shop, that product or service is first in their mind. Simply being exposed to the brand as one surf’s the web is enough to make a big impression.

    The impact of banners on brand awareness was tested for the first time in fall 1996 by Millward Brown International. Three brands were tested including a men’s apparel brand, a telecommunications brand and a technology company. The findings were significant and conclusive for each brand. Awareness was significantly greater among the banner-exposed (test) group than the non-exposed (control) group. Specifically, exposure to the ad banners alone increased brand awareness from 12% to 200% in a banner-exposed group.

    The study also compared the impact of the banner ads in this test to television and magazine norms from prior Millward Brown studies. The findings were remarkable: Single exposure to a Web banner generated greater awareness than a single exposure to a television or print ad. Rather, the effectiveness of Web advertising seems to stem from the fact that Web usage is an actively engaging exercise.

    Newsletters and Ezines

    Most smart marketers out there have either a newsletter or ezine nowadays. These types of customer communication and advertising tools will only continue to grow in use and importance. It goes back to the whole “what’s in it for me?” issue. The customer wants to be part of the process. They want to learn something. Or keep themselves updated on the latest news. Most of all, they want to get something out of the relationship. They want to do more than buy something, they want to improve their lives in some small way and they want you to help them do that.

    Email Advertising

    Email is another of the big three Internet advertising mediums. Companies like Got Marketing, OptinBig.com, and N5R are providing new and exciting email marketing solutions for thousands of progressive firms. Their results are impressive. Consider response rates that average 10 to 20 times those of traditional direct mail. Or campaign Network marketing referral rates as high as 40%. The bottom line is that programs they put together have produced millions of leads for clients. And it’s surprisingly affordable. This means that almost anyone can now utilize this advertising medium. But it has to be done smartly, because you don’t want your emails to end up in spam filters. That is one inherent problem with email advertising, especially in the past two years.

    N5R in particular is now one of the leading direct marketing agencies in North America. They develop innovative one-to-one marketing campaigns that drive a measurable, positive ROI on behalf of their clients by driving acquisition and conversion to trial and purchase for their clients. They have developed award-winning strategies in five major industry sectors. These include Internet Marketing and Online Contests/Promotions, Permission Based Email Marketing, Text Messaging, Success Based Email.

    In Internet Marketing and Online Contests/Promotions, marketers can gather and compile behavior and preference data from prospects and customers and use this information to send targeted and relevant information. Developing ongoing programs of one-to-one communication is cost effective and measurable. Contests are the quickest and most effective way to gather this data and build relationships with customers. It’s very possible to build a permission-based database of over 50,000 prospects in only 6 weeks, increase web site traffic by 900%, improved online sales revenue by 1,000%, and achieve $40 million in sales from leads generated by an online promotion.

    With Permission Based Email Marketing, loyal clients are just an e-mail away. Where traditional marketing campaigns fail, e-mail can shine through. E-mail marketing allows companies to speak one-to-one with their audience in a respectful, intelligent and creative way. It is extremely cost-effective, provides the foundation for future marketing initiatives, and delivers measurable results.

    Text Messaging or SMS (Short Message Service) is a technology that allows people to send and receive short (up to 160 characters) written messages on cellular phones. It is already hugely popular in Europe and Asia and is growing rapidly in North America. SMS marketing offers the following benefits:

    One-to-one communication with your target group, anywhere, anytime reach, low campaign cost, and very measurable data. Imagine if your mobile phone received an email message, “You’re only a block from a Starbuck’s; stop in for a 20% discount on your latte.” The data is available and marketers are starting to tap into these resources.

    Success Based Email is free email deployment where companies only pay for results. This “pay-per-click” approach is based on the premise that companies will only pay for each email that receives a “click-through” from the recipient. Not only does the new approach enhance the value of marketing dollars spent on such campaigns, the move will likely trim total dollars spent.

    For example if 100,000 emails are sent, 70% are opened and 15% of the recipients actually click on a link in the email then clients will only be charged for the 15,000 people that clicked on the link, not for the other 85,000 that didn’t. The return on investment (ROI) or cost savings inherent in this new approach will be very appealing to permission-based marketers. The bottom line is that marketers will now pay for real, measurable results.

    The Next Step

    Compared with other media, the Web is still limited in its bandwidth offerings. But it’s getting better every day. With the continued improvement of bandwidth development, we will soon be positioned well to create full-featured multimedia advertising on the Internet. Once a majority of consumers have DSL capability and the computer power to access it, there will be some incredible things happening. Sites like tvtonic.com are already offering some very compelling visual and audio imagery in the form of movie trailers and music videos.

