By Stoney deGeyter
Buying
The SEO Fool's Errand for the SEO Fool The other day I received an email from a client noting that some of his Yahoo rankings have slipped as of late. They are still ranking strong on Google as well as MSN and heck, many of their Yahoo rankings are still very strong. But there was, in fact, some slippage and the client was concerned.
Well, first we know that there is more to web marketing than top rankings. In fact rankings are just a small piece of the bigger web marketing pie. I know that and you know that, but for whatever reason, we all still have to deal with clients that refuse to accept that. But that's a story for another post.
So what do you do in this situation? I know for a fact that the client's business has seen 100-200% growth year over year since we started working with them oh-so long ago. They obviously see the big picture, but they still come back looking at rankings. And Yahoo rankings at that.
Ok, so let's put the question aside about whether the client should focus on rankings or not. We know better, but they'll do it anyway. Instead, let's come at this from another angle.
Across the board rankings: Possible, but not plausible
From experience, we know that it's not that uncommon to rank semi well across the board on all the top five search engines. I'm looking at several rankings for this client that are in the top five on Google, Yahoo, and MSN. But it's not a majority. Looking deeper I see some places where they hold a #1 spot on Yahoo and Google but nowhere to be found on MSN. Similarly they also have keywords in top spots on Google and MSN and way down to page five for Yahoo. And even in a few places we see great rankings on Yahoo and MSN and piss poor showings on Google. Is this the norm?
Well, apparently it is. According to a recent study by the folks at Dogpile, there is less than a 1% overlap of top rankings between Google, Yahoo, MSN and Ask. That may or may not be surprising. After all we are talking about fo
ur different algorithms here. But what really struck me were these stats:
88.3% of total results were unique to one search engine.8.9% of total results were shared by any two search engines.That doesn't leave much room for holding top spots in more than one search engine. In fact, that means on any given SERPs page (results 1-10), you'll find only one of those listings on the first page of the second search engine.
It's interesting to note that Google has the lowest uniqueness value of each of the top four engines, with MSN being the highest:
69.6% of Google's were unique to Google.79.4% of Yahoo's were unique to Yahoo.80.1% of Live's were unique to Live.75.0% Ask's were unique to Ask.Translation: when looking at the first page of results on Google, three of those listings may be found on any of the other search engines. However when looking at the first page of results on MSN only two may be found elsewhere.
Chasing your tail - or just chasing rankings?
I politely explained to my client that 1) we'll analyze the situation and do what we can do bring the Yahoo rankings back up. And we will. But I also pointed out that 2) we don't want to make changes to gain Yahoo ranking that may cause him to lose Google rankings. Of course if the roles were reversed, if they had good Yahoo but poor Google rankings, we would upset the apple cart. But Google rankings are far more valuable than Yahoo. Sacrificing Google rankings for Yahoo rankings is just bad business sense.
So after analyzing the situation, what do we do if we feel we can't improve the Yahoo rankings without disrupting the Google rankings? Nothing. Because we all know it's not about rankings, it's about business. A lower ranking on Google will most likely bring them more business than a higher ranking on Yahoo. (Your results may vary, contact your SEO for more details and take the most appropriate action as necessary.) So in this case the proper course of action is to do nothing at all whatsoever. Except to go back to the client and try to get them, once again, to look at the big picture and not individual rankings. Anything else is just a fool's errand.
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Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Google introduces new views for searches
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Company seeks user feedback on alternate search results
By Linda Rosencrance
Google Inc. is giving users the opportunity to try new ways of using its search engine, according to Andrew Hogue, technical lead on the project.
"There have been a lot of recent improvements to Web search, but the appearance of results themselves has been pretty constant -- 10 or so Web pages in a vertical list," Hogue said in a blog post. "Frequently, this is exactly the right format, but for some searches, you need more options and more control. That's why we've created our experimental search page to let you try out some of our newest ideas."
The company announced three experimental ways to conduct searches that alter the way results are shown. The company is asking users to provide feedback on its new alternative views.
The first option, called "map view," typically displays information about a location if one of the Web pages contains a map.
For example, say you're searching for information about environmental conferences in your state, or maybe you want to find out where your favorite movie is playing. Although that information is on the Web and accessible via a regular Web search, it's probably spread out over many sites and pages, Hogue said in the blog. Unless one of the pages that the search engine serves up has a map on it, you might have a hard time visualizing all the locations at once.
The new map view feature plots some of the key locations from the results of your Web search and displays them on a map, according to the blog.
The "timeline view" does the same thing for dates found on the Web as the map view does for locations. The timeline includes dates of historic events or biographical information that is automatically generated from a user's search results, Hogue said.
The third option, called "info view," works in a slightly different way, he said. This view doesn't change the way search results are displayed, but it adds a small box or control panel on the right side of the page that contains dates, locations, measurements or images.
"For example, selecting 'dates' from the control panel reveals the date of the Sputnik launch in the first result for 'space exploration,'" according to the blog. "If you run a search and find many of your results are looking similar, try using info view. It may highlight the differences between results and help you select the best page for your needs."
Google is asking users to provide feedback on its new alternative views.
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Company seeks user feedback on alternate search results
By Linda Rosencrance
Google Inc. is giving users the opportunity to try new ways of using its search engine, according to Andrew Hogue, technical lead on the project.
"There have been a lot of recent improvements to Web search, but the appearance of results themselves has been pretty constant -- 10 or so Web pages in a vertical list," Hogue said in a blog post. "Frequently, this is exactly the right format, but for some searches, you need more options and more control. That's why we've created our experimental search page to let you try out some of our newest ideas."
The company announced three experimental ways to conduct searches that alter the way results are shown. The company is asking users to provide feedback on its new alternative views.
The first option, called "map view," typically displays information about a location if one of the Web pages contains a map.
For example, say you're searching for information about environmental conferences in your state, or maybe you want to find out where your favorite movie is playing. Although that information is on the Web and accessible via a regular Web search, it's probably spread out over many sites and pages, Hogue said in the blog. Unless one of the pages that the search engine serves up has a map on it, you might have a hard time visualizing all the locations at once.
The new map view feature plots some of the key locations from the results of your Web search and displays them on a map, according to the blog.
The "timeline view" does the same thing for dates found on the Web as the map view does for locations. The timeline includes dates of historic events or biographical information that is automatically generated from a user's search results, Hogue said.
The third option, called "info view," works in a slightly different way, he said. This view doesn't change the way search results are displayed, but it adds a small box or control panel on the right side of the page that contains dates, locations, measurements or images.
"For example, selecting 'dates' from the control panel reveals the date of the Sputnik launch in the first result for 'space exploration,'" according to the blog. "If you run a search and find many of your results are looking similar, try using info view. It may highlight the differences between results and help you select the best page for your needs."
Google is asking users to provide feedback on its new alternative views.
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Tuesday, January 29, 2008
EBay slashes fees to list items for online auction
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by Verne Kopytoff
EBay Inc. said Tuesday that it will slash the fees it charges sellers to list items as part of an effort keep the online marketplace's increasingly critical users from defecting to rival Web sites.
The move is in response to complaints that the San Jose company charged sellers too much up front. Instead, eBay said it will increase the fees it collects from merchants after an item is sold, reducing their risk if a product fails to find a buyer.
The tweaks to eBay's fees will go into effect Feb. 20.
The adjustments to eBay's fees were among a series of changes the company announced Tuesday in hopes of restoring its luster, following two years of slowing growth. Executives acknowledge that they have been slow in fixing some of the Web site's problems, which have led to a depressed stock price and user dissatisfaction.
Tuesday's announcement was signaled last week by John Donahoe, eBay's president of marketplaces, who is slated to replace Meg Whitman, the company's longtime leader. His ascendancy has coincided with a more aggressive approach at eBay, which was never known for making sweeping changes.
"Consumers have more choices than ever, and they expect more when they shop online today," Donahoe said in introducing the initiative to a group of top North American sellers. "We're serious about making eBay easier and safer to shop."
EBay said that sellers will pay up to 25 percent less to list an item for auction and up to 50 percent less to list an item for sale in an eBay store.
For example, auctioning an item with a starting price of between $10 and $25 will cost an average user 55 cents, a savings of 5 cents. However, the commission for that item, if it sells for under $25, will rise 67 percent to 8.75 percent.
Jeetil Patel, an analyst for Deutsche Bank, said that the price changes - rather than saving sellers money - will actually cost them dearly. Sellers who specialize in items under $40, in particular, will end up paying eBay more and likely will flock to rival Amazon.com, he said in a research note Tuesday.
"As opposed to dramatically lowering listing fees (and almost completely aligning its business model with those of sellers), the company appears to have dramatically raised fees again," Patel wrote.
Usher Lieberman, an eBay spokesman, responded by saying, "The great majority of sellers will see their fees go down, and certainly our very best sellers, those providing great customer experiences - they should see a reduction in their fees."
In addition to the changes in listing and sales fees, eBay said it will make it free to include photos of products for sale, which it said elicit more buying.
EBay also took aim at fraud and bad customer experience on its site, saying it will give sellers with better feedback ratings higher placement in its search results. Sellers who have poor customer ratings for charging excessive shipping fees or describing items inaccurately, among other things, will appear less prominently as a way to encourage them to improve their behavior or leave the site.
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by Verne Kopytoff
EBay Inc. said Tuesday that it will slash the fees it charges sellers to list items as part of an effort keep the online marketplace's increasingly critical users from defecting to rival Web sites.
The move is in response to complaints that the San Jose company charged sellers too much up front. Instead, eBay said it will increase the fees it collects from merchants after an item is sold, reducing their risk if a product fails to find a buyer.
The tweaks to eBay's fees will go into effect Feb. 20.
The adjustments to eBay's fees were among a series of changes the company announced Tuesday in hopes of restoring its luster, following two years of slowing growth. Executives acknowledge that they have been slow in fixing some of the Web site's problems, which have led to a depressed stock price and user dissatisfaction.
Tuesday's announcement was signaled last week by John Donahoe, eBay's president of marketplaces, who is slated to replace Meg Whitman, the company's longtime leader. His ascendancy has coincided with a more aggressive approach at eBay, which was never known for making sweeping changes.
"Consumers have more choices than ever, and they expect more when they shop online today," Donahoe said in introducing the initiative to a group of top North American sellers. "We're serious about making eBay easier and safer to shop."
