7 Şubat 2008 Perşembe

Made for Adsense (MFA) WebSites



Introduction

Made for Adsense (MFA) relates to web templates (or even complete web sites) that were built solely with Adsense in mind. The internet has become riddled with both MFA templates to supposedly to help you make easy money, and professional MFA designers who plague the Adwords network for their own financial gain.


How does it work

MFA comes in three forms:

MFA Optimized Templates

The majority of people using MFA simply download a free MFA template with one thing in mind - selecting keywords to display high paying ads. The idea is to work closely with Adwords to attract people to the MFA site whilst paying low keyword costs. Then, in the other hand you take large pay per click costs back simply because the ads on the landing page are all high value. Thankfully, this technique no longer works due to Smart Pricing. See the Smart Pricing section for more details.

MFA Sites

The other form of MFA is MFA sites. These sites were created by publishers simply because of Adsense and offer no interesting or relevant content. This really is the darker side of MFA and a really annoying one for most Adsense publishers.

Note: If you ever see someone offering a MFA site that can help you earn 1000's of $'s a month, avoid it!! They're all con artists and while you think you are earning you are really being ripped off. These people usually use you to set up an Adsense account because their own has probably been banned and they can't set up another one.

MFA Web Designers

To say that all MFA is bad is a lie, some really good web templates are highly optimized for Adsense but were designed with good content in mind. These templates are from professional designers who are using MFA as a keyword to attract more people to their web design skills. In these cases, it's a great choice for beginners who may not have the time to design images and web layouts and want to focus more in experimenting with Adsense.


The dark side of Adsense

A nasty trend has developed with the rise of Adsense where some Adsense publishers just spend their time creating MFA sites with no content and just ads. These publishers have plagued the Adwords network with cheap paying keywords so they can increase they're own Adsense earnings. A large number of honest Adsense publishers have become increasing annoyed and have started a fight back. One of the best tools against these sites is the Competitive Ad Filter which can be used together with a MFA backlist of all URL's paying low cost per click values..


Smart Pricing

Smart pricing is Googles answer to arbitrage. Publishers using Adwords (or similar) to attract people to high paying landing sites have one key giveaway - CTR. If you remember CTR is short for click-through-rate. Basically how many clicks per page impression. If your site has a high CTR than you will be subject to Smart Pricing soon enough. Smart pricing ensures that the price per click that you receive is greatly reduced compared to the average price people bid for. We have heard stories where Smart Pricing has reduced the cost per click down to around 10% of the maximum cost per click! This is an amazing drop.

Essentially, the keyword cost (using adwords) becomes higher than the average cost per click on the landing page. As you can imagine this change leads to a lose in profits not a gain. See our diagram below:






Tips and Tricks

Use the Competitive Ad Filter to block out low paying advertisers such as Made for Adsense (MFA) sites

Use the Adsense Preview tool to regularly visit URL's that are appearing on your pages. You might just pick up on one or two MFA sites that are draining your earnings by advertising junk

Do not use MFA templates unless you intend to create content rich sites and offer something to people other than just ads

Report MFA sites to forums and help the fight to block out MFA altogether
Read More About MFA



Made for AdSense


Some scraper sites are created for monetizing the site using advertising programs such as Google AdSense. In such case, they are called Made for AdSense sites or MFA. This is also a derogatory term used to refer to websites that have no redeeming value except to get web visitors to the website for the sole purpose of clicking on advertisements.

Made for AdSense sites are considered sites that are spamming search engines and diluting the search results by providing surfers with less-than-satisfactory search results. The scraped content is considered redundant to that which would be shown by the search engine under normal circumstances had no MFA website been found in the listings.

These types of websites are being eliminated in various search engines and sometimes show up as supplemental results instead of being displayed in the initial search results.

Google offers a domain parking service tailored for this kind of site. These supposed parked domains often run Google Adwords to attract more visitors to their site in the hopes that they will click on Adsense ads and generate a greater return than the original cost of the Adwords click. For many this has been a successful business plan, and one that Google has failed to combat.

Tips and Tricks

How quickly does the Adsense reporting refresh? Well it certainly isn't real time, but most figures are usually updated every 30 minutes. If you are an Adsense addict and constantly watch your adsense earnings then you can download various free tools to see real time figures. These tools utilize the Google SDK.

Invalid clicks? Sometimes you may come across a strange number of clicks compared to Page Impressions. For example you might have 7 clicks but only 2 impressions. Rest assured this is handled quite well by Google these days and you will only be credited for the actual number of genuine clicks. We recommend that if you see large numbers of clicks, then you should report them to Google immediately.

Improving CTR. The CTR value is the real key to determining performance of you ads. If you are able to increase your average CTR you will ultimately increase your revenue. See our optimization section for details on this.

Remember that some advertisers opt to pay per 1000 impressions instead of per click. These will not show up as click values but just in the earnings column. Read More about Adsense Reports

23 Ocak 2008 Çarşamba

keywords are extremely important

Most techniques to improve your search engine rankings have one thing in common keywords. Choosing appropriate keywords is extremely important. Think about it: Keywords are what lead search engine users to your site.

How to choose your keywords
Choosing the right keywords is the first step to better search engine positioning. Analyze your business carefully and think of all the words that relate to your company or product.

Let's say you sell puppy food. What words would you search for when looking for the same product? Ask your colleagues and friends to think about the same question. This is perhaps the most important stage in your war for a spot in search engines' top 20.

As you think about keywords, consider the following:

1. Who needs your service?
Think about who will use your services, then target them with keywords. For example, people whose dogs are about to have puppies will need puppy food, so you can add phrases like "dog pregnancy" and "puppy health" to your list.