    Market researchers, futurists and industry experts predict that interactivity through multiple technologies and devices will change how consumers interact with marketers. Interactive advertising will soon be everywhere. So, in effect, it could be considered the age of mass customization in advertising. Advertisers will have the tools to narrow their targets and address Web ads to individuals and not to a demographic or psychographic group. Why market a commercial to 1 million people, most of who aren’t in the target audience, when the same ad could be shown to 10,000 people who are very interested in the product or service? Most of those will even give their name and address.

    Interactivity will also be a part of television. Interactive TV will be the norm in the near future, and this too is another exciting opportunity. There will be total integration between TV channels and advertisers web sites. While we are watching TV, we will be able to interact with what we are seeing, ordering hamburgers from the McDonalds down the street or communicating with the local car dealer that we are interested in buying a car. Clicking on products we see in TV shows and ordering them will be easy. Your TV will keep track of what you are watching. Your TV will even know what kind of car you own because you’ll tell for the free oil change you’re offered in exchange. The oil change will be compliments of DirecTV, and it is only good at Jiffy Lube, which has paid to be the official oil-change provider for DirecTV.” That’s the way it will work.

    Service Initiative Advertising

    Another major trend is what I call “Service Initiative Advertising”. Let’s face it; consumers are tired of advertising as usual. Many people say they hate commercials. The success of Tivo and satellite radio can attest to this. They want more from their advertising. And who could blame them? People are inundated with advertising today- every where they go. Service Initiative Advertising takes the whole process one step further. Essentially how it works is that it requires advertising to offer some value to the consumer.

    For example: Kraft Foods creates a website that offers busy mothers a source for quick recipes for the family evening meal. The idea isn’t to push Kraft products, but to promote Kraft as a brand that offers a service to customers. There have been companies who positioned their entire marketing strategy on this tenant. Now, it will become a key part of advertising for almost everyone. The consumer wants to know you care.

    It’s important to realize that advertising mediums of the past will still be here. But, they may look a little different in the future. Direct mail will always be around as long as people like to receive mail. And despite external challenges, the U.S. Postal service will still be around. TV and radio will be here too.

    But the future is here. And advertising will never be the same.

    One thing that is certain is that it will continue to be as exciting and dynamic as it has been in the past. But now, the consumer is a part of the process.

    Copyright 2005 Jon Wuebben

    About Jon: Jon Wuebben is a professional Website Copywriter, SEO Copywriter and Advertising Copywriter with 10 years experience in B2B & B2C copywriting and marketing. He has provided copy for a number of organizations including Ford Motor Company, Kia Motors America, Harmon Kardon, JBL, Infinity, Advertising Agencies, small and medium sized businesses and pro bono for a variety of non-profit groups. He can be reached at (909) 437-7015, or online at http://www.CustomCopywriting.com for any copywriting project you may have or if you would like more articles or a Complimentary Website Copy analysis. Need a custom newsletter or e-zine article written? Call Jon Today at (909) 437-7015 or email jon@customcopywriting.com for a professional Website Copywriter, SEO Copywriter, or Advertising Copywriter.

  • Cross Cultural Advertising

    by: Neil Payne
    Culture is a like dropping an Alka-seltzer into a glass you don�t see it, but somehow it does something.
    Hans Magnus Enzensberger

    Culture affects everything we do. This applies to all areas of human life from personal relationships to conducting business abroad. When interacting within our native cultures, culture acts as a framework of understanding. However, when interacting with different cultures this framework no longer applies due to cross cultural differences.

    Cross cultural communication aims to help minimise the negative impact of cross cultural differences through building common frameworks for people of different cultures to interact within. In business, cross cultural solutions are applied in areas such as HR, team building, foreign trade, negotiations and website design.

    Cross cultural communication solutions are also critical to effective cross cultural advertising. Services and products are usually designed and marketed at a domestic audience. When a product is then marketed at an international audience the same domestic advertising campaign abroad will in most cases be ineffective.

    The essence of advertising is convincing people that a product is meant for them. By purchasing it, they will receive some benefit, whether it be lifestyle, status, convenience or financial. However, when an advertising campaign is taken abroad different values and perceptions as to what enhances status or gives convenience exist. These differences make the original advertising campaign defunct.