EBay said that sellers will pay up to 25 percent less to list an item for auction and up to 50 percent less to list an item for sale in an eBay store.
For example, auctioning an item with a starting price of between $10 and $25 will cost an average user 55 cents, a savings of 5 cents. However, the commission for that item, if it sells for under $25, will rise 67 percent to 8.75 percent.
Jeetil Patel, an analyst for Deutsche Bank, said that the price changes - rather than saving sellers money - will actually cost them dearly. Sellers who specialize in items under $40, in particular, will end up paying eBay more and likely will flock to rival Amazon.com, he said in a research note Tuesday.
"As opposed to dramatically lowering listing fees (and almost completely aligning its business model with those of sellers), the company appears to have dramatically raised fees again," Patel wrote.
Usher Lieberman, an eBay spokesman, responded by saying, "The great majority of sellers will see their fees go down, and certainly our very best sellers, those providing great customer experiences - they should see a reduction in their fees."
In addition to the changes in listing and sales fees, eBay said it will make it free to include photos of products for sale, which it said elicit more buying.
EBay also took aim at fraud and bad customer experience on its site, saying it will give sellers with better feedback ratings higher placement in its search results. Sellers who have poor customer ratings for charging excessive shipping fees or describing items inaccurately, among other things, will appear less prominently as a way to encourage them to improve their behavior or leave the site.
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Monday, January 28, 2008
In-House Search Marketing Pays Well But Not Dot Com Hype Levels
eBuyzilla
SEMPO’s 1st Ever In-House SEM Salary Survey Reveals Traditional Approach: SEM Job Salaries More or Less Commensurate With ExperienceWakefield, MA, January 10, 2008 – In-house search engine marketers (SEMs) are receiving healthy salaries in line with their experience levels but if you want a salary in the mid-to-high $100s to the $200K range you are usually going to have to invest five to seven years to get there – a traditional dynamic in which experience brings greater compensation. The Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO) today announced this and other top line findings from its first-ever survey of in-house SEM job salary compensation.
One of the key findings is that roughly one third of in-house search engine marketers are managing monthly budgets in excess of $200,000. “We anticipated a lower ceiling of monthly spend closer to the $100,000 range so we were pleasantly surprised,” says Duane Forrester, co-chair of SEMPO’s In-House SEM Committee and Lead SEO Program Manager with Microsoft. “The $200K monthly spend is a healthy barometer of the search marketing industry and it syncs up with SEMPO’s current trend projections that SEM spending will double by 2011, to more than $18 billion.”
A cross section of global entry level, mid and upper level, in-house managers and in-house analysts completed the online survey during the fall of 2007. There were 656 completed surveys, a strong market response to this inaugural project. The survey was open to all in-house SEM professionals – working in organic or paid search. SEMPO membership was not a requirement to take the survey.
The pool of respondents also reflects the relative newness of the industry and the flatter organizational charts prevalent in companies today, Forrester notes. Some 64% of the respondents have five years or less SEM experience.
As expected, less than four percent of the respondents had a vice president’s title and more than two-thirds of the VPs have from one to 10 people reporting to them. About 20% of the VPs said they earned between $100,000 to $120,000. Interestingly, 25% said they managed both SEO and PPC efforts while 29% said online and search marketing were combined functions in their organizations.
SEMPO’s largest pool of survey respondents – more than 26% - came from managers, whose compensation clustered in the $60,000 to $90,000. Despite the manager’s title, SEMPO found that almost half did not directly manage people.
Senior managers and directors comprised close to 20% of the respondents. Salary ranges for senior managers clustered in the $70,000 to $100,000 range, with more than 36% reporting an annual salary of $80,000+ to $100,000.
Director level compensation tracked with experience: more than 18% of the directors taking the survey said they had from five to seven years experience. About a quarter of this group reported annual salaries between $100,000 and $120,000. With this comes greater responsibility: more than 44% said they managed monthly budgets in excess of $200,000.
Reality SalariesWhile robust, the SEM salary data captured in the survey shows basically realistic tracking of compensation with experience and title. “While there are a good number of six figure salaries people need to understand all the salary levels represent reality. SEMs need to be realistic about their careers and plan as they would for any viable career opportunity,” says Forrester. “On the other hand, if you’re ready for a six figure job, go get it! There are a lot of good jobs out there.”
Budget Levels
Budget data collected also shows polarization: while one third of the respondents are managing monthly budgets at the $200,000 level, at theopposite end of the spectrum, 26.6% are managing budgets of up to only $25,000/month.
Other budget findings:
* Of those managing budgets greater than $200,000/month, 42.3% are managers, and within that group, 27% report salary ranges in excess of $100,000/year.
* 39.4% of respondents managing monthly SEM budgets in excess of $200,000 report having 3 years of experience or less. 34.2% have between 3 and 5 years experience, and those with 5+ years of experience totaled 26.4%.
* 42.6% of those managing budgets larger than $200,000/month do not manage staff. 92.9% are part of a dedicated “in-house” SEM team and 77.4% of those “teams” are considered to be part of their company’s Marketing departments.
About the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO)SEMPO is a global non-profit organization serving the search engine marketing industry and marketing professionals engaged in it. Its purpose is to provide a foundation for industry growth through building stronger relationships, fostering awareness, providing education, promoting the industry, generating research, and creating a better understanding of search and its role in marketing. Representing thousands in over 30 countries, SEMPO has over 720 members. It represents the common interests of companies and consultants worldwide and provides them with a voice in the marketplace. SEMPO’s education and outreach initiatives are sponsored in part by Microsoft, Yahoo!, Google, Superpages.com and Search Engine Strategies. For more information, or to join the organization, please visit http://www.sempo.org/.
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SEMPO’s 1st Ever In-House SEM Salary Survey Reveals Traditional Approach: SEM Job Salaries More or Less Commensurate With ExperienceWakefield, MA, January 10, 2008 – In-house search engine marketers (SEMs) are receiving healthy salaries in line with their experience levels but if you want a salary in the mid-to-high $100s to the $200K range you are usually going to have to invest five to seven years to get there – a traditional dynamic in which experience brings greater compensation. The Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO) today announced this and other top line findings from its first-ever survey of in-house SEM job salary compensation.
One of the key findings is that roughly one third of in-house search engine marketers are managing monthly budgets in excess of $200,000. “We anticipated a lower ceiling of monthly spend closer to the $100,000 range so we were pleasantly surprised,” says Duane Forrester, co-chair of SEMPO’s In-House SEM Committee and Lead SEO Program Manager with Microsoft. “The $200K monthly spend is a healthy barometer of the search marketing industry and it syncs up with SEMPO’s current trend projections that SEM spending will double by 2011, to more than $18 billion.”
A cross section of global entry level, mid and upper level, in-house managers and in-house analysts completed the online survey during the fall of 2007. There were 656 completed surveys, a strong market response to this inaugural project. The survey was open to all in-house SEM professionals – working in organic or paid search. SEMPO membership was not a requirement to take the survey.
The pool of respondents also reflects the relative newness of the industry and the flatter organizational charts prevalent in companies today, Forrester notes. Some 64% of the respondents have five years or less SEM experience.
As expected, less than four percent of the respondents had a vice president’s title and more than two-thirds of the VPs have from one to 10 people reporting to them. About 20% of the VPs said they earned between $100,000 to $120,000. Interestingly, 25% said they managed both SEO and PPC efforts while 29% said online and search marketing were combined functions in their organizations.
SEMPO’s largest pool of survey respondents – more than 26% - came from managers, whose compensation clustered in the $60,000 to $90,000. Despite the manager’s title, SEMPO found that almost half did not directly manage people.
Senior managers and directors comprised close to 20% of the respondents. Salary ranges for senior managers clustered in the $70,000 to $100,000 range, with more than 36% reporting an annual salary of $80,000+ to $100,000.
Director level compensation tracked with experience: more than 18% of the directors taking the survey said they had from five to seven years experience. About a quarter of this group reported annual salaries between $100,000 and $120,000. With this comes greater responsibility: more than 44% said they managed monthly budgets in excess of $200,000.
Reality SalariesWhile robust, the SEM salary data captured in the survey shows basically realistic tracking of compensation with experience and title. “While there are a good number of six figure salaries people need to understand all the salary levels represent reality. SEMs need to be realistic about their careers and plan as they would for any viable career opportunity,” says Forrester. “On the other hand, if you’re ready for a six figure job, go get it! There are a lot of good jobs out there.”
Budget Levels
Budget data collected also shows polarization: while one third of the respondents are managing monthly budgets at the $200,000 level, at theopposite end of the spectrum, 26.6% are managing budgets of up to only $25,000/month.
Other budget findings:
* Of those managing budgets greater than $200,000/month, 42.3% are managers, and within that group, 27% report salary ranges in excess of $100,000/year.
* 39.4% of respondents managing monthly SEM budgets in excess of $200,000 report having 3 years of experience or less. 34.2% have between 3 and 5 years experience, and those with 5+ years of experience totaled 26.4%.
* 42.6% of those managing budgets larger than $200,000/month do not manage staff. 92.9% are part of a dedicated “in-house” SEM team and 77.4% of those “teams” are considered to be part of their company’s Marketing departments.
About the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO)SEMPO is a global non-profit organization serving the search engine marketing industry and marketing professionals engaged in it. Its purpose is to provide a foundation for industry growth through building stronger relationships, fostering awareness, providing education, promoting the industry, generating research, and creating a better understanding of search and its role in marketing. Representing thousands in over 30 countries, SEMPO has over 720 members. It represents the common interests of companies and consultants worldwide and provides them with a voice in the marketplace. SEMPO’s education and outreach initiatives are sponsored in part by Microsoft, Yahoo!, Google, Superpages.com and Search Engine Strategies. For more information, or to join the organization, please visit http://www.sempo.org/.
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Sunday, January 27, 2008
eBuyzilla
Amazon says will begin int'l roll-out of its MP3 store
Online retailer Amazon.com Inc said on Sunday it will begin an international roll-out this year of its digital music store that offers songs without copy-protection technology known as digital rights management.
Amazon said it is the only retailer to offer DRM-free MP3s from all four major music labels as well as thousands of independent labels.
Amazon MP3, launched in September 2007, offers DRM-free MP3 music downloads, which now includes more than 3.3 million songs.
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Amazon says will begin int'l roll-out of its MP3 store
Online retailer Amazon.com Inc said on Sunday it will begin an international roll-out this year of its digital music store that offers songs without copy-protection technology known as digital rights management.