2. Include variations of your keywords
People will search for your site using all sorts of keywords. Making your site easy to find means including misspelled, capitalized and plural keywords. Always include the longer forms of keywords too. For example, use "domestication" as well as "domestic."

3. Avoid wrong keywords
Do not use "stop words" -- particles like "and" and "the" and common words like "Internet." Remember, the more specific your keywords are, the better the chance that people who find your site through search engines will actually benefit from its content.

What are the best places for keywords?
Click on any of the links below to read more about effective keyword placement in:

HTML Title
Text of the page
Meta description
Meta keywords
ALT tags
Comment tags
URL name

Alphabetical priority and its influence
Whether a file name starts with A or Z can have a surprising effect on a site's search engine rankings. Some small search engines still use alphabetical priority as a ranking factor. Directories such as Yahoo! and Open Directory Project list sites in alphabetical order. It's important to consider the effect of the alphabetical hierarchy as you choose keywords. To learn how alphabetical priority is assessed, click here.

Avoid spam
Be careful choosing keywords. If all your keywords don't relate to your site's content you risk being penalized for spam. Don't include "MP3" and "Pokemon" in your keyword list if you sell puppy food. Sure, it will drive up traffic temporarily, but it can also get your site rejected from important search engines.

An Overview

Keywords

* Choose appropriate keywords -- it's critical
* Include variations of keywords, such as misspelled versions
* Avoid stop words
* Place keywords throughout your site

You know that keywords should go be in your HTML title and meta tags, but did you know that you also need to place them in heading tags?


better search engine positioning > The Primary Starting Point
The vast majority of Internet users find new web sites by using a search engine.

A position within the top 20 listings of a major search engine tremendously increases traffic to a web site.

Portal Power
In recent years many search sites have capitalized on the portal trend, positioning themselves as starting points for all of a user's online explorations. The main page at Netscape.com, for example, features customizable options such as stock quotes, horoscopes, news, shopping and more. This trend has leveled off a bit with the emergence of vortals and specific destination sites. However, major portals will remain a popular gateway for many web surfers.

Because the top 8 most-visited search sites combine portal features with a search engine or directory, a good listing on one of these sites provides terrific exposure.

It's low-cost!
Online advertising, such as banner campaigns, can be quite expensive. Search engine placement, on the other hand, can be a low-cost process. Although some search engines have "pay-per-click" programs, paid submissions and many companies optimize sites for paying clients, there's no reason why you can't significantly increase your site's traffic by simply understanding and applying optimization strategy. Any webmaster can learn more about search engine optimization tips and submission procedures.

High search engine rankings can be more effective publicity tools than paid ads. A top position on a major search engine such as AltaVista can increase traffic far more than an expensive banner ad. Plus, the traffic you get will be more targeted -- it will consist of people who set out to find exactly what your site has to offer.

SearchEngines.com can help
SearchEngines.com is your complete search engine resource center. Here you can learn how to better position your site and search the web more effectively. Our content includes a complete guide to search engine optimization, web site submission and web site promotion.

Different engines, different rankings

Every search engine uses its own unique formula, called an algorithm, to index and score web sites. Search engines' algorithms weigh various factors, such as a page's design and links, to rank pages in their search results. By constantly refining and improving their algorithms, search engines hope to give their visitors the most relevant results.

Many search engines form partnerships and buy technologies to improve their algorithms. They combine many factors and place different weight on each one.

Webmasters who want their sites to achieve a Top 20 position spend a lot of time studying different algorithms. Even when several search engines rely on similar factors in composing their rankings, they may still rank the same site differently. For example, imagine two search engines both use meta tags and keyword frequency as their only ranking factors. If the first one weights meta tags as 70% of a site's value and keyword frequency as 30%, and the second one does the opposite, their results will be completely different.

Understanding ranking factors
Before you can understand how each search engine scores web sites, you need to understand the various factors they consider. These factors can be divided into two categories: page-related and outside.

Page-related factors are concerned with keywords and their placement in the HTML. These factors include:

* Format, placement and content of the title tag
* Keyword frequency, weight, prominence and proximity
* Use of the meta description tag
* Use of ALT tags
* Use of comment tags
* Use of keywords in URL names
* Alphabetical placement

Outside factors are not related to the content of your HTML. They include:

* Link popularity
* Click popularity
* Themes
* Overall site design

Achieve results
You can improve most of the above factors to achieve higher rankings. Pay attention to what your competition is doing. Analyze their high-scoring pages and use their techniques.

10 Ocak 2008 Perşembe

Keyword Research

The Keyword Research Tool will help you research appropriate words and phrases to include in your webpage's body text to aid in promotion. Simply enter the sort of word of phrase you wish to be found under, and the tool will suggest some additional words and phrases you can think about using. How One Simple Yet Incredibly Powerful Software Is Transforming The Lives of Regular People From All Over The World...Instantly Elevating Their Income and Boosting Their Qualified Traffic Google Keyword Research Tool
5 Important Facts About Pay Per Click Advertising You Must Know To Survive Online.
..

Fact #1 - Pay per click advertising is one of the most powerful ways to reach your target audience (people who are looking for something to buy) because it can put your marketing message in front of over 1 billion users online in only a matter of minutes!

Fact #2 - Advertising through pay per click generates a higher than average response and sales.

Fact #3 - The key to success with pay per click advertising is to build MASSIVE, quality keyword lists and unleash them on to the search engines and on to your target market.

Fact #4 - Pay per click advertising allows "anyone" to make an income from home, privately, and watch it grow into CEO level income! (Yes, if you have a job right now, you can bet your lunch money that if you follow what I say, you can make more money than the overpaid CEO of your company!)