    It is therefore critical to any cross cultural advertising campaign that an understanding of a particular culture is acquired. By way of highlighting areas of cross cultural differences in advertising a few examples shall be examined.

    Language in Cross Cultural Advertising

    It may seem somewhat obvious to state that language is key to effective cross cultural advertising. However, the fact that companies persistently fail to check linguistic implications of company or product names and slogans demonstrates that such issues are not being properly addressed.

    The advertising world is littered with examples of linguistic cross cultural blunders. Of the more comical was Ford�s introduction of the Pinto� in Brazil. After seeing sales fail, they soon realised that this was due to the fact that Brazilians did not want to be seen driving a car meaning tiny male genitals�.

    Language must also be analysed for its cultural suitability. For example, the slogan employed by the computer games manufacturer, EA Sports, Challenge Everything� raises grumbles of disapproval in religious or hierarchical societies where harmonious relationships are maintained through the values of respect and non-confrontation.

    It is imperative therefore that language be examined carefully in any cross cultural advertising campaign

    Communication Style in Cross Cultural Advertising

    Understanding the way in which other cultures communicate allows the advertising campaign to speak to the potential customer in a way they understand and appreciate. For example, communication styles can be explicit or implicit. An explicit communicator (e.g. USA) assumes the listener is unaware of background information or related issues to the topic of discussion and therefore provides it themselves. Implicit communicators (e.g. Japan) assume the listener is well informed on the subject and minimises information relayed on the premise that the listener will understand from implication. An explicit communicator would find an implicit communication style vague, whereas an implicit communicator would find an explicit communication style exaggerated.

    Colours, Numbers and Images in Cross Cultural Advertising

    Even the simplest and most taken for granted aspects of advertising need to be inspected under a cross cultural microscope. Colours, numbers, symbols and images do not all translate well across cultures.

    In some cultures there are lucky colours, such as red in China and unlucky colours, such as black in Japan. Some colours have certain significance; green is considered a special colour in Islam and some colours have tribal associations in parts of Africa.

    Many hotels in the USA or UK do not have a room 13 or a 13th floor. Similarly, Nippon Airways in Japan do not have the seat numbers 4 or 9. If there are numbers with negative connotations abroad, presenting or packaging products in those numbers when advertising should be avoided.

    Images are also culturally sensitive. Whereas it is common to see pictures of women in bikinis on advertising posters on the streets of London, such images would cause outrage in the Middle East.

    Cultural Values in Cross Cultural Advertising

    When advertising abroad, the cultural values underpinning the society must be analysed carefully. Is there a religion that is practised by the majority of the people? Is the society collectivist or individualist? Is it family orientated? Is it hierarchical? Is there a dominant political or economic ideology? All of these will impact an advertising campaign if left unexamined.

    For example, advertising that focuses on individual success, independence and stressing the word I� would be received negatively in countries where teamwork is considered a positive quality. Rebelliousness or lack of respect for authority should always be avoided in family orientated or hierarchical societies.

    By way of conclusion, we can see that the principles of advertising run through to cross cultural advertising too. That is know your market, what is attractive to them and what their aspirations are. Cross cultural advertising is simply about using common sense and analysing how the different elements of an advertising campaign are impacted by culture and modifying them to best speak to the target audience.

    by Neil Payne
    http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/cultural-services/cross-cultural-communication.html

  • Balancing SEO and Other Forms Of Advertising

    by: Dan J. Fry
    Search engines are by and far the largest supplier of traffic to
    your web site. Moreover, its targeted, meaning the visitors that
    arrive at your site were looking for information that you are
    delivering. At least this is the goal of the search engines: to
    deliver high quality results to web surfers.

    Recent major changes in Google, Yahoo and MSN have put the
    internet market however in a frenzy. As the search engines battle
    it out to be the one producing the highest quality results by
    frequently altering their index algorithm, search engine
    optimization has taken an almost obsessive importance.

    The problem I see is that the battle is not going to end soon and
    repeatedly trying to stay ahead by optimizing after each re-
    indexing is truly a never ending battle. A balance must be struck
    between search engine advertising and other online venues.

    Starting out with an online home business business is
    intimidating. There is pressure to build a quality site, offer
    valuable information, promote, build subscribers,…and the list
    goes on and on. Having a few different forms of advertising that
    you slowly utilize can payoff big in the long run. With a market
    that can change on an hourly basis, you musn’t focus too heavily
    on any single form of site promotion.