Amazon said it is the only retailer to offer DRM-free MP3s from all four major music labels as well as thousands of independent labels.
Amazon MP3, launched in September 2007, offers DRM-free MP3 music downloads, which now includes more than 3.3 million songs.
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Friday, January 25, 2008
Google CEO bullish on mobile Web advertising
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Google CEO bullish on mobile Web advertising
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - The arrival of a truly mobile Web, offering a new generation of location-based advertising, is set to unleash a "huge revolution," Google Inc Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said on Friday.
ADVERTISEMENT "It's the recreation of the Internet, it's the recreation of the PC (personal computer) story and it is before us -- and it is very likely it will happen in the next year," he told a panel at the World Economic Forum.
Current estimates for mobile advertising are cautious, with consultancy Forrester predicting revenues of under $1 billion by 2012.
But Schmidt said this figure was too low and failed to take into account the fact the mobile Web was reaching a tipping point.
Google aims to be a prime mover by bidding for coveted airwaves to launch an open U.S. wireless network, pitting it against established telecommunications players. The move will take the Silicon Valley-based company well beyond its core Web search and online advertising franchises.
Some analysts are worried at the high costs involved but Schmidt said he was confident location-based advertising -- which could, for example, direct hungry travelers to nearby restaurants -- would be "a very, very good business."
Content providers, already struggling in the modern world of music and film downloads, are less convinced that mobile Internet is a minefield.
"It is not going to be easy to hang on the price of content," said Howard Stringer, chief executive of Sony Corp.
Google CEO bullish on mobile Web advertising
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - The arrival of a truly mobile Web, offering a new generation of location-based advertising, is set to unleash a "huge revolution," Google Inc Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said on Friday.
ADVERTISEMENT "It's the recreation of the Internet, it's the recreation of the PC (personal computer) story and it is before us -- and it is very likely it will happen in the next year," he told a panel at the World Economic Forum.
Current estimates for mobile advertising are cautious, with consultancy Forrester predicting revenues of under $1 billion by 2012.
But Schmidt said this figure was too low and failed to take into account the fact the mobile Web was reaching a tipping point.
Google aims to be a prime mover by bidding for coveted airwaves to launch an open U.S. wireless network, pitting it against established telecommunications players. The move will take the Silicon Valley-based company well beyond its core Web search and online advertising franchises.
Some analysts are worried at the high costs involved but Schmidt said he was confident location-based advertising -- which could, for example, direct hungry travelers to nearby restaurants -- would be "a very, very good business."
Content providers, already struggling in the modern world of music and film downloads, are less convinced that mobile Internet is a minefield.
"It is not going to be easy to hang on the price of content," said Howard Stringer, chief executive of Sony Corp.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
A Breakthrough Technology Has Spawned an Internet Marketing Revolution...
A Breakthrough Technology Has Spawned an Internet Marketing Revolution
Pay Per Play
Audio Ads
A Breakthrough Technology Has Spawned an Internet Marketing Revolution...
As you read this sentence 2 more people have joined the movement...
This is a free opportunity for you or your company to share in billions of dollars of new found advertising revenue that was formerly reserved for major television networks.
Whether you are an aspiring webmaster or the CEO of a fortune 500 company, you don’t want to miss a word of what this report will reveal and the impact it is making in the Internet Marketing Industry.
Major television networks have been in control of what you watch, when you watch it and how often you watch the programs that interest you. With the social boom caused by web 2.0 including social networks and online movies and video, major television networks can no longer confine your mind to their broadcasts for entertainment.
Chris Anderson (author of The Long Tail) hit the nail right on the head...
In his book, he predicted that television's viewing audience will spend more time on the Internet than watching TV. This former viewing audience will entertain themselves by going to websites they are interested in (to do whatever is more interesting to them than watching TV). Chris predicted that people will spend their time more involved in their personal "long tail" interests.
The future is here RIGHT NOW!
eBuyzilla
Pay Per Play
Audio Ads
A Breakthrough Technology Has Spawned an Internet Marketing Revolution...
As you read this sentence 2 more people have joined the movement...
This is a free opportunity for you or your company to share in billions of dollars of new found advertising revenue that was formerly reserved for major television networks.
Whether you are an aspiring webmaster or the CEO of a fortune 500 company, you don’t want to miss a word of what this report will reveal and the impact it is making in the Internet Marketing Industry.
Major television networks have been in control of what you watch, when you watch it and how often you watch the programs that interest you. With the social boom caused by web 2.0 including social networks and online movies and video, major television networks can no longer confine your mind to their broadcasts for entertainment.
Chris Anderson (author of The Long Tail) hit the nail right on the head...
In his book, he predicted that television's viewing audience will spend more time on the Internet than watching TV. This former viewing audience will entertain themselves by going to websites they are interested in (to do whatever is more interesting to them than watching TV). Chris predicted that people will spend their time more involved in their personal "long tail" interests.
The future is here RIGHT NOW!
eBuyzilla
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Cyberattack caused multiple-city blackout
PageRank Inspector
By Tom Espiner
A cyberattack has caused a power blackout in multiple cities outside the United States, the CIA has warned. The SANS Institute, a computer-security training body, reported the CIA's disclosure on Friday. CIA senior analyst Tom Donahue told a SANS Institute conference on Wednesday in New Orleans that the CIA had evidence of successful cyberattacks against critical national infrastructures outside the United States.
"We have information that cyberattacks have been used to disrupt power equipment in several regions outside the U.S.," Donahue said. "In at least one case, the disruption caused a power outage affecting multiple cities."
Donahue added that the CIA does not know who executed the attacks or why but that all of the attacks involved "intrusions through the Internet."
The CIA analyst added that his agency had evidence of blackmail demands following demonstrations of successful intrusions.
"We have information, from multiple regions outside the U.S., of cyberintrusions into utilities, followed by extortion demands," Donahue said. "We suspect, but cannot confirm, that some of these attackers had the benefit of inside knowledge."
The CIA does not normally make this information public. According to Donahue, the CIA actively and thoroughly considered the benefits and risks of making this information public and came down on the side of disclosure, the SANS Institute reported.
Alan Paller, director of research at the SANS Institute, warned more than three years ago about demonstrations of denial-of-service attacks to computer systems, followed by demands for cash.
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DC2NET
By Tom Espiner
A cyberattack has caused a power blackout in multiple cities outside the United States, the CIA has warned. The SANS Institute, a computer-security training body, reported the CIA's disclosure on Friday. CIA senior analyst Tom Donahue told a SANS Institute conference on Wednesday in New Orleans that the CIA had evidence of successful cyberattacks against critical national infrastructures outside the United States.
"We have information that cyberattacks have been used to disrupt power equipment in several regions outside the U.S.," Donahue said. "In at least one case, the disruption caused a power outage affecting multiple cities."
Donahue added that the CIA does not know who executed the attacks or why but that all of the attacks involved "intrusions through the Internet."
The CIA analyst added that his agency had evidence of blackmail demands following demonstrations of successful intrusions.
"We have information, from multiple regions outside the U.S., of cyberintrusions into utilities, followed by extortion demands," Donahue said. "We suspect, but cannot confirm, that some of these attackers had the benefit of inside knowledge."
The CIA does not normally make this information public. According to Donahue, the CIA actively and thoroughly considered the benefits and risks of making this information public and came down on the side of disclosure, the SANS Institute reported.
Alan Paller, director of research at the SANS Institute, warned more than three years ago about demonstrations of denial-of-service attacks to computer systems, followed by demands for cash.
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DC2NET
Microsoft Pushes Windows Mobile
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Microsoft Pushes Windows MobileNancy Gohring To lure more consumers, it will distribute a Zumobi app that makes it easier to access Web sites and widgets.
Microsoft is working to boost the appeal of Windows Mobile among consumers by appointing a new head of marketing and by lending support to a new application for viewing Web content.
Microsoft announced on Tuesday that it has hired Todd Peters, formerly an executive with Staples, to be corporate vice president of marketing for its mobile communications business. Peters is tasked with positioning Windows Mobile to appeal more to a consumer audience. He fills a position left vacant by Suzan DelBene, who recently left the company.
Microsoft also said it will help market and distribute Zumobi, a software program that makes it easier for Windows Mobile users to access Web sites and widgets, or small applications that provide up-to-date information from the Web.
Zumobi said in a statement Tuesday that Microsoft will distribute the software with Windows Mobile, although Microsoft characterized it as more of a marketing deal and said it would make Zumobi available for download from its Web sites.
Either way, the software, which had been available in beta since December from Zumobi's Web site, should now be easier for customers to get hold of. Zumobi did not respond to questions about the agreement.
The announcements reflect a recent push at Microsoft to attract more consumers. "We are definitely moving into making Windows Mobile come alive for the consumer," said Scott Rockfeld, group product manager at Microsoft's Windows Mobile group. Rockfeld and other Windows Mobile executives have been emphasizing that the operating system is designed to be attractive to users in their personal lives as well as their work lives.
For now, the most compelling value is for enterprise customers who want mobile access to their corporate data and documents, and Microsoft will need to reach more consumers to maintain growth in the future, said Charles Golvin, an analyst at Forrester Research.
"They need to continue to evolve the value proposition and range of applications that are more centered around consumers, even though their primary focus is -- and will remain in the near future -- on the enterprise," he said.
The appointment of Peters and support for Zumobi appear to support this gradual buildup of support for consumer applications, he said.
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Microsoft Pushes Windows MobileNancy Gohring To lure more consumers, it will distribute a Zumobi app that makes it easier to access Web sites and widgets.
Microsoft is working to boost the appeal of Windows Mobile among consumers by appointing a new head of marketing and by lending support to a new application for viewing Web content.
Microsoft announced on Tuesday that it has hired Todd Peters, formerly an executive with Staples, to be corporate vice president of marketing for its mobile communications business. Peters is tasked with positioning Windows Mobile to appeal more to a consumer audience. He fills a position left vacant by Suzan DelBene, who recently left the company.
Microsoft also said it will help market and distribute Zumobi, a software program that makes it easier for Windows Mobile users to access Web sites and widgets, or small applications that provide up-to-date information from the Web.
Zumobi said in a statement Tuesday that Microsoft will distribute the software with Windows Mobile, although Microsoft characterized it as more of a marketing deal and said it would make Zumobi available for download from its Web sites.