Fact #5 - Keywords are the building blocks of the internet. Without them, you couldn't find a darn thing...but with them you can dominate the search engines and suck in traffic and income like clockwork.

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How Effective Is Your Keyword Research?


By Shari Thurow, The ClickZ Network, Aug 30, 2004
Columns | Contact Shari
Sponsored by Kellysearch


Many search engine marketers and ad agencies offer keyword research services. Keyword research and analysis aren't as simple as using the tools available at Overture and Google. Web site owners must go beyond these tools and look at the big picture.

Keyword analysis can be performed on three levels:

* Keyword research tools

* Web analytics software

* Site search engines

Data-mining all three levels provides site owners with the full perspective of how target audiences find the information on their Web sites.

Keyword Research Tools

Many of you probably already use the keyword research tools available at Overture, Google, and Wordtracker. By all means, keep using these tools. They provide great data for keyword research.

For long-term keyword analyses, I gather monthly data from Google, Overture, and Wordtracker. Additionally, I review related search results on Yahoo, Business.com, and Teoma. By researching all these resources, instead of just one, I can determine which specific keyword phrases are the most popular on all these Web search engines and look for a common denominator. I can also see subtle differences among the engines. Some searches are more popular on one engine than another.

For many sites, creating a keyword phrase calendar is a good strategy. The construction industry tends to be more active in warmer months than colder ones. The cold and flu season is coming up in the U.S., which has implications for pharmaceutical and health-related Web sites.

By creating a calendar based on keyword research over years, site owners know what pages to create for timely "natural" search engine optimization (SEO) campaigns and what ads to create for pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns.

Web Analytics Software

I always use Web analytics software (WebTrends, HitBox, ClickTracks, Omniture, etc.) to review keyword phrases. For example, if a natural SEO campaign is successful, the Web analytics software will reflect that success in the following areas:

* Top referring sites

* Top referring URLs

* Top search engines

* Top search phrases

* Top search keywords

* Top entry pages

Additionally, Web analytics software can show if site visitors access the most appropriate pages or sections on the site.

Web analytics software can also reveal untapped keyword phrases. On our own site, we found one of the most frequently visited pages is an article containing graphic design tips. Knowing our target audience seeks knowledge about that topic, we can create an article series on the topic that will provide additional entry points to our site for optimization campaigns and provide additional opportunities for link development campaigns.

Site Search Engines

If you have a site search engine, helpful information to review includes:

* Number of words entered in the search query

* Average number of words entered in the search query

* Average number of characters entered in the search query

* Search terms that yield results but no clicks

* Search terms that yield no results

One item I like to measure is search box length. Sometimes, search boxes aren't long enough. When visitors enter several keywords in the box, they can't see all the words they typed. On the flip side, some search boxes are too long. I try to determine, through focus groups and usability tests, the optimum length of the search box based on the average number of keywords and characters entered in search queries.

Need a starting point? Begin with the length of Google's and Yahoo's search boxes.

Another overlooked item in site search is those search terms that yield results but no clicks. In many of the search engines our firm creates, we use meta-tag descriptions and title-tag content for the search results. If we find a specific keyword phrase consistently yields the appropriate URLs in the search results, then we know the calls to action in the title tag, meta-tag description, or both might not be effective. We'll then rewrite that specific content and measure the resulting CTRs.

What I find interesting is if we optimize pages for better site search engine conversions, Web search engine visibility increases, too.

Analyzing Keyword Research Data

By gathering and analyzing keyword data, Web site owners gain valuable insight to user behavior and ways to create a more user-friendly site that converts visitors into buyers.

Say a site owner discovers visitors are searching for a specific keyword phrase on Google, then arriving at a specific page on his site. He then discovers same keyword phrase is a heavily searched term on his site search engine. This data indicate visitors might not be arriving at the most appropriate landing page. Increasing optimization for other site pages may be necessary.

Compare site searches that yield no results with Web search engine data. If the Web search engines indicate a keyword phrase is popular, and the site search engine shows visitors have a genuine interest in a keyword phrase, you can create new information around a topic.

Conclusion

The goal of keyword research is to:

* Discover new keyword opportunities.

* Fix missed keyword opportunities.

* Generate a calendar of keyword phrases; some keywords are more popular at different times of the year.

* Increase the number of clicks from landing pages to the site.

* Increase the relevance of landing pages from natural SEO, PPC advertising campaigns, press releases, or offline marketing efforts.

Remember, keyword research and analysis is an ongoing process.

Want more search information? ClickZ SEM Archives contain all our search columns, organized by topic. >>resource
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Five Steps to Effective Keyword Research
By Lisa Barone - February 23, 2007


There's no getting around it. Keyword research is a vitally important aspect of your search engine optimization campaign. If your site is targeting the wrong keywords, the search engines and your customers may never find you, resulting in lost dollars and meaningless rankings. By targeting the wrong keywords, you not only put valuable advertising dollars at risk, you are also throwing away all the time and energy you put into getting your site to rank for those terms to begin with. If you want to stay competitive, you can't afford to do that.

The keyword research process can be broken down into the following phases:

Phase 0 - Demolishing Misconceptions
Phase 1 – Creating the list and checking it twice
Phase 2 – Befriending the keyword research tool
Phase 3 – Finalizing your list
Phase 4 – Plan your Attack
Phase 5 - Rinse, Wash Repeat

Phase 0 - Demolishing Misconceptions

Over the years, we've had the opportunity to work with a wide array of wonderful clients. And as different and diverse as their sites and the individuals running them may have been, many had one thing in common: they were self-proclaimed keyword research mavens right out of the gate.