    Think of it as your advertising bag of goodies. You reach in and
    pull out one method and give it a try. Don’t dump all of your
    resources into it. Spread them out. Reach in and pick another,
    until you have a few in the works. Now pause and see which is
    working. Tweak a bit here and there and sit back again.
    Continuously re-evaluating your advertising campaigns, you will
    begin to grow a deep feeling as to which works for your online
    business.

    Here are a few types of advertising for your home business you
    should consider:

    (1) Classified Ads – cheap and short to write.
    (2) Article submission – write an article and post for free.
    The rewards reaped can be enormous in the long term.
    (3) Paid ads in E-Zines – hit those seldom used small niche
    markets!
    (4) Link exchange – can you bring in traffic from another
    site? You betcha!
    (5) Newsgroup and Discussion lists – join in on discussions
    and pass out a small blurb about your business at the end.
    (6) Sig files – after all your online! Make use of all of the
    emails you send out daily.
    (7) Flyers – yep, offline!

    The bottom line here is not to stagnate. Search engines are
    important but not the only way to promote. Its better to balance
    your site optimization with other promotion strategies. If one
    method fails you at least have others to fall back on.

    About the Author

    Dan J. Fry is an independent researcher and owner of
    e-Kinetic.com, a site devoted to providing resources for small
    budget home businesses. He has a PhD in Physics and is married
    with two daughters and two cats. Subscribe to his free E-Zine on
    home business resources at mailto:e-kinetic@GetResponse.com or by
    visiting his site at http://www.e-kinetic.com . He can be reached
    at mailto:comp@e-kinetic.com .

  • Winning the (r) Google AdSense War

    by: Willie Crawford
    Some owners of content sites are earning four and even five-figure incomes per month selling “nothing.” They’re doing this by selling their targeted traffic to other websites through Google’s AdSense program.

    If you’re not familiar with (r)AdSense, it’s where (r)Google pays website owners (“publishers”) to run ads on their sites. Google accepts paid ads from advertisers, and then shares this revenue with the publishers who allow these ads to be displayed on their sites. They pay based upon clicks generated from the publishers’ sites.

    Many publishers have discovered that running Google AdSense ads is more lucrative, and less trouble, than marketing their own products or services. So an entire industry has sprang up around monetizing websites using AdSense and other pay-per-click programs.

    The “industry” is mature enough that seminars are even held that teach how to best monetize your content sites. I’ll be attending a seminar, in New Orleans, Louisiana, on September 9th – 11th, 2005, that has this very focus. You can read more about it at: http://WillieCrawford.com/new-orleans-seminar.html

    Since MOST people I’ve communicated with aren’t earning four or five-figure incomes per month, let’s examine how you increase your chances of earning these amounts.

    First of all, your website has to be on a topic (a niche) where people are spending lots of money. There are niches where advertisers often spend $40 – $50 per click… just to get visitors to their websites. Obviously, these visitors buy “things” on these websites that make it worthwhile to pay that much for the traffic.

    In case you’re wondering what keywords any “sane” marketer would spend $50 on a single click for, read on…

    Certain visitors to websites, that later convert to customers, could literally be worth thousands, even millions, to marketers. These marketers know the lifetime value of their visitors, and have the conversion rates calculated! Markets where customers can be this lucrative include legal/lawsuits, medical, higher education, real estate, new and used vehicles, investments, travel, and products offering residual income. There are many others.

    I actually have a list of over 9000 keywords that I consult when building a new site, or optimizing an existing site. Doesn’t it makes perfect sense to create sites that attract visitors with a high value-per-visitor?

    You can grab a copy of my list along with a few personal notes on how to monetize these high-value keywords at: http://9000TopPayingKeywords.com

    The keywords on the list above range from 93 cents to $108 per click. There ARE higher priced keywords but you probably don’t want to focus on them since the competition can be incredibly cutthroat. There are niches where your competitors will actually sabotage your efforts. Money does that to some people 🙂

    It makes economic sense to build a site around topics where people are actually spending money already.

    It makes sense to target a market where people have money to spend – and they expect to spend it on products similar to yours. In that sense, you can even set up site designed to generate traffic for governmental agencies, foundations, charities, etc. It’s all about getting in front of the traffic and then re-directing that traffic to those willing to pay for it.

    When setting up content sites, it’s important that you not violate the terms-of-service at the pay-per-click management firm that you plan on using. For example, Google actually tells you that you should not build sites just for their AdSense program. Yet, they need sites to display their customers’ ads in order for their program to work.