Either way, the software, which had been available in beta since December from Zumobi's Web site, should now be easier for customers to get hold of. Zumobi did not respond to questions about the agreement.
The announcements reflect a recent push at Microsoft to attract more consumers. "We are definitely moving into making Windows Mobile come alive for the consumer," said Scott Rockfeld, group product manager at Microsoft's Windows Mobile group. Rockfeld and other Windows Mobile executives have been emphasizing that the operating system is designed to be attractive to users in their personal lives as well as their work lives.
For now, the most compelling value is for enterprise customers who want mobile access to their corporate data and documents, and Microsoft will need to reach more consumers to maintain growth in the future, said Charles Golvin, an analyst at Forrester Research.
"They need to continue to evolve the value proposition and range of applications that are more centered around consumers, even though their primary focus is -- and will remain in the near future -- on the enterprise," he said.
The appointment of Peters and support for Zumobi appear to support this gradual buildup of support for consumer applications, he said.
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Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Vista virtualization move opens real doors
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by Ina Fried
Microsoft's decision to allow Home versions of Vista to run inside virtual machines may have far-reaching benefits in the coming years.
The initial market for such virtual Vista machines is likely to be among Mac users looking to run Windows or within the ranks of hard-core PC enthusiasts. But the move could also benefit the average PC user who just wants a machine that's easier to use, says Woody Hobbs, CEO of Phoenix Technologies, a leading maker of the BIOS (basic input/output system) software that loads before a PC boots up.
Woody Hobbs, CEO, Phoenix Technologies
(Credit: Phoenix Technologies)Phoenix has been working on HyperSpace, a technology that allows for a range of software from embedded Web browsers to media players to security programs, to run outside the main operating system. The company has been working to bring HyperSpace to market this year, but because the technology relies on virtualizing some components of the PC, Hobbs said, it was hampered by Microsoft's licensing rules, which limited Vista virtualization to the two priciest versions of the operating system. Virtualization allows a computer to run a single version of an operating system but seem to be running multiple copies.
"We'd like to think they are accommodating us but, nevertheless, we are happy with the change," Hobbs said in a telephone interview on Monday.
Hobbs said Microsoft could benefit too, given the fact that he feels Windows has been losing share to the Mac because consumers believe Apple's machines are simpler to run and manage.
Microsoft's change on the licensing front, Hobbs said, opens the door for significant changes to the PC landscape, such as having security software that can run before and after Windows runs, as well as a machine that can boot instantly for simple tasks such as DVD playback, while simultaneously running Windows. Some machines have a "fast boot" Linux option today, but the machine has to restart to boot into Windows, meaning that users can't easily switch back to the DVD and keep their place in the movie.
"It really makes it a much more intuitive usage model and starts to make the PC a little more friendly, a la the Mac," he said.
Phoenix announced the HyperSpace technology in November, but expects it will take until at least the back-to-school season before the first machines hit U.S. shelves, and probably the holidays before machines start to make sophisticated use of the non-Windows space for things such as Web browsing or e-mail.
The licensing change for Vista has been a long time coming. Microsoft was criticized before Vista's launch for its limitations, which allowed only the Ultimate and Business editions to run as guest operating systems within a virtual machine. In June, Microsoft briefed reporters that it would ease the restrictions, but pulled back at the last minute for unspecified reasons.
Parallels, which makes software that lets Windows run on a Mac and is among those that stands to gain most immediately from the decision, praised the move.
"We're glad to see that Microsoft is taking steps to increase the pace of the adoption of virtualization," Parallels' Benjamin Rudolph said in an e-mail interview. "This shows that Microsoft is committed to the virtualization market, and we think that this opens new opportunities for us to partner."
Rudolph, too, suggested that the change might help boost Windows' fortunes among those otherwise inclined.
"This move is a good thing for those computer users who aren't Microsoft customers (like Mac and Linux users) since they now have a cost-effective way to access Windows and its massive software library," he said, noting that Microsoft now has a shot at the 6 percent of desktops not running its operating system today. "This is a great way for Microsoft to effectively reach 100 percent of the desktop market."
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by Ina Fried
Microsoft's decision to allow Home versions of Vista to run inside virtual machines may have far-reaching benefits in the coming years.
The initial market for such virtual Vista machines is likely to be among Mac users looking to run Windows or within the ranks of hard-core PC enthusiasts. But the move could also benefit the average PC user who just wants a machine that's easier to use, says Woody Hobbs, CEO of Phoenix Technologies, a leading maker of the BIOS (basic input/output system) software that loads before a PC boots up.
Woody Hobbs, CEO, Phoenix Technologies
(Credit: Phoenix Technologies)Phoenix has been working on HyperSpace, a technology that allows for a range of software from embedded Web browsers to media players to security programs, to run outside the main operating system. The company has been working to bring HyperSpace to market this year, but because the technology relies on virtualizing some components of the PC, Hobbs said, it was hampered by Microsoft's licensing rules, which limited Vista virtualization to the two priciest versions of the operating system. Virtualization allows a computer to run a single version of an operating system but seem to be running multiple copies.
"We'd like to think they are accommodating us but, nevertheless, we are happy with the change," Hobbs said in a telephone interview on Monday.
Hobbs said Microsoft could benefit too, given the fact that he feels Windows has been losing share to the Mac because consumers believe Apple's machines are simpler to run and manage.
Microsoft's change on the licensing front, Hobbs said, opens the door for significant changes to the PC landscape, such as having security software that can run before and after Windows runs, as well as a machine that can boot instantly for simple tasks such as DVD playback, while simultaneously running Windows. Some machines have a "fast boot" Linux option today, but the machine has to restart to boot into Windows, meaning that users can't easily switch back to the DVD and keep their place in the movie.
"It really makes it a much more intuitive usage model and starts to make the PC a little more friendly, a la the Mac," he said.
Phoenix announced the HyperSpace technology in November, but expects it will take until at least the back-to-school season before the first machines hit U.S. shelves, and probably the holidays before machines start to make sophisticated use of the non-Windows space for things such as Web browsing or e-mail.
The licensing change for Vista has been a long time coming. Microsoft was criticized before Vista's launch for its limitations, which allowed only the Ultimate and Business editions to run as guest operating systems within a virtual machine. In June, Microsoft briefed reporters that it would ease the restrictions, but pulled back at the last minute for unspecified reasons.
Parallels, which makes software that lets Windows run on a Mac and is among those that stands to gain most immediately from the decision, praised the move.
"We're glad to see that Microsoft is taking steps to increase the pace of the adoption of virtualization," Parallels' Benjamin Rudolph said in an e-mail interview. "This shows that Microsoft is committed to the virtualization market, and we think that this opens new opportunities for us to partner."
Rudolph, too, suggested that the change might help boost Windows' fortunes among those otherwise inclined.
"This move is a good thing for those computer users who aren't Microsoft customers (like Mac and Linux users) since they now have a cost-effective way to access Windows and its massive software library," he said, noting that Microsoft now has a shot at the 6 percent of desktops not running its operating system today. "This is a great way for Microsoft to effectively reach 100 percent of the desktop market."
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Monday, January 21, 2008
What do Chinese shoppers want?
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by Michael Bloch
With the dreaded “R” word (recession) doing it’s rounds in relation to the USA, it’s good to remember it’s not the only country on the planet. No, really, it’s true. Things aren’t doom and gloom everywhere - for example, the Asia Pacific ecommerce market is forecast to explode.
eMarketer is forecasting B2C e-commerce sales in the Asia Pacific region to grow at a 23.3% annual rate, hitting $168.7 billion in 2011. Japan and South Korea, the region’s mature market, will both lose share to two emerging online superstars - China and India. China’s online population grew by 20% in the past year and India’s by a whopping 33%
Other developing countries including Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia, are also set to become notable ecommerce economies in the coming years. A couple of the barriers still to overcome from an infrastructure aspect in particularly China and India is a national credit card system and efficient delivery networks.
But what about Chinese shoppers? What are their biggest concerns about shopping online? Emarketer quotes some research from the China Internet Network Information Center
Uncertainty about security of online shopping - 61.5%Little guarantee of quality and support - 45.7%Privacy concerns - 28.2%Insufficient conditions - 23.3%Inconvenient payment methods - 21.7%Delivery delays - 10.7%Overpriced - 10.2%Lack of choice - 8.3%Other - 4%
Their concerns are much the same and at the same levels as shoppers in the USA, UK, Canada and Australia reported some years ago. I can’t say I’m familiar with how to sell to these groups, but imagine the principles of reassuring your site visitors would be the same.
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by Michael Bloch
With the dreaded “R” word (recession) doing it’s rounds in relation to the USA, it’s good to remember it’s not the only country on the planet. No, really, it’s true. Things aren’t doom and gloom everywhere - for example, the Asia Pacific ecommerce market is forecast to explode.
eMarketer is forecasting B2C e-commerce sales in the Asia Pacific region to grow at a 23.3% annual rate, hitting $168.7 billion in 2011. Japan and South Korea, the region’s mature market, will both lose share to two emerging online superstars - China and India. China’s online population grew by 20% in the past year and India’s by a whopping 33%
Other developing countries including Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia, are also set to become notable ecommerce economies in the coming years. A couple of the barriers still to overcome from an infrastructure aspect in particularly China and India is a national credit card system and efficient delivery networks.
But what about Chinese shoppers? What are their biggest concerns about shopping online? Emarketer quotes some research from the China Internet Network Information Center
Uncertainty about security of online shopping - 61.5%Little guarantee of quality and support - 45.7%Privacy concerns - 28.2%Insufficient conditions - 23.3%Inconvenient payment methods - 21.7%Delivery delays - 10.7%Overpriced - 10.2%Lack of choice - 8.3%Other - 4%
Their concerns are much the same and at the same levels as shoppers in the USA, UK, Canada and Australia reported some years ago. I can’t say I’m familiar with how to sell to these groups, but imagine the principles of reassuring your site visitors would be the same.
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Sunday, January 20, 2008
Yahoo Makes Search Results More Delicious
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by Mike Gunderloy
Michael Arrington is reporting over at TechCrunch that Yahoo! is experimenting with pulling information from del.icio.us directly into Yahoo! Search results. Contrary to what he reported, though, this isn’t just a trial for select users; it’s easy for you to see how this works with whatever search you choose. Just perform any search in the regular Yahoo! Search interface and then add the magic string &tmpl=H057 to the end of the results URL and refresh your browser.