Or so they thought.

One of the most common misconceptions about conducting keyword research for a search engine optimization campaign is the belief that you already know which terms a customer would use to find your site. You don't. Not without first doing some research anyway. You may know what your site is about and how you, the site owner, would find it, but it's difficult to predict how a paying customer would go about looking for it.

This is due to site owners evaluating their site through too narrow of a lens, causing them to come up with words that read like industry jargon, not viable keywords. Remember, your customer probably doesn't work in the same industry that you do. If they did, they wouldn't need you. When describing your site or product, break away from industry speak. Your customers aren't searching that way and if you center your site on these terms, they'll never find you.

Another misconception is that generic or "big dollar" terms are the most important for rankings, even if the term you're going after has nothing to do with your site. Imagine a women's clothing store trying to rank for the term "google". Sure, thousands of searchers probably type that word into their search bar daily, but they're not doing it looking for you. They're looking for Google. Being ranked number one for a term no one would associate with your site is a waste of time and money (and it may get you in trouble!). Your site may see a lot of traffic, but customers won't stick around.

Phase 1 – Creating the list and checking it twice

The initial idea of keyword research can be daunting. Trying to come up with the perfect combination of words to drive customers to your site, rev up your conversion rate and allow the engines to see you as an expert would easily give anyone a tension headache.

The trick is to start slowly.

The first step in this process is to create a list of potential keywords. Brainstorm all the words you think a customer would type into their search box when trying to find you. This includes thinking of phrases that are broad and targeted, buying and research-oriented, and single and multi-word. What is your site hoping to do or promote? Come up with enough words to cover all the services your site offers. Avoid overly generic terms like 'shoes' or 'clothes'. These words are incredibly difficult to rank for and won't drive qualified traffic to your site. Focus on words that are relevant, but not overly used.

If you need help brainstorming ideas, ask friends, colleagues or past customers for help. Sometimes they are able to see your site differently than the way you yourself see it. Also, don't be afraid to take a peek at your competitor's Meta Keyword tag. What words are they targeting? How can you expand on their keyword list to make yours better? It's okay to get a little sneaky here. All's fair in love and search engine rankings.

Phase 2 – Befriend the keyword research tool

Now that you have your list, your next step is to determine the activity for each of your proposed keywords. You want to narrow your list to only include highly attainable, sought-after phrases that will bring the most qualified traffic to your site.

In the early days of SEO, measuring the "popularity" of your search terms was done by performing a search for that phrase in one of the various engines and seeing how many results it turned up. As you can imagine, this was a tedious and ineffective method of keyword research. Luckily, times have changes and we now have tools to do the hard part for us.

By inputting your proposed keywords into a keyword research tool, you can quickly learn how many users are conducting searches for that term every day, how many of those searches actually converted, and other important analytical information. It may also tune you in to words you had previously forgotten or synonyms you weren't aware of.

There are lots of great tools out there to help you determine how much activity your keywords are receiving. Here's a few of our personal favorites:

Overture Keyword Selector Tool: Overture's Keyword Selector tools shows you how many searches have been conducted over the last month for a particular phrase and lists alternative search terms you may have forgotten about. Our only complaint with Overture is that they lump singular and plural word forms into one phrase. For example, "boots" and "boot" would appear under one category of "boot". This can sometimes cause problems.

Wordtracker: Wordtracker is a paid-use tool that lets you look up popular keyword phrases to determine their activity and popularity among competitors. Their top 1000 report lists the most frequently searched for terms, while their Competition Search option provides valuable information to determine the competitiveness of each phrase. This is very useful for figuring out how difficult it will be to rank for a given term. It may also highlight hidden gems that have low competition-rates, but high relevancy.

Trellian Keyword Discovery tool: This is a fee-based tool where users can ascertain the market share value for a given search term, see how many users search for it daily, identify common spellings and misspellings, and discover which terms are impacted by seasonal trends (mostly useful for PPC).

Google AdWords Keyword Tool: Google's keyword PPC tool doesn't provide actual search numbers for keywords. Instead, it displays a colored bar, giving users only an approximation. Still, it may be useful.

Google Suggest: Google Suggest is a great way to find synonyms and related word suggestions that may help you expand your original list.

Thesaurus.com: Again, another way to locate synonyms you may have forgotten.

If those don't tickle your fancy, we'd also suggest Bruce Clay's Check Traffic tool, which estimates the number of queries per day for that search term across the major search engines.

Keep in mind that you're not only checking to see if enough people are searching for a particular word, you're also trying to determine how competitive that phrase is in terms of rankings.

Understanding the competition tells you how much effort you will need to invest in order to rank well for that term. There are two things to pay attention to when making this decision: how many other sites are competing for the same word and how strong are those sites' rankings (i.e. how many other sites link to them, how many pages do they have indexed)? Basically, is that word or phrase even worth your time? If it's not, move on.

While you're testing your new terms, you may want to do a little housekeeping and test the activity for keywords your site is already targeting. Keep the ones that are converting and drop the losers.

Phase 3 – Finalizing your list

Now that you have your initial list of words and have tested their activity, it's time to narrow down the field and decide which terms will make it into your coveted final keyword list.

We recommend creating a spreadsheet or some other visual that will allow you to easily see each word's conversion rate, search volume and competition rate (as given to you by the tools mentioned above). These three figures will allow you to calculate how viable that term is for your site and will be a great aid as you try and narrow down your focus.

The first step in narrowing down your list is to go through and highlight the terms that most closely target the subject and theme of your web site. These are the terms you want to hold on to. Kill all words that are not relevant to your site or that you don't have sufficient content to support (unless you're willing to write some). You can't optimize for words that you don't have content for.