    It’s a delicate balancing act. Google wants to deliver relevant clicks to their customers. They know that traffic coming from “junky” or “spammy” sites may not convert as well for their customers. This would lower their customers ROI, and lead to many unhappy customers. This would drive Google’s customers to their ever-growing competitors.

    Google wants webmasters that have quality, targeted traffic to run AdSense Ads. When you set up a free blog on Google’s Blogger.com they even have the AdSense invitation “programmed” into the signup process.

    So how DO you win the Google AdSense War and get your share of that multi-billion dollar advertisers’ revenue stream? You build high-quality content sites that focus on niches where people are spending money. It’s as simple as that. You let those already doing it teach you what works best – it’s a easy as that!

    About the author:
    Willie Crawford has taught PROVEN Internet marketing
    techniques to thousands of successful Internet
    entrepreneurs since late-1996. Grab a free copy of
    his comprehensive, 20-Lesson Internet Marketing
    Success Course now at: http://WillieCrawford.com

  • Why It’s a BAD Idea To Promote Hot Selling Products on eBay

    by: Alexis Dawes
    Copyright 2005 Alexis Dawes

    Do a quick search on Google, Yahoo, or your favorite auction resource site, and you’ll quickly discover there are several software programs targeted to vendors who want to promote hot selling products on eBay.

    The infatuation with hot selling products exists because sellers believe if you target items that have a robust sales pattern, you’ll have a better chance at profiting on eBay. This is both true and false.

    Yes… hot selling products can improve your bottom line. But unfortunately by the time the average eBay seller (a) realizes what the hot selling products are, (b) purchases stock to sell on eBay, and (c) actually puts the items up for sale, the demand is already being met by other eBay sellers who probably started the hot selling product trend some time ago.

    Not only that, with thousands of people also having access to the same hot selling product lists, you’ll have to contend with other eBay vendors who have the exact same ideas that you do. So you’ll be up against the original sellers who are currently feeding the demand, AND doing the tango with newer sellers who have jumped on the same hot selling product bandwagon that you did.

    Okay maybe this won’t happen to you.

    But suppose it does.

    What if competition becomes so great that prices start dipping below the wholesale cost that you paid for the item? (It happens all the time on eBay.) And what if you lose $100, $200, or even $1,000 on inventory that you thought would be flying off the shelf? Suddenly that hot selling item is looking rather cold sitting in your garage collecting dust.

    So if not hot selling products on eBay, then what?

    Do what the majority of PowerSellers do. Sell what you want, instead of what’s hot. Repeat after me, “Every day ordinary items sell extremely well on eBay… Every day ordinary items sell extremely well on eBay… Every day ordinary items sell extremely well on eBay.” Allow this to become your mantra, because it is very much true.

    I know this from first-hand experience as I analyze top sellers instead of hot products. And my research has continuously shown me that mediocre products don’t necessarily translate into mediocre sales.

    For instance, there’s a seller right now who clears about $1,000-$2,000 a week selling magnets. And that’s AFTER eBay and PayPal fee’s. Another seller promotes homemade CD’s to a specific audience and clears $900-$2,000 a week. A few sellers make $500-$700+ a week – after expenses – promoting public domain information. And the cool thing about public domain information is that anybody can sell it because it’s free. So that’s pure profit by selling something they never paid for. Talk about the ultimate arbitrage opportunity!

    The ultimate key in succeeding no matter what product you end up selling, is to build a successful strategy. To figure out ‘how’ to profitably market what you have, instead of chasing after the next great thing. Because once you have the strategy part down, you can sell anything on eBay and make it a hot seller to your bank account.

    About the author:
    Alexis Dawes is a student of eBay sales strategies, instead of hot selling products. She’s the developer behind Auction Seller Analyzer, a Windows-based application that inspects eBay sellers auctions to determine the winning strategies they’re using. You can get more information about Auction Seller Analyzer at (http://www.AuctionSellerAnalyzer.com).

  • Where�s the best place to put Google Adsense Ads?

    by: Diane Nassy
    Why, on your web pages of course. Ok, just kidding. The real question should be: Is there really any truth to the rumors that where you place those Google AdSense ads can actually improve response?� According to my best information, the answer to that question is: Yes.

    Google�s own AdSense experts say that that there is a direct correlation between the placement of the AdSense ads and the resulting clickthrough.