The del.icio.us icon shows the results from the community bookmarking site; click on the number to see the posting history of the URL (though the numbers won’t match, in my experience, possibly due to a discrepancy between public and private data), or click on the tag names to perform a del.icio.us tag search. Including these numbers provides a way to highlight search results that the del.icio.us community has found useful, and since overall they’re a pretty savvy community, this acts as a good quality indicator. Of course, if Yahoo! rolls this out as a part of the default search, we’ll have to contend with a sudden uptick of spam to del.icio.us as SEO jerks try to game the system.
This isn’t the first attempt to combine del.icio.us bookmarking with traditional search results, but because Yahoo! now owns del.icio.us, it’s the best-integrated. If you want to dig into this notion of triangulating crawler-based results with community bookmarking, you might also want to check out these projects:
Annotate Google is a Greasemonkey script that adds del.icio.us tag functionality to Google search results; click a link to see all the tags for the current result, together with the number of people who used that tag. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be completely compatible with Google’s current HTML.
deliGoo takes a different approach by leveraging del.icio.us to build targeted search engines. Put in a tag, and it uses the Google Custom Search Engine API to build a search engine that searches all the web pages that are tagged with that tag in del.icio.us. This can be slow the first time, but it allows you to build a nearly infinite variety of targeted custom search engines.
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by Mike Gunderloy
Michael Arrington is reporting over at TechCrunch that Yahoo! is experimenting with pulling information from del.icio.us directly into Yahoo! Search results. Contrary to what he reported, though, this isn’t just a trial for select users; it’s easy for you to see how this works with whatever search you choose. Just perform any search in the regular Yahoo! Search interface and then add the magic string &tmpl=H057 to the end of the results URL and refresh your browser.
The del.icio.us icon shows the results from the community bookmarking site; click on the number to see the posting history of the URL (though the numbers won’t match, in my experience, possibly due to a discrepancy between public and private data), or click on the tag names to perform a del.icio.us tag search. Including these numbers provides a way to highlight search results that the del.icio.us community has found useful, and since overall they’re a pretty savvy community, this acts as a good quality indicator. Of course, if Yahoo! rolls this out as a part of the default search, we’ll have to contend with a sudden uptick of spam to del.icio.us as SEO jerks try to game the system.
This isn’t the first attempt to combine del.icio.us bookmarking with traditional search results, but because Yahoo! now owns del.icio.us, it’s the best-integrated. If you want to dig into this notion of triangulating crawler-based results with community bookmarking, you might also want to check out these projects:
Annotate Google is a Greasemonkey script that adds del.icio.us tag functionality to Google search results; click a link to see all the tags for the current result, together with the number of people who used that tag. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be completely compatible with Google’s current HTML.
deliGoo takes a different approach by leveraging del.icio.us to build targeted search engines. Put in a tag, and it uses the Google Custom Search Engine API to build a search engine that searches all the web pages that are tagged with that tag in del.icio.us. This can be slow the first time, but it allows you to build a nearly infinite variety of targeted custom search engines.
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Friday, January 18, 2008
Affiliate programs & phone sales
Shopping
by Michael Bloch
If you’re running an affiliate program and also provide a sales phone number on your site - you may be scaring off experienced affiliates from joining your program.
One of the banes of any affiliate’s existence are sales leaks; i.e. where they refer a sale, but don’t scoop up a commission for whatever reason. This can be due to issues such as cookies not setting properly right through to merchants who are just downright unscrupulous.
It’s pretty hard to tell just how much money an affiliate loses through sales leaks on the merchant’s end generally speaking, but I’ve seen figures around stating it can be as high as 20%; which can translate to a stack of cash.
Any seasoned affiliate will be able to recount stories of such situations they’ve personally experienced and this can make them a little gun-shy of joining programs where the company offers a sales number. A sales number becomes a problem where your staff take orders and payments over the phone; therefore there’s no record of the referral and the affiliate doesn’t get paid.
In many scenarios though, a telephone sales person only assists the customer to the point of getting them to and completing your online order form - and in that case, the referral is recorded.
Whichever situation applies to your business, you should make it really clear how your phone sales systems work to put potential affiliates’ minds at rest. Bear in mind, it’s the experienced affiliates you want who are most likely to spot this possible sales leak and they may not even bother contacting you for clarification. Given that in most affiliate programs, it’s just the top few percent of affiliates who make the majority of sales; even missing out on one promoting your business can mean a pile of lost sales.
PageRank Inspector
by Michael Bloch
If you’re running an affiliate program and also provide a sales phone number on your site - you may be scaring off experienced affiliates from joining your program.
One of the banes of any affiliate’s existence are sales leaks; i.e. where they refer a sale, but don’t scoop up a commission for whatever reason. This can be due to issues such as cookies not setting properly right through to merchants who are just downright unscrupulous.
It’s pretty hard to tell just how much money an affiliate loses through sales leaks on the merchant’s end generally speaking, but I’ve seen figures around stating it can be as high as 20%; which can translate to a stack of cash.
Any seasoned affiliate will be able to recount stories of such situations they’ve personally experienced and this can make them a little gun-shy of joining programs where the company offers a sales number. A sales number becomes a problem where your staff take orders and payments over the phone; therefore there’s no record of the referral and the affiliate doesn’t get paid.
In many scenarios though, a telephone sales person only assists the customer to the point of getting them to and completing your online order form - and in that case, the referral is recorded.
Whichever situation applies to your business, you should make it really clear how your phone sales systems work to put potential affiliates’ minds at rest. Bear in mind, it’s the experienced affiliates you want who are most likely to spot this possible sales leak and they may not even bother contacting you for clarification. Given that in most affiliate programs, it’s just the top few percent of affiliates who make the majority of sales; even missing out on one promoting your business can mean a pile of lost sales.
PageRank Inspector
Thursday, January 17, 2008
The Wackiest Laws Still on the Books
Shop Deals & Specials
The Wackiest Laws Still on the Books
Sherry Ciurczak
If you're planning to visit Alabama any time soon, make sure you don't challenge a bear to a wrestling match. It could land you in jail since bear wrestling is a Class B felony in the Yellowhammer State. And if you're thinking of dressing as a nun to go trick-or-treating in Mobile, think again. Impersonating a nun or other member of the clergy is punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of $500.
These are just two examples of the many wacky statutes on the books, not just in Alabama but in states across the nation. Here are a few more that might make you wonder what lawmakers were thinking:
It's illegal to collect rags or paper in Indianapolis on Sundays. Don't go rag or paper collecting on legal holidays either, or you could be subject to a fine. However, it's generally okay to collect rags and paper after 7:30 a.m. and before 5:30.
Don't skip your Saturday night bath in Barre, Vermont. There is a law on the books requiring all residents to bathe every Saturday night. Washing on other days of the week is apparently optional and left to the discretion of the residents.
When attacked by a bird, you can throw a rock at it in Indianapolis. However, it is illegal to throw stones at birds if you're not acting in self-defense.
Michigan will pay you to throw rocks at birds. But only if you kill them, and only if they're starlings or crows. The state pays three cents for each starling killed and ten cents per crow.
Florida forbids the tethering of pregnant pigs. It is also illegal to confine an expecting sow to a cage, crate or other enclosure that prevents the pig from turning around freely.
You can't sell your eyes in Texas. "The Eyes of Texas" is the official song of the University of Texas, and they are apparently not for sale. Nor are any other bodily organs, under penalty of law.
Pinball is not for children in South Carolina. For some reason, you have to be at least 18 to play pinball in the Palmetto State.
In Belvedere, California, dogs must not appear in public without their masters on a leash. The city council probably intended to make sure the canines rather than the humans were leashed.
If you have political ambitions in Tennessee, don't participate in a duel. The state prohibits people who have been in a duel from holding public office.
Only genuine smack-downs are permitted in Louisiana. State law prohibits the exhibition of fake wrestling matches. This is only a sampling of the many crazy laws still on the books in states across the US. In addition to avoiding breaking obvious laws like posted speed limits in your town, you should also take care to avoid whaling in Oklahoma or selling blue ducklings in Kentucky. Remember, ignorance of the law is no excuse!
Shopping
The Wackiest Laws Still on the Books
Sherry Ciurczak
If you're planning to visit Alabama any time soon, make sure you don't challenge a bear to a wrestling match. It could land you in jail since bear wrestling is a Class B felony in the Yellowhammer State. And if you're thinking of dressing as a nun to go trick-or-treating in Mobile, think again. Impersonating a nun or other member of the clergy is punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of $500.
These are just two examples of the many wacky statutes on the books, not just in Alabama but in states across the nation. Here are a few more that might make you wonder what lawmakers were thinking:
It's illegal to collect rags or paper in Indianapolis on Sundays. Don't go rag or paper collecting on legal holidays either, or you could be subject to a fine. However, it's generally okay to collect rags and paper after 7:30 a.m. and before 5:30.
Don't skip your Saturday night bath in Barre, Vermont. There is a law on the books requiring all residents to bathe every Saturday night. Washing on other days of the week is apparently optional and left to the discretion of the residents.
When attacked by a bird, you can throw a rock at it in Indianapolis. However, it is illegal to throw stones at birds if you're not acting in self-defense.
Michigan will pay you to throw rocks at birds. But only if you kill them, and only if they're starlings or crows. The state pays three cents for each starling killed and ten cents per crow.
Florida forbids the tethering of pregnant pigs. It is also illegal to confine an expecting sow to a cage, crate or other enclosure that prevents the pig from turning around freely.
You can't sell your eyes in Texas. "The Eyes of Texas" is the official song of the University of Texas, and they are apparently not for sale. Nor are any other bodily organs, under penalty of law.
Pinball is not for children in South Carolina. For some reason, you have to be at least 18 to play pinball in the Palmetto State.
In Belvedere, California, dogs must not appear in public without their masters on a leash. The city council probably intended to make sure the canines rather than the humans were leashed.
If you have political ambitions in Tennessee, don't participate in a duel. The state prohibits people who have been in a duel from holding public office.
Only genuine smack-downs are permitted in Louisiana. State law prohibits the exhibition of fake wrestling matches. This is only a sampling of the many crazy laws still on the books in states across the US. In addition to avoiding breaking obvious laws like posted speed limits in your town, you should also take care to avoid whaling in Oklahoma or selling blue ducklings in Kentucky. Remember, ignorance of the law is no excuse!