Create a mix of both broad and targeted keywords. You'll need both to rank well. Broad terms are important because they describe what your web site does; however, they won't increase the level of qualified traffic coming into your site.

For example, say you are a company that specializes in cowboy boots. It may be natural for your site to focus on the broad search terms "boots" and "cowboy boots". These words are important because they tell the search engines what you do and may increase your visitors, but the traffic you receive will be largely unqualified. Customers will arrive on your site still unsure of what kind of boots you sell. Do you offer traditional cowboy boots, stiletto cowboy boots, toddler cowboy boots, suede cowboy boots or women's cowboy boots? By only targeting broad terms, customers won't know what you offer until they land on your site.

Targeted terms are often easier to rank for and help bring qualified traffic. They also make you a subject matter expert to the search engines, since the targeted terms strengthen the theme created with the broader phrases. Sticking with our example, targeted terms for your cowboy boots site may be "men's cowboy boots", "blue suede cowboy boots", "extra-wide women's cowboy boots", etc. Broad search terms may bring you the higher levels of traffic, but it's targeted, buying-oriented terms like these that will maximize conversions.

Phase 4 – Plan your attack

So you made your list of about 10-20 highly focused keywords, now what do you do with them? You prepare them for launch!

Chances are, if you did your keyword research right, at least some of the words on your list already appear in your site content, but some of them may not. Start thinking about how many pages you'll need to create to support these new words, and how and where your keyword phrases will be used.

We typically recommend only going after three or four related keywords per page (five if you can balance them properly). Any more than that and you run the risk of diluting your page to the point where you rank for nothing. Make sure to naturally work the keywords into your content and avoid over-repetition that may be interpreted as spamming. Your content should never sound forced.

Your on-page content isn't the only place where you can insert keywords. Keywords should also be used in several other elements on your site:

* Title Tag
* Meta Description Tags
* Meta Keywords Tag
* Headings
* Alt text
* Anchor Text/ Navigational Links

You've spent a lot of time molding your keywords; make sure you use them in all the appropriate fields to get the maximum benefit.

Phase 5 - Rinse, Wash, Repeat.

Congratulations. Your initial keyword research process is behind you. You've created your list, checked it twice, made friends with the keyword research tools and are now off to go plan your attack. You're done, right?

Unfortunately, no. As your customer's and your site's needs change over time, so will your keywords. It's important to keep monitoring your keywords and make tweaks as necessary. Doing so will allow you to stay ahead of your competition and keep moving forward.

Good luck! >>Five Steps to Effective Keyword Research

24 Aralık 2007 Pazartesi

Google's AdSense and TopPayingKeywords

The TopPayingKeywords database presents the keyword prices of the 375,000+ keywords that have search engine bid prices of $1 or more. By identifying the highest paying keywords on the Internet, the database allows website owners to dramatically improve earnings in the Google AdSense™ program.
Google's AdSense a bonanza for some Web sites

By Jefferson Graham, USA TODAY
LOS ANGELES — Canadian software developer and part-time humorist Eric Giguère made fun of the avalanche of Internet arthritis drug offers on his Web site last year. For his efforts, he received a $350 check from Internet search giant Google.

Giguère has one of those ubiquitous "Ads by Google" links on his site, offering ads the search giant considers of interest to readers. You might think that people rarely click on them, but they do — and often.

"For my own, personal humor writing, I got paid," Giguère says. "It certainly opened my eyes to the possibilities that were out there."
How AdSense works
Advertisers pay Google and Yahoo to have their ads appear next to search results. Google's AdSense program gives advertisers additional reach, by putting their ads onto an estimated 200,000 additional Web sites.

The twist is that Google pays each Web publisher a commission, in exchange for running the ads. It's found money for many publishers, who say they make anywhere from $50 to $200 a month and beyond.

Advertisers buy search keywords.
A purchase of "cell phone" for instance, produces ads next to search results on Google's main page. The same purchase also produces AdSense ads for cell phones on many other sites, including Chris Pirillo's Lockergnome gadget and gizmo blog, when cell phones are mentioned.

Google has a simple proposition for anyone who owns a Web site: Let it put up links to its ads, and Google's AdSense program will give you a piece of the action when someone clicks on them.

It's found money for many bloggers, small e-tailers and huge businesses — from small personal sites such as Giguère's, to those of big-time corporations such as Amazon.com, the New York Times and About.com.

Giguère was so inspired, he wrote a book, Make Easy Money with Google, coming in May from Peachpit Press. Hundreds of online forums and Web sites are devoted to AdSense tips and tricks. The downside of the AdSense economy, critics charge, is that the avalanche of ads has created a new form of spam and is destroying the integrity of sites.

"This is a program that rewards people not for creating the best content, but for how to create sites to attract more advertising," says Danny Sullivan, editor of Search Engine Watch online newsletter. "AdSense has nothing to do with search. It effectively turns the Internet into a billboard for Google's ads."

Google, whose executives often say their mission is to organize the world's information, naturally begs to differ. "If I do a search for the New York Times and see an ad offering a subscription discount, that's useful to me," says Susan Wojcicki, Google's director of product management.

Web site publishers don't disagree.

"Say I write an article about a Braun shaver," says Chris Pirillo, who runs the Lockergnome.com gadget Web site. "I publish it, and within minutes, I have targeted ads about shavers on my site. Someone who reads the content may feel compelled to pick one up. That helps me and the reader."

Tales of AdSense riches range from a few hundred dollars a month to $50,000 or more a year, though high-dollar paydays are rare. They require a Web site with tons of traffic and the ability to put in 18-hour days working the system.