    When ads are placed in content zones�, rather than in advertising zones�, response rates on Google AdWords goes up. There are also indications showing that ads appearing on the right side of the page get clicked more than ads appearing on the left side.

    Advertising analysts with degrees in human behavior and psychology have spent thousands of man-years (people-years?) studying how people read printed and Internet content and what it takes to get them to respond to ads. While some of these studies are proprietary, or are only available to anyone with $10,000 or more to spend on a copy, other studies have been made public and can be read by anyone who is interested.

    Google themselves has released some relevant information which is focused directly on increasing your Google AdSense response. You can read their findings here (https://www.google.com/support/adsense/bin/static.py?page=tips.html).

    Of course, all of the studies in the world aren�t worth a hill of beans if the findings don�t work on your web site. That�s why it is important to test, test and test again. Experiment with your Google AdSense placement and track the results over a period of time. Google provides response tracking tools in your AdSense control panel. Learn how to use them. As you begin to see what may be only subtle differences in response, you�ll be able to determine what works best for your particular site. But don�t get complacent. What�s working for you now might not work next month if you change your site design or content.

    One of the most important factors in determining placement of your ads is the type of content that your site delivers. If you are primarily an e-commerce site, and you have a lot of pictures and ad copy for your own products competing for attention against AdSense ads, then it is going to be a particularly tough challenge getting any kind of decent Google AdSense clickthrough. It is situations like this that require very thorough testing and a lot of trial and error.

    Blogs seem to have a lot of success generating high response rates to Google AdSense listings. Perhaps it�s because blog readers realize that ad revenue is the only way that their favorite blogmaster can keep the lights on, so the readers think of clicking on ads as a way to make a donation.

    Regardless of what the experts say, your best bet is to tailor your Google AdSense ad placement to what your own experience shows works best for you. In the end, you�re the only expert who matters.

    About the author:
    Diane provides marketing and internet profit tips.
    For more Google AdSense tips, visit http://www.adsense.deeljeabiz.com
    Email : deeljeabiz@gmail.com

  • When is ‘Spying on Your Competition’ a Complete Waste of Time?

    by: Ron Hutton
    Copyright 2005 Ron Hutton

    Your brain screams “Gimme Fast”, “Gimme Easy”, “Do it for me automatically”! So when you see the headline that reads…

    “Imagine Spying On Your Competition To Build A Massive Targeted Keyword List Of 3000 Or More Keywords On Auto-Pilot… In 10 Minutes Or Less And Skyrocket Your Adsense Profits Quickly And Easily”

    You think “Hmmmm. Sounds good. Looks intriguing…”

    “Never Build Another Keyword List The Slow And Hard Way!”

    Gosh. Is it possible?

    “You must understand that this is a numbers game.”

    O.K. Now tell me something not quite so obvious.

    The above headlines and subheadlines are quoted directly from a sales letter for a relatively new piece of software (no names will be mentioned here) that’s intended to eliminate all the “hard work” of doing keyword research. It sounds exciting. No more tedious keyword research. Yes! I find life is so much more enjoyable when I don’t have to engage my brain.

    Don’t pull out your credit card just yet.

    With this particular product there’s no need to review the entire sales letter to find out what else the software will do for you. It’s all nicely summarized in the very first headline.

    The sales letter includes a link to view a nice video presentation demonstrating how the software works, and it certainly appears to do exactly what the author says it will. I have no doubt that the program delivers on all of the promises of the sales letter, but what exactly are you getting?

    Let’s go back to the headline again…

    “Imagine Spying On Your Competition To Build A Massive Targeted Keyword List Of 3000 Or More Keywords On Auto-Pilot… In 10 Minutes Or Less And Skyrocket Your Adsense Profits Quickly And Easily”

    Again, I may be tempted to plop down one cool C Note, but what’s wrong with this picture?

    What doesn’t this software tell you?

    1) Keyword search frequency.
    2) The amount of competition for any keyword.
    3) Keyword bid cost in Google Adwords and/or the approximate Adsense value.

    When you take the approach of “spying on your competition”, be very careful not to give your competition too much credit for having done their homework. Maybe they did. Maybe they didn’t.

    If you generate a “highly targeted” keyword list of 3,000 keywords and you don’t know the search frequency, the amount of competition for any of the keywords, the Adword bid cost or the approximate Adsense value, what do you do from there?

    ANSWER: Start over.