Shopping
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
How To Increase Your Website Traffic With Zero Cost
Shop Deals & Specials
How to increase your website traffic with zero cost'. It's a bold statement don't you think. But, believe me it's true. You can increase your traffic by 1000% with no cost involved if you do it the right way. Continue reading if you want to know how.
I've outlined 5 ways to reach your target. But, please keep in mind that these are not the only ways that you can do to increase your traffic. There are hundreds of techniques to increase traffic. But these one are the proven one. I've used it personally. More importantly, these techniques can get you FREE traffic. You're money is saved in your pocket. Let's go to the first one.
Technique #1: Linking strategy
Linking strategy is the easiest way to get free traffic. When I say "the easiest way" it does not mean that you can ask everybody to link to your site and do nothing after that. Compared to other techniques that you'll discover, this one will take less time to do.
Here's how to do it. First select the site in your niche market. Be selective. Choose one that has a high traffic. Usually a high traffic site is pretty stingy to put link to your site. So, the key here is to be persistent. Ask them how many visitors do they received per month and if they could link to your site. If they don't answer your request, email them the second time.
Be persistent. If they don't want to link to your site, ask them to trade link instead (reciprocal link). This is the last resort you want to have.
Word of warning: Don't crowd your site with too many links. Only accept link trading if it's really worth it.
Technique #2: Offer Free eBooks or articles
You'll fall in love with this technique if you see what it can do to your site. This technique can create an excellent'Viral marketing' effect. It can multiply the no of visitors to your site in a matter of days. This most important thing about this technique is that to offer something that is really useful to your visitor. So useful that they can only get that information from you!
You need to the 'wants' in your need market. What problems do they encounter? Solve these problems and you have a killer articles or e-book that you can give away for free. Remember, don't sell it. Give it away for free. If you feel really reluctant to give your article or e-book for free, you can give your visitors a partial of it. But, make sure it's really useful. Don't forget to put your name and your contact information in this article or e-book. Usually, if you write an article, you need to include your resource box at the very bottom of your article.
The most important task in this technique is to offer a reprint right to your visitors. What this mean is that your visitors can publish your articles or e-book to anyone in any medium; email, Ezine, website or anything. But please state your condition: Include your contact information or resource box. This will create viral effect to your visitors.
Before I forgot, there is one particular e-book compiler that is good in doing this kind of task. The name of this e-book compiler is 'E-book Edit Pro'. With this compiler, you can offer your visitors a customizable e-book. This is a great incentive for them to distribute your article or e-book since they can put their name and information in it. If you like to know more about the excellent compiler, please visit: http://www.ebookedit.com/
Technique #3: Classified Ad
This is the most time consuming technique compared to all 5. While it is time consuming, it is really worth it.
Tips - This technique should be used together with the above technique. Let me explain:
First, you need to write an e-book or article that you can give it away for free. Then, you need have an autoresponder. If you don't have an autoresponder (your hosting company should provide this service for free), you can get one for free. Just type 'free autoresponder' in your search engine and you'll get hundred of sites that provided free autoresponder. If you're searching for excellent autoresponder, I'd like to suggest these autoresponder:
1. http://www.getresponse.com - Most online marketers used this service. You pay monthly to them for providing service. The most important feature is that you can personalize your autoresponder with your visitor's name. They also provide a free service. The only catch is that there will be an ad in your email.
2. http://www.aweber.com - One of the first companies to provide autoresponder service. Try to visit their site if you want to learn more. Basically, it offers the same kind of service as getresponse.com.
3. http://www.autoresponseplus.com - You only need to pay one-time fees for this service since the software will be installed on your server. It's great in you don't want to pay high monthly fees. The only drawback for Autoresponseplus is that you need to have a little bit skill on how to install cgi (Common Gateway Interface) on your server.
Enough talking. Let's continue.
After you have your own autoresponder, place your free article in this autoresponder. Now, you need to advertise your autoresponder address in the classified ad website. Don't put your email address but your autoresponder address. The best part with this technique is that you can capture you visitor's email. You can contact them again and again if you have any offer in the future.
Technique #4: Deliver informational pack Ezine/newsletter
People surf the net to look for information. Out of 100, only 3 people surf the net to buy something. But others are doing some research or try to find something informational.
With this keep in mind, you can attract people to come to your site if you can deliver them timely information. By producing timely information, you glued these visitors to your site preventing them from going elsewhere. This can be done by giving them free newsletter or Ezine.
This is not an easy task because there is abundance of free information on the net. You need to give them something different from these 'free' stuff. Try to provide something unique in your Ezine. For example, if you're publishing music Ezine, try to make a deal with music label so that you can give special price to your subscriber. Make sure your subscriber cannot get this of kind if deal in other place. If you can create this unique proposition, you're already on top of the world. Your Ezine will spread like fire. More people will come to your site to subscribe your unique newsletter.
Technique #5: Offer affiliate program
This is the greatest FREE traffic generator technique out there. With this technique both parties win; you and your affiliate program participant. You get more traffic and sales, they get more money from referral commission.
This topic is really a large topic. I can write a whole e-book about how to create a successful affiliate program. But, I'll discuss the basic thing about affiliate program in here.
Basically, to create an effective affiliate program, you need to create an interest for your visitor's to join your affiliate program. You can do this by giving them high referral fees and marketing tools for them to use. Above all, you need to make them easy to promote your product or service. Don't make them do all the hard work. It is your job.
The next thing you need to do is to motivate them to spread the word about you. Contact them in a timely manner. Don't forget them after they've joined your program. Make them feel special. In fact, they are special since they are the one who will do the promotion and advertising. A well designed affiliate program can increase your website traffic and sales by unimaginable amount. But again, you need to devote all you effort in this technique if you want to have a successful affiliate program. Don't do it half way. Even if you've to work 18 hours a day to create your own affiliate program, it's really worth it in the future. The payoff is going to be thousand times your initial effort.
All of these techniques are free. You don't have to spend a dime on them. Try it on your site.
Shopping
How to increase your website traffic with zero cost'. It's a bold statement don't you think. But, believe me it's true. You can increase your traffic by 1000% with no cost involved if you do it the right way. Continue reading if you want to know how.
I've outlined 5 ways to reach your target. But, please keep in mind that these are not the only ways that you can do to increase your traffic. There are hundreds of techniques to increase traffic. But these one are the proven one. I've used it personally. More importantly, these techniques can get you FREE traffic. You're money is saved in your pocket. Let's go to the first one.
Technique #1: Linking strategy
Linking strategy is the easiest way to get free traffic. When I say "the easiest way" it does not mean that you can ask everybody to link to your site and do nothing after that. Compared to other techniques that you'll discover, this one will take less time to do.
Here's how to do it. First select the site in your niche market. Be selective. Choose one that has a high traffic. Usually a high traffic site is pretty stingy to put link to your site. So, the key here is to be persistent. Ask them how many visitors do they received per month and if they could link to your site. If they don't answer your request, email them the second time.
Be persistent. If they don't want to link to your site, ask them to trade link instead (reciprocal link). This is the last resort you want to have.
Word of warning: Don't crowd your site with too many links. Only accept link trading if it's really worth it.
Technique #2: Offer Free eBooks or articles
You'll fall in love with this technique if you see what it can do to your site. This technique can create an excellent'Viral marketing' effect. It can multiply the no of visitors to your site in a matter of days. This most important thing about this technique is that to offer something that is really useful to your visitor. So useful that they can only get that information from you!
You need to the 'wants' in your need market. What problems do they encounter? Solve these problems and you have a killer articles or e-book that you can give away for free. Remember, don't sell it. Give it away for free. If you feel really reluctant to give your article or e-book for free, you can give your visitors a partial of it. But, make sure it's really useful. Don't forget to put your name and your contact information in this article or e-book. Usually, if you write an article, you need to include your resource box at the very bottom of your article.
The most important task in this technique is to offer a reprint right to your visitors. What this mean is that your visitors can publish your articles or e-book to anyone in any medium; email, Ezine, website or anything. But please state your condition: Include your contact information or resource box. This will create viral effect to your visitors.
Before I forgot, there is one particular e-book compiler that is good in doing this kind of task. The name of this e-book compiler is 'E-book Edit Pro'. With this compiler, you can offer your visitors a customizable e-book. This is a great incentive for them to distribute your article or e-book since they can put their name and information in it. If you like to know more about the excellent compiler, please visit: http://www.ebookedit.com/
Technique #3: Classified Ad
This is the most time consuming technique compared to all 5. While it is time consuming, it is really worth it.
Tips - This technique should be used together with the above technique. Let me explain:
First, you need to write an e-book or article that you can give it away for free. Then, you need have an autoresponder. If you don't have an autoresponder (your hosting company should provide this service for free), you can get one for free. Just type 'free autoresponder' in your search engine and you'll get hundred of sites that provided free autoresponder. If you're searching for excellent autoresponder, I'd like to suggest these autoresponder:
1. http://www.getresponse.com - Most online marketers used this service. You pay monthly to them for providing service. The most important feature is that you can personalize your autoresponder with your visitor's name. They also provide a free service. The only catch is that there will be an ad in your email.
2. http://www.aweber.com - One of the first companies to provide autoresponder service. Try to visit their site if you want to learn more. Basically, it offers the same kind of service as getresponse.com.
3. http://www.autoresponseplus.com - You only need to pay one-time fees for this service since the software will be installed on your server. It's great in you don't want to pay high monthly fees. The only drawback for Autoresponseplus is that you need to have a little bit skill on how to install cgi (Common Gateway Interface) on your server.
Enough talking. Let's continue.
After you have your own autoresponder, place your free article in this autoresponder. Now, you need to advertise your autoresponder address in the classified ad website. Don't put your email address but your autoresponder address. The best part with this technique is that you can capture you visitor's email. You can contact them again and again if you have any offer in the future.
Technique #4: Deliver informational pack Ezine/newsletter
People surf the net to look for information. Out of 100, only 3 people surf the net to buy something. But others are doing some research or try to find something informational.
With this keep in mind, you can attract people to come to your site if you can deliver them timely information. By producing timely information, you glued these visitors to your site preventing them from going elsewhere. This can be done by giving them free newsletter or Ezine.
This is not an easy task because there is abundance of free information on the net. You need to give them something different from these 'free' stuff. Try to provide something unique in your Ezine. For example, if you're publishing music Ezine, try to make a deal with music label so that you can give special price to your subscriber. Make sure your subscriber cannot get this of kind if deal in other place. If you can create this unique proposition, you're already on top of the world. Your Ezine will spread like fire. More people will come to your site to subscribe your unique newsletter.