Pirillo, who has a following from his former role as a host on the now-defunct TechTV cable channel, says he's clearing more than $10,000 a month.

Before AdSense, which began in March 2003, bloggers and other small Web publishers had fewer options to make money. They could put banner ads on their sites for a host of non-related products, or commission programs from Amazon and eBay. "It was a lot more work, and you didn't get much of a return," Pirillo says.

With AdSense, "You write content, publish it, and the money starts to pour in," he says.

When he published the now-defunct Silicon Alley Reporter magazine, Jason Calacanis says, he used to suffer from insomnia, worrying about his monthly $200,000 to $400,000 printing bill.

He now runs a company called Weblogs, which publishes 75 Web sites on such topics as cars, gadgets, digital music and video games. He sleeps much better, he says, because "with AdSense, you know you're always making money. Your life gets a lot easier."

In his first four months of Web publishing, AdSense brought in $45,000. Some of his blogs produce $3,000 a month. His best do "four figures," Calacanis says, though he's reluctant to fill in the exact numbers. "And that's with zero marketing," he says.

How it works

Google and Yahoo dominate the booming online search advertising business, which is expected to grow to $5.6 billion in 2008, from $2.7 billion in 2004. Profit from search advertising enabled Google to more than double its revenue in 2004, to $3.1 billion.

The concept — text ads that appear next to search results — works on a "pay-per-click" model. Advertisers pay only if someone clicks on an ad. To use the programs, advertisers buy "keywords" for anywhere from 5 cents to $100 a word. Those are the terms people type into query boxes when they're searching, such as "Atlanta wedding photographer" or "Omaha Italian restaurants."

AdSense works as a part of that keyword model; it's an offshoot of what Google calls its AdWords program, which competes against Yahoo's Overture unit.

AdSense is a bonus program for advertisers who use Google AdWords. Through AdSense, Google clients get to tout their wares beyond Google's home page — potentially reaching more than 200,000 participating Web sites.

Small Web site operators have flocked to AdSense as a way to attract advertising. To participate, they sign up at Google, which reviews the site. Once a small piece of computer code language is implanted on an accepted site, Google does the rest — matching ad links from its warehouse of clients to appropriate sites.

There's an art to optimizing a site to attract more links — and generate more revenue.

Gay Gilmore, who runs Seattle-based recipezaar.com, says the trick is to attract ads next to recipes beyond the main page. "The ads need to be targeted," she says, "so that when someone is reading about chicken soup, an ad for one of the ingredients is of keen interest."

Web site publishers need to be creative, says Dave Lavinsky of TopPayingKeywords.com, an AdSense advice site. A house painter advertising his services on a homemade site is leaving money on the table if he mentions only house painting, he says. "'Housepainting' is a 20-cent word. 'Home improvement' is worth $2, so you should create content for that."

But Sullivan says keyword tricks hurt the editorial integrity of sites. Another problem, he says, is the proliferation of computer-generated directories with links to hotels, restaurants and entertainment and no real editorial content, fueled by the availability of "Ads by Google" checks.

Wojcicki says Google tries to review all sites in its program, and removes offenders such as the directory sites. Critics say the site reviews can sometimes result in an FCC-like "family friendly" filter. Bloggers complain about being rejected for discussions of sexuality and use of four-letter words.

"I begged, argued and appealed to reason for months," says author Susie Bright, whose site discusses sexuality issues. "I pointed out that all my postings were things you could easily read in ... any number of mainstream magazines that cover sex and politics from a fairly sophisticated point of view. And I pointed out that my readers like to buy trousers, go on vacations, purchase ink and basically buy all the same things that everyone else does."

Wojcicki wouldn't address the specifics of Bright's concerns, but says AdSense isn't for everyone. "We're very careful about who we let into our network. We reject sites with content some people may feel uncomfortable about."

With pay-per-click ads, Google and Yahoo are locked in a bitter battle for advertiser dollars. But Yahoo doesn't compete with AdSense for small publishers — yet. Yahoo says it will introduce an offering later this year.

For now, Google's most notable AdSense competitor is privately held Kanoodle, which accepted Bright's site. It works with small publishers and big ones (including USATODAY.com and MSNBC) and differs from AdSense in that advertisers can choose topic areas of the sites where they want their ads to appear.

"The search advertising market is red hot right now, and publishers and advertisers want more," says Kanoodle CEO Lance Podell. "We offer them more places to show their ads, and they love that."

How long will search sizzle?

Google's initial public stock offering last summer was a Wall Street sensation. The stock opened at $85 a share and now sells for around $180, down from its 52-week high of $216. Some analysts fret that the red-hot paid search market could start to cool down.

Forrester Research, revising downward earlier projections, expects 30% growth in search advertising revenue this year, after a 45% jump in 2004.

"Click fraud" is another nettlesome issue for Google and Yahoo.

Advertisers pay for ads only when they're clicked, but it doesn't always work that way.

Some competitors click ads just to run up the other guy's bills. Web publishers with AdSense get their friends to click ads so they can get more money. Some savvy webmasters have set up automated clicking models called "Hitbots" or "Clickbots," which click away all day, and cost the advertiser.

Such efforts "threaten our business model," Google CFO George Reyes said at a recent industry conference. "Something has to be done about this, really, really quickly."

University of California professor John Battelle, who is writing a book on search, says the success of AdSense has built a "growing, extremely sophisticated offshore industry."

"There are more of these sites than you can imagine," he says. "The robots click on the ads and then none of the clicks turn into leads for the advertisers. That's not how it's supposed to work."