    Some marketers like to say that Wordtracker is just “So Expensive”! Have you seen the price of a “Value Meal” at McDonald’s lately? “SuperSize It” and you’ve spent about the same amount of money that it would cost to gain access to Wordtracker for a day. As of the writing of this article, a one-day subscription to Wordtracker costs $7.65.

    If you’ve never used Wordtracker before, you can easily learn all of the “how to’s” in a few hours by using their tutorials, which are very well done. Now you still have 20 hours to do intelligent keyword research. You’ll have the answers to the important questions that you really should be asking, and you’ll have spent a whopping $7.65. Now that’s an outstanding value.

    Just because someone creates a software application that “automates” the work for you doesn’t necessarily mean that the information you’ll generate is worth anything.

    Would you rather have…

    – A big fat hairy list of 3,000 keywords with no real useful information about any of them.

    OR

    – A truly valuable list of keywords with the search frequency and amount of competition for each and every keyword.

    Choose the latter.

    Begin with the end in mind. Formulate a plan. Think through your entire project and strategize.

    When you learn how to use Wordtracker efficiently, you’ll be able to research 10 niche markets in a day without breaking a sweat.

    When it comes to keyword research, there are some shortcuts that you can take by using services like Wordtracker and even some very good software programs, but don’t give in to the temptation to shift the gray matter into idle.

    There are effective ways to build content sites and there are other “click a button and build a bazillion page site” methods. The shelf life of the latter is getting shorter every week.

    In the words of the great Aretha Franklin, “Think. Thinka-think.”

    About the author:
    Ron Hutton is a 20 year sales and marketing veteran with a passion for coaching and training. Subscribe to “GoThrive Online”, for big juicy marketing tips in small, easy-to-chew, bite size servings. 17 Free Cool Tools… http://www.gothrive.com

  • When AdSense Goes AWOL

    by: Diane Nassy
    No matter how hard you work to optimize your page, there are going to be times when Google just can�t figure out which AdSense ad to deliver, so it defaults to delivering a PSA (Public Service Ad) instead.

    Now I don�t have any problem with charities, but I give to the ones that I choose to give to. Since I don�t have a non-profit license of my own, the goal of my web site is to make money and I depend on Google AdSense revenues to help pay my bills. Someday I want it to fund my retirement as well, so I can�t afford to have non-revenue PSAs showing up on my site.

    The good news is the Google understands the human�s basic greedy nature, so it provides us with an alternative to donating our precious web real estate to charitable organizations. That alternative is known as AdSense Alternate Ads.

    As strange as it seems, this feature allows you to let Google competitors into your site. Don�t worry, Google is allowing it with their eyes wide open. They even tell you how to set up the alternate ad code to work on your site and they let you do it right in your AdSense control panel.

    Once you add the code to your site, Google will pull ads from whatever service you defined rather than serve a PSA. Google will do that even if those ads are coming from Yahoo, or Overture, or your grandmother�s attic.

    This goes a long way towards ensuring that you never lose an opportunity to monetize a visitor�s time spent on your site. How nice it is of Google to gives us that opportunity.

    Who do you choose?

    Ah, now that�s the big question. Most people head straight for Overture or Yahoo, but there are other fish in the sea worth considering. In fact, some of these fish make their living almost solely by serving replacement ads for PSAs. Run this search (http://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official_s&hl=en&q=google+psa+alternatives&btnG=Google+Search) on Google and you�ll have plenty of options to choose from.

    Why bother?

    Sometimes Google doesn�t have any ads in its inventory to match your site�s keywords. Sometimes Google gets confused and can�t figure out which ads to deliver, so it grabs a PSA ad.

    Google also has a not-so-readily-available list of what it calls stop words�. When the Google AdSense spiders detect these words on your page they automatically trigger PSAs. Some of the more commonly known words include severe profanity (think: George Carlin�s 7 Words You Can�t Say on T.V), as well as other words which may very be quite legitimate for your site such as pharmaceutical, drugs, death, dying, abortion, and the list goes on and on. At least we THINK that it goes on and on but no one really knows for sure outside of a trusted few Google staffers.

    But no matter what the reason, you don�t want non-revenue ads running on your site. There�s no excuse when Google makes it so easy to keep the revenue flowing.

    About the author:
    Diane provides marketing and internet profit tips.
    For more Google AdSense tips, visit http://www.adsense.deeljeabiz.com
    Email : deeljeabiz@gmail.com

  • Whats Google AdSense?

    by: Diane Nassy
    AdSense may be one of the fastest and easiest ways to monetize traffic to your web site whether you have products or services for sale or you simply provide free content to your visitors.