Technique #5: Offer affiliate program
This is the greatest FREE traffic generator technique out there. With this technique both parties win; you and your affiliate program participant. You get more traffic and sales, they get more money from referral commission.
This topic is really a large topic. I can write a whole e-book about how to create a successful affiliate program. But, I'll discuss the basic thing about affiliate program in here.
Basically, to create an effective affiliate program, you need to create an interest for your visitor's to join your affiliate program. You can do this by giving them high referral fees and marketing tools for them to use. Above all, you need to make them easy to promote your product or service. Don't make them do all the hard work. It is your job.
The next thing you need to do is to motivate them to spread the word about you. Contact them in a timely manner. Don't forget them after they've joined your program. Make them feel special. In fact, they are special since they are the one who will do the promotion and advertising. A well designed affiliate program can increase your website traffic and sales by unimaginable amount. But again, you need to devote all you effort in this technique if you want to have a successful affiliate program. Don't do it half way. Even if you've to work 18 hours a day to create your own affiliate program, it's really worth it in the future. The payoff is going to be thousand times your initial effort.
All of these techniques are free. You don't have to spend a dime on them. Try it on your site.
Shopping
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
How to Double Your AdSense Income Instantly
PageRank Inspector
As you probably already know, AdSense is revolutionizing the way many infopreneurs are creating revenue from their web site traffic. The reason for this is its simplicity. Through AdSense, revenue is generated when someone simply clicks thru the AdSense ads displayed on the webmasters web site.
In this article I want to give you a few simple ways to dramatically increase your AdSense income.
The bottom line:
To increase AdSense income all you must do is increase the number of click thrus you receive.
There are two ways for you to increase your total number of click thrus. You can either increase your website traffic or you can increase your AdSense click thru rate. Now, getting more traffic would be great, but let's be honest increasing your web site traffic is much easier said than done. So, let's focus on increasing your AdSense click thru rate instead.
4 Tips to Increase Click Thru:
Match your AdSense to your website:
You want your AdSense ads to appear as seamless as possible. Your goal is to match every aspect of your AdSense ads to the theme of your website. What you want to do is remove the borders from your AdSense ads and match the background color of the ad to your website. Additionally, you want to match the color of the AdSense links to the rest of the links on your website plus choose an ad format that makes the ads look seamless.
For example, if your web site has a white background and the default color of your hypertext links is blue you will want to remove the border from your AdSense, make the background white, choose either a square or a rectangle as your ad format instead of a skyscraper or banner, and yep you guessed it? make the links blue.
Placement Matters:
Where you place your AdSense ads is just as important as how they look. Luckily, there are only a few concepts that you need to worry about in order to increase your click through rate.
?The more white space around your ads the better?The closer to the top of the page the better?The closer the left of the page the better
Follow these concepts and I can assure you that you will see an increase in your AdSense click thru rate. (It really is that simply!)
Google Search:
Now this is one that I rarely see webmasters take advantage of. The Google AdSense program gives webmasters the ability to add a Google search box to there web site.
Why should you use this function?
Well, when a website visitor chooses to use this search box from your website your AdSense ID will be imbedded in ALL of that visitors Google searches. If that person does 1 search or 50 your AdSense ID will still be imbedded throughout process.
Why is this so great?
If that visitor clicks on any of the sponsored listings while surfing from your web site guess who makes money. YOU! If they hit the back button and click on another ad guess who makes money? YOU! This is absolutely huge. Through this function you now have the ability to earn multiple click thrus from the same visitor on the site visit. Please don't overlook how powerful this is. Besides, most of your website traffic will just be browsing anyway, so I why help them find what there looking for and make a little coin along the way?
Tracking:
Just like any other type of marketing, you won't know what's working the best for you on your web site unless you track the different things that you're experimenting with. Set up a few Google AdSense channels for the different ads that you'll be placing on your website. Then just see which channels are working the best and stick to those.
That's it!
Follow the tips above and I can assure you that you will absolutely double your AdSense click thru rate and your AdSense income. The best part about the four tips I've shared here is that you can put them into action immediately and see how they will work on your website right now. Who knows? you could be making twice as much by tomorrow by just making a few simple tweaks here and there.
Good Luck!
SEO Tools
As you probably already know, AdSense is revolutionizing the way many infopreneurs are creating revenue from their web site traffic. The reason for this is its simplicity. Through AdSense, revenue is generated when someone simply clicks thru the AdSense ads displayed on the webmasters web site.
In this article I want to give you a few simple ways to dramatically increase your AdSense income.
The bottom line:
To increase AdSense income all you must do is increase the number of click thrus you receive.
There are two ways for you to increase your total number of click thrus. You can either increase your website traffic or you can increase your AdSense click thru rate. Now, getting more traffic would be great, but let's be honest increasing your web site traffic is much easier said than done. So, let's focus on increasing your AdSense click thru rate instead.
4 Tips to Increase Click Thru:
Match your AdSense to your website:
You want your AdSense ads to appear as seamless as possible. Your goal is to match every aspect of your AdSense ads to the theme of your website. What you want to do is remove the borders from your AdSense ads and match the background color of the ad to your website. Additionally, you want to match the color of the AdSense links to the rest of the links on your website plus choose an ad format that makes the ads look seamless.
For example, if your web site has a white background and the default color of your hypertext links is blue you will want to remove the border from your AdSense, make the background white, choose either a square or a rectangle as your ad format instead of a skyscraper or banner, and yep you guessed it? make the links blue.
Placement Matters:
Where you place your AdSense ads is just as important as how they look. Luckily, there are only a few concepts that you need to worry about in order to increase your click through rate.
?The more white space around your ads the better?The closer to the top of the page the better?The closer the left of the page the better
Follow these concepts and I can assure you that you will see an increase in your AdSense click thru rate. (It really is that simply!)
Google Search:
Now this is one that I rarely see webmasters take advantage of. The Google AdSense program gives webmasters the ability to add a Google search box to there web site.
Why should you use this function?
Well, when a website visitor chooses to use this search box from your website your AdSense ID will be imbedded in ALL of that visitors Google searches. If that person does 1 search or 50 your AdSense ID will still be imbedded throughout process.
Why is this so great?
If that visitor clicks on any of the sponsored listings while surfing from your web site guess who makes money. YOU! If they hit the back button and click on another ad guess who makes money? YOU! This is absolutely huge. Through this function you now have the ability to earn multiple click thrus from the same visitor on the site visit. Please don't overlook how powerful this is. Besides, most of your website traffic will just be browsing anyway, so I why help them find what there looking for and make a little coin along the way?
Tracking:
Just like any other type of marketing, you won't know what's working the best for you on your web site unless you track the different things that you're experimenting with. Set up a few Google AdSense channels for the different ads that you'll be placing on your website. Then just see which channels are working the best and stick to those.
That's it!
Follow the tips above and I can assure you that you will absolutely double your AdSense click thru rate and your AdSense income. The best part about the four tips I've shared here is that you can put them into action immediately and see how they will work on your website right now. Who knows? you could be making twice as much by tomorrow by just making a few simple tweaks here and there.
Good Luck!
SEO Tools
Monday, January 14, 2008
Advertising Tips
Chapter 1
1 Tell your audience what kind of support they'll
get after they buy. It could be free consulting, tech
support, free servicing, etc. This may also answer
some of their buying questions ahead of time.
People don't want to buy products without knowing
you will be there to help if they have problems.
2 Ask people at the end of your copy why they
decided not to buy. This will give you new ideas on
how to produce ad copy that’s more profitable.
Have a web form or e-mail link in place so they can
answer you. You may find out they don't like your
guarantee or graphics. It could be anything.
3 Think of ways to get your site or business in the
the news. You could sponsor a fundraiser, break a
world record, hold a major event, etc. Simply
write a press release about what you’ve
accomplished, then send it to media outlets that
cater to your target audience.
4 Hold a contest on your web site. Give other web
sites the option of offering it to their visitors. This'll
multiply your advertising all over the Internet. It
would become a viral contest. Of course the contest
must either be ongoing or held regularly so you could
allow other online publishers to offer it to their visitors
or subscribers.
5 Tell your potential customers that your ordering
system is highly secure. Also reassure them that
you take every effort to protect them. People want
to feel they are safe online. They want to know that
you care about their well-being. Tell them all about
what you currently do for them to make them feel
more secure.
Chapter 2
6 Carry business cards with you wherever you go.
Have your web address printed on them. You can
hand them out to anyone you meet. Just think of all
the people you meet on a regular basis: grocery
clerks, post office workers, bag boys, family
members, friends, salesmen/women, etc.
7 Contact national radio stations to ask them if they
are looking for guest speakers. Tell them your area
of expertise; maybe they'll book you for a show.
Of course you would want to contact targeted
stations and shows which would want to know more
about you and your area of expertise.
8 Join clubs related to your area of business. You
could trade leads with other businesses. Learn new
ways to run your business and sell your products.
You could also create your own online business club.
You could provide private chat rooms, message
boards, articles, etc.
9 Think of a domain name for your web site that's
easy to remember. It should be related to what your
business does, sells or provides. If there aren’t any
business names available, use your actual birth name.
You could at least brand yourself. Your own name
will give you credibility.
10 Position your web site at the top of pay-per-click
search engines. You will only pay your set amount
for each click-through you get to your web site. Just
make sure your profits will pay for your advertising
cost. If they won't, maybe you could share a web
site with another related business and split the costs.
Chapter 3
11 Allow your visitors or customers to increase your
traffic or sales. Ask them how you can improve your
business, web site or product. You can ask them at
your web site, in your e-zine, on your message
board, in your chat room, in your guest book, in your
product packages, etc.
12 Team up with other e-zines that have the same
target audience. Combine subscriber bases and then
publish one e-zine together to increase subscribers.
You could all include your ads and announcements
in the e-zine. You could also take turns for the top
advertising space.
13 Swap endorsement advertisements with other
web sites. Endorsement ads usually pull more sales
and traffic than regular advertisements. People have
taught themselves to ignore advertisements because
they see hundreds of them every day. Endorsements
usually don't look or sound like normal ads.
14 Outsource part of your workload to save time
and money. You can spend more of your time and
money promoting your business. You'll save money
on employee costs, space costs, training costs, etc.