Google and Yahoo say they are working on the problem, but Battelle doesn't think that's enough.

Yahoo, Microsoft and America Online have banded together on several occasions to fight e-mail spam, and Battelle says Google and Yahoo should show the same kind of joint leadership. "Because if they don't, it will end up biting them in the butt."

Resource>

How to Profit from Knowing the Most Expensive Keywords


By knowing the most expensive keywords on the internet, you can create websites and web pages based on these keywords. On these sites and pages, you can serve expensive ads and/or promote affiliate offers that reap high bounties when clicked or completed.

The challenge lies in driving traffic to these sites. One way to drive traffic is through search engine optimization, whereby you create a website that ranks highly on the search engines and receive “free” traffic. Or, if you already have an existing well-ranked site, you can create new pages linked from your existing pages. A second way to drive traffic is through online advertising.

With regards to advertising, one key is to understand correlations between keywords. By determining correlations between inexpensive and expensive keywords, you can advertise on the inexpensive keyword (via pay-per-click (PPC) advertising on search engines) to drive traffic to your website that serves ads based on expensive keywords. For instance, advertising on the keyword “painting” ($0.20 keyword), and sending visitors to your site about the related topic “home remodeling” ($2.00 keyword) allows you to profit from the wide spread between the keyword prices of the two correlated keywords.

Likewise there are many opportunities to run banner and other ads through online advertising networks to drive traffic to your website. These ads can run on both “painting” and “home remodeling” websites. The cost of CPM (cost per impression) advertising typically does not reflect the price of the keywords. That is, a banner ad on a “painting” website typically costs the same as a banner ad on a “home remodeling” website. This sharply contrasts the price of PPC advertising on search engines which vary widely based on the keyword.

There are two other ways to profit from knowing the most expensive keywords. The first doesn’t even require you to own or operate a website. In this method, you advertise using inexpensive means (e.g., via pay-per-click advertising on inexpensive keywords or CPM advertising) and direct traffic to high paying affiliate offers. The second method is to set up your own search engine. There are several companies that allow you to easily set up a search engine that serves PPC ads syndicated from Google, Overture or other PPC search engine networks. Once you create your engine, you can drive traffic directly to your PPC results, and get paid every time someone clicks on one of the results. Likewise, on your search engine’s home page, you can include many links to expensive keywords, so that when someone clicks on it, the engine shows expensive ads based on those keywords.

Understanding keyword pricing is critical to the online advertising, PPC search engine and affiliate marketing businesses – businesses that combine for over $25 billion a year in revenues. With a market of this size, generating substantial profits, if you have the right information, is really not that challenging.

Resource>

5 Aralık 2007 Çarşamba

Facts About AdSense

Make Money With Google AdSense





Anyone who owns or is thinking about creating a website would be crazy to ignore this.

I am happy to say that making money with your site, no matter the topic, has become easier than it's ever been before - and it's 100% legitimate.

If AdSense had been available in 2000, I would have NEVER shut down my soap opera fan site that received 200 hits per day. I would have been able to earn money from that traffic and probably turned a small profit.



Untold Facts About AdSense you need to know in order to succeed with the program!

Yes, the money can be great, but if you don't learn how to build a site that attracts targeted traffic then you won't make much from AdSense.

Don't pay a cent for these "Get Rich Quick" books on AdSense. Many of them are all hype. Learn all you need to know for free.


From AdWords to AdSense

Google.com earns most of its revenue by allowing other website owners to advertise on their search result pages. All this is managed through a program they call AdWords.

Now you can earn a share of the revenue that Google earns from AdWords by placing these same text ads on your site. In other words, you're helping Google advertise and they pay you a percentage of what they earn.

This program is called AdSense.

Every website owner should be involved in this. It's just too good of an opportunity to pass up. Even if your site is just for information purposes, you can still participate and make decent money with AdSense -- or at least enough to fund your website.

So if you are one of those people that don't like the idea of paying for a site, this is an excellent way to earn your money back and then some.

Even if you earned as little as $10 in a month, it would more than likely cover some or all of the costs for your web site. Perhaps you are simply looking for ways to add additional revenue to your website, then it's perfect for that situation too.

This program is getting so popular, people are creating websites just to display the ads and profit from Google's AdSense alone.

I don't usually like to use the term "easy money" because there really is no such thing. You still have to create your own website and learn how to bring in traffic in order to make good money with this program.

I certainly don't want to make it sound like you get something for doing absolutely nothing. There's no such thing.

However, I've got to say that AdSense is probably the closest you'll ever come to fast money on the Internet -- especially if you already have a website that gets a good amount of traffic.

What's even better...the program is completely free. You can also use it on multiple websites and there is no limit to the amount you can earn.
How AdSense Works

You can watch my video below for a quick overview, but I still recommend reading this page because it's much more thorough than the 4-minute video.

And now for the text version of how AdSense works...

If you go to Google.com and do a search for almost any keyword phrase, you'll notice some "Sponsored Links" that appear on the right side of the screen that are relevant to the keywords you just searched for.

Website owners pay Google to display these ads and are charged a predetermined amount every time their ad gets clicked by a web surfer. With the AdSense program, you will display these same text ads on your site just like Google and get paid for it as well.

All you do is copy and paste some provided HTML code into your pages and Voila! the ads will show up. Every time an ad is clicked on your site, you will receive a certain percentage of what Google receives from the advertiser.

Once your account reaches $100, you'll receive a check in the mail.
"Is Google Crazy?"

I know what you're probably thinking...

"What's the catch here? Why would Google just give away money advertisers are paying them?"

The answer...

Because Google is very smart.