    Simply stated, Google AdSense enables website operators to place some code on their site that connects to Google�s ad server content database and pulls keyword-relevant advertising onto the web pages. The webmaster gets paid a percentage of the fee that Google receives from the advertiser every time a visitor clicks on an ad. There is no charge for the webmaster to participate in AdSense. All costs are covered by the advertiser who participates in the AdSense sister program called AdWords.

    Google�s sends out digital robots� which use proprietary algorithms to parse the host web page and analyze the content in an effort to determine what keywords are relevant. It reports its findings back to Google�s ad server which then serves ads matching those keywords. Given that the entire process is automated, the ad robots� do a pretty good job of getting the advertising content right most of the time.

    The History of Google AdSense

    Google AdSense has its roots in the old Google Content-Targeted Advertising� program which they introduced back in March of 2003. Although this program was similar in concept to AdSense, there was no automated way of participating. Each webmaster negotiated a deal directly with Google, and websites that served less than 20 million page views per month were not welcome to participate.

    As Google grew, they began to see how much money they were leaving on the table by excluding the smaller sites, which greatly outnumbered the sites serving over 20 million hits that were willing to serve other people�s ads. Their answer to that problem was AdSense which has no minimum traffic requirements and is open to all sites meeting Google�s content and decency requirements.

    How much can you make running Google AdSense?

    The answer to that question depends upon three factors:

    1. How much traffic your site draws
    2.How many visitors click on your ads
    3.How much those ads pay per generated click

    With some ads paying as much as $5 or more, it�s possible that you can generate a serious income with AdSense. There are relatively well documented cases of some people earning as much as $500 per DAY and more. Numbers like that are rare exceptions however. Even so, there is no reason why you can�t earn somewhere around $1,000 per month, or more, once you get the hang of it.

    How to get started using Google AdSense

    Make a visit to Google�s AdSense Site (https://www.google.com/adsense/) and sign up. Make sure that you read their Acceptable Use Policy and that you follow their content requirements. Google has their own AdSense Police� who will have no problem booting you out of the program if you fail to walk the line.

    Using Google AdSense on your site is like collecting free money. There�s no reason not to do it and potentially thousands of dollars worth of reasons to do it.

    About the author:
    Diane provides marketing and internet profit tips.
    For more Google AdSense tips, visit http://www.adsense.deeljeabiz.com
    Email : deeljeabiz@gmail.com

  • What Your Momma Never Told You About Online Press Releases

    by: Keith Baxter
    Copyright 2005 Keith Baxter

    If you market ANYTHING online, you need to send out an online press release. They are easy to write and can potentially bring you much desired media publicity� which, in most cases, will increase sales.

    But that�s not what this article is about.

    I�m going to show you how using low cost online press release services will get your sites indexed into the major search engines fast.

    The Strategy:

    Write a simple online press release and submit it to Prweb.com.

    When writing your press release, be sure to add include your URL at least twice on the body of the release with your primary keyword as anchor text, and then once again in your signature.

    Sounds simple, huh? It is� but I�m going to break it down into 9 easy as taking candy from a baby steps.

    The How To:

    1. Write your press release. There�s software available which is intuitive to use and will guide you through the proper process

    2. Once written, double-check it for errors.

    3. Register for an account on Prweb.com.

    4. Once registered, you will automatically be logged in. Now click Submit News Release�.

    5. Input your release into the appropriate fields.

    6. Click Save Press Release�.

    7. You will be taken to page offering upgrades. While not necessary, you will gain MAXIMUM benefit using the $80 submission service. I want to stress again that this is entirely optional and NOT necessary. I personally use the $10 option.

    8. If you choose any of the paid services, input your credit card information, then hit continue.

    9. Once payment is processed, you�re done!

    If you want to categorize your submitted releases, you can do that on the page following payment acceptance.

    When I implemented this strategy, I had Inktomi visit my site within 2 days, then Google and MSN within a week after that.

    This service not only distributes your message to the media, but provides additional links back to your site and is regularly crawled by all major search engines.

    About the author:
    This article has been authored by Keith Baxter, the founder of http://www.topkeywordlists.comIf you wish to maximize your Adsense income and learn how to drive massive amounts of traffic to your website from the search engines, visit the site now.