Keep the work you enjoy doing to keep you
motivated and ship out the work you don't like.
15 Include a signature file on all the e-mails you send
out. Provide your business name, phone number,
e-mail and web address, etc. Also include a brief
blurb for your business or the product you're selling.
For example, you could say, "How To Wash Your
Car In Two Minutes or Less!"
Chapter 4
16 Use pictures or graphics on your web site that
support the product you're selling. They could give
your visitors a clearer vision of your product, the
benefits of the product, people's emotion when they
own the product, etc. You could also use ‘before’
and ‘after’ pictures.
17 Create a friendly, long-term relationship with all
your customers. Practice good customer service
and follow-up with them on a regular basis. You
could follow-up with gifts, greeting cards, free things,
coupons, special offers, reminders, your e-zine,
helpful advice, etc.
18 Create strategic alliances with other web sites.
You could exchange banner ads, sell each other's
products as back-end products, cross-promote, etc.
You could also create a web site together and
promote it on your separate web sites. You would
both just split the costs and profits.
19 Increase the perceived value of your product to
skyrocket your sales. Add on free bonuses, aftersale
services or an affiliate program. Other factors
that would help are: your own domain name, a
professional web design, a good-looking product
graphic and persuasive ad copy.
20 Give customers a discount on their total order
to increase sales. You could give them a discount
for ordering over a set dollar or product amount.
For example, you could say, "Buy over $39 worth
of products and get a 20% discount on your order!"
Another example, "Get a 15% discount if you order
3 or more products!"
Chapter 5
21 Allow your visitors to reprint the content on your
web site. Just ask them to include your resource box
and a link to your site in exchange. This will turn
your content into a traffic machine and the external
links will help increase your ranking in some search
engines.
22 Provide a free contest or sweepstake at your
web site. It's a fact, people like to win things. If you
can fulfill that need, people will visit. You can also
attract them to revisit by holding one every week or
month. You could also start an opt-in list for people
who enter your contest or sweepstake so you can
follow-up with them regularly.
23 Save time and money by using ad submitters.
You will reach a larger part of your target audience
far more quickly than by manually submitting your
ad. You should manually submit your ad to the most
popular web sites so you have a better chance of
being listed or placed in a good position.
24 Create a good first impression. You will not be
able to sell very many products if your visitors think
your web site looks unprofessional. Use crisp
graphics, attractive color combinations, a readable
text size, even spacing, even margins, bold headlines,
indent benefits, etc.
25 Stop procrastinating and start finishing all your
business tasks. Do one at a time. Don’t get caught
up thinking that you can never get them all done.
Make a list. Do the easiest or most crucial one first
and move down the list. Cross off each task as you
complete it.
Chapter 6
26 Develop a relationship with all your visitors and
customers. Tell them how much you appreciate
them visiting your web site or buying your product.
Invite them to online and offline events like free chat
room classes, parties, dinner gatherings, business
events, etc.
27 Hire a business coach to help improve you and
your business. That could help increase your sales,
motivate you, balance your workload, etc. It would
be like renting an extra brain. You would have
double the thinking power.
28 Stay away from being too comfortable with your
income or life. You should always be making new
goals for yourself and developing new sales ideas.
The world keeps changing and if you pause too long,
you might miss out. You only live once.
29 Make sure you don’t become a workaholic.
Your mind needs time away from your business life.
This will help your brain think clearly while working.
The best time to get profitable ideas is when you’re
not thinking about them. They just pop into your
brain
30 Create and follow short/long-term goals for your
business. The short-term goals can create early
success and the long-term goals can create future
success. Design each goal so they all add up to your
ultimate goal. Don't make your goals too unrealistic
otherwise depression and frustration could move you
farther away from them.
1 Tell your audience what kind of support they'll
get after they buy. It could be free consulting, tech
support, free servicing, etc. This may also answer
some of their buying questions ahead of time.
People don't want to buy products without knowing
you will be there to help if they have problems.
2 Ask people at the end of your copy why they
decided not to buy. This will give you new ideas on
how to produce ad copy that’s more profitable.
Have a web form or e-mail link in place so they can
answer you. You may find out they don't like your
guarantee or graphics. It could be anything.
3 Think of ways to get your site or business in the
the news. You could sponsor a fundraiser, break a
world record, hold a major event, etc. Simply
write a press release about what you’ve
accomplished, then send it to media outlets that
cater to your target audience.
4 Hold a contest on your web site. Give other web
sites the option of offering it to their visitors. This'll
multiply your advertising all over the Internet. It
would become a viral contest. Of course the contest
must either be ongoing or held regularly so you could
allow other online publishers to offer it to their visitors
or subscribers.
5 Tell your potential customers that your ordering
system is highly secure. Also reassure them that
you take every effort to protect them. People want
to feel they are safe online. They want to know that
you care about their well-being. Tell them all about
what you currently do for them to make them feel
more secure.
Chapter 2
6 Carry business cards with you wherever you go.
Have your web address printed on them. You can
hand them out to anyone you meet. Just think of all
the people you meet on a regular basis: grocery
clerks, post office workers, bag boys, family
members, friends, salesmen/women, etc.
7 Contact national radio stations to ask them if they
are looking for guest speakers. Tell them your area
of expertise; maybe they'll book you for a show.
Of course you would want to contact targeted
stations and shows which would want to know more
about you and your area of expertise.
8 Join clubs related to your area of business. You
could trade leads with other businesses. Learn new
ways to run your business and sell your products.
You could also create your own online business club.
You could provide private chat rooms, message
boards, articles, etc.
9 Think of a domain name for your web site that's
easy to remember. It should be related to what your
business does, sells or provides. If there aren’t any
business names available, use your actual birth name.
You could at least brand yourself. Your own name
will give you credibility.
10 Position your web site at the top of pay-per-click
search engines. You will only pay your set amount
for each click-through you get to your web site. Just
make sure your profits will pay for your advertising
cost. If they won't, maybe you could share a web
site with another related business and split the costs.
Chapter 3
11 Allow your visitors or customers to increase your
traffic or sales. Ask them how you can improve your
business, web site or product. You can ask them at
your web site, in your e-zine, on your message
board, in your chat room, in your guest book, in your
product packages, etc.
12 Team up with other e-zines that have the same
target audience. Combine subscriber bases and then
publish one e-zine together to increase subscribers.
You could all include your ads and announcements
in the e-zine. You could also take turns for the top
advertising space.
13 Swap endorsement advertisements with other
web sites. Endorsement ads usually pull more sales
and traffic than regular advertisements. People have
taught themselves to ignore advertisements because
they see hundreds of them every day. Endorsements
usually don't look or sound like normal ads.
14 Outsource part of your workload to save time
and money. You can spend more of your time and
money promoting your business. You'll save money
on employee costs, space costs, training costs, etc.
Keep the work you enjoy doing to keep you
motivated and ship out the work you don't like.
15 Include a signature file on all the e-mails you send
out. Provide your business name, phone number,
e-mail and web address, etc. Also include a brief
blurb for your business or the product you're selling.
For example, you could say, "How To Wash Your
Car In Two Minutes or Less!"
Chapter 4
16 Use pictures or graphics on your web site that
support the product you're selling. They could give
your visitors a clearer vision of your product, the
benefits of the product, people's emotion when they
own the product, etc. You could also use ‘before’
and ‘after’ pictures.
17 Create a friendly, long-term relationship with all
your customers. Practice good customer service
and follow-up with them on a regular basis. You
could follow-up with gifts, greeting cards, free things,
coupons, special offers, reminders, your e-zine,
helpful advice, etc.
18 Create strategic alliances with other web sites.
You could exchange banner ads, sell each other's
products as back-end products, cross-promote, etc.
You could also create a web site together and
promote it on your separate web sites. You would
both just split the costs and profits.
19 Increase the perceived value of your product to
skyrocket your sales. Add on free bonuses, aftersale
services or an affiliate program. Other factors
that would help are: your own domain name, a
professional web design, a good-looking product
graphic and persuasive ad copy.
20 Give customers a discount on their total order
to increase sales. You could give them a discount
for ordering over a set dollar or product amount.
For example, you could say, "Buy over $39 worth
of products and get a 20% discount on your order!"
Another example, "Get a 15% discount if you order
3 or more products!"
Chapter 5
21 Allow your visitors to reprint the content on your
web site. Just ask them to include your resource box
and a link to your site in exchange. This will turn
your content into a traffic machine and the external
links will help increase your ranking in some search
engines.
22 Provide a free contest or sweepstake at your
web site. It's a fact, people like to win things. If you
can fulfill that need, people will visit. You can also
attract them to revisit by holding one every week or
month. You could also start an opt-in list for people
who enter your contest or sweepstake so you can
follow-up with them regularly.
23 Save time and money by using ad submitters.
You will reach a larger part of your target audience
far more quickly than by manually submitting your
ad. You should manually submit your ad to the most
popular web sites so you have a better chance of
being listed or placed in a good position.
24 Create a good first impression. You will not be
able to sell very many products if your visitors think
your web site looks unprofessional. Use crisp
graphics, attractive color combinations, a readable
text size, even spacing, even margins, bold headlines,
indent benefits, etc.
25 Stop procrastinating and start finishing all your
business tasks. Do one at a time. Don’t get caught
up thinking that you can never get them all done.
Make a list. Do the easiest or most crucial one first
and move down the list. Cross off each task as you
complete it.
Chapter 6
26 Develop a relationship with all your visitors and
customers. Tell them how much you appreciate
them visiting your web site or buying your product.
Invite them to online and offline events like free chat
room classes, parties, dinner gatherings, business
events, etc.
27 Hire a business coach to help improve you and
your business. That could help increase your sales,
motivate you, balance your workload, etc. It would
be like renting an extra brain. You would have
double the thinking power.
28 Stay away from being too comfortable with your
income or life. You should always be making new
goals for yourself and developing new sales ideas.
The world keeps changing and if you pause too long,
you might miss out. You only live once.
29 Make sure you don’t become a workaholic.
Your mind needs time away from your business life.
This will help your brain think clearly while working.
The best time to get profitable ideas is when you’re
not thinking about them. They just pop into your
brain
30 Create and follow short/long-term goals for your
business. The short-term goals can create early
success and the long-term goals can create future
success. Design each goal so they all add up to your
ultimate goal. Don't make your goals too unrealistic
otherwise depression and frustration could move you
farther away from them.
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