Now that I understand how AdSense works, I can see that it's a win-win situation for everyone involved, and the bottom line benefits Google. Let me explain...

Since the advertiser's ads are now being displayed on more web sites all over the internet (instead of just Google's site), they are getting much more exposure. More exposure means more clicks and even more traffic for their site over a shorter period of time.

This is good news for Google because the more traffic the advertisers receive, the faster their advertising funds are used up.

Remember, they get charged every time their site gets a visit; and of course, it is Google's hope that they'll continue to keep funneling more money into their account for more ad exposure.

What an ingenious way for Google to increase the amount of money they earn from advertisers while building loyalty with website owners (like us) who are now getting paid to help them advertise.

Of course, I'd expect nothing less from the most popular search engine on the web. :)

My Personal AdSense Story

I have been receiving monthly checks from Google since 2003, and I've read numerous success stories of websites earning 5 digit incomes per month with AdSense.

Now, I will admit, a 5-digit commission in a single month is probably not the norm for most participants. I promote AdSense on three of my websites and my checks have been as high as $4,000, but usually average around $2,000.

I would estimate that my earnings are above average and that is mainly because I keep adding more content to my sites on an ongoing basis.

The more information you have, the greater chance you have of attracting free search engine traffic. That's why it's so very important you choose a topic you have an interest in so you can keep building and building.

My checks weren't always that large. I think my first month's earnings in 2003 totaled less than $20. However, I kept getting more and more search engine traffic by adding more content and the checks slowly began to increase. I had no idea it would grow to anything like this.

COPYCATS BEWARE!

I read an article about a lazy person that copied someone else's content word for word and pasted on their own site. They tried to join AdSense and they were rejected for unauthentic content. I don't know how Google found out their site was a duplicate of someone else's but they did.

Not to mention, the search engines are now ignoring pages with duplicate content. So all the thieves out there that are too lazy to come up with their own content are now finding that they cannot get their site ranked in Google, Yahoo and MSN simply because they've copied someone else's work.

It's not worth the risk. Not to mention, it's illegal to republish someone else's work without permission. That's why you should choose a topic you know a lot about or at least have a great interest in.

There's no reason to copy off someone else's site. Be original. Laziness always comes to bite you in the long-run.
"How Much Can I Earn With AdSense?"

Google does not disclose exactly how much you'll earn per ad that is clicked.

The commission you receive per click depends on how much advertisers are paying Google for the particular ad. You will earn a share of that amount. I've heard of earnings anywhere from 2 cents to $15 per click.

So it is logical to believe that keyword phrases like debt free, employment, make money, mp3, sex, etc. will earn you more per click since these are highly competitive keywords that are searched for quite a bit on the web.

Advertisers generally pay more for popular terms because they are searched for more.

Even though Google will not reveal how much you are earning for each ad that is clicked from your site, you can still login to your account at any time and see the total amount of revenue you've generated that day, week, month, year, etc.

For example, if you see that you've made $12.60 today from 9 clicks then you can calculate that your average click-thru commission was $1.40 per click. That's as detailed as their stats will get. Also remember, that's only an average. You won't know how much each specific ad brought in.

The amount you'll earn also depends largely on the amount of targeted traffic you receive to your own site, how well the ads match your audience's interests, the placement of the ads on your pages, and of course the amount you receive per click.

Ideally, you should create a site on a topic you know a lot about. That way you'll have a much easier time creating a generous amount of content on that subject.
How Google Matches the Ads to Your Site's Content

One of the main reasons this program is so successful is because the ads that are displayed closely match the content of your website. This increases the chances that someone will click on the ads.

Here's how Google accomplishes the content match...

"...We go beyond simple keyword matching to understand the context and content of web pages. Based on an algorithm that includes such factors as keyword analysis, word frequency, font size, and the overall link structure of the web, we know what a page is about, and can precisely match Google ads to each page."

So let's say you have an information website about yoga. Once you join AdSense and paste their ad code into your site, Google's technology will determine the topic of the pages by scanning for keyword repeats, page title, etc.

If successful, you will see ads that relate to yoga displayed on your web pages. Of course, the more related the ads are to your site's content, the better the click-thru.

Keep in mind, the ads may not be an exact match because it depends on the ads inside Google's database. So instead of seeing yoga ads, you may see more generic ads like exercise, healthy eating, etc. This is not a bad thing because these are topics your visitors will likely be interested in as well.
Why I Believe AdSense Works So Well

For years, website owners have tried to make money from their sites by putting up banner ads in hopes of visitors clicking them. The problem with banner ads is that the Internet audience is so immune to them, people do not click on them anymore.

When's the last time you clicked a banner ad?

...Exactly!

Second, in order for the web site owner to earn money from that banner ad, usually the web surfer that clicks has to purchase something. With AdSense, your visitors just have to click the ads. They don't have to purchase a single thing.

Third, most people that use banner ads do not do a good job of matching the ads to the website's content so the click thru percentages are dismal.

With Google's AdSense, not only are you displaying text ads, (which tend to receive a much higher click-thru rate than banner ads), but you are displaying contextual ads that match your website's content....thanks to Google's advanced technology.

Lots of times people think the ads are part of your site's content so they click because the information is relevant to your site. Whereas with banner ads, they often have little relevance and people tend to ignore them no matter how much they flash and fly across the page.
Creating Your Website for AdSense

Before you even begin your site, make sure you've come up with a topic that you feel you know plenty about. That way it will be easiest to write a lot of content.

The more content you have, the better chance you have getting accepted into the program. Also, the more content, the greater the earning potential. AdSense is nothing but a numbers game. If you want to make a lot of money, prepare to write a lot of content.

Now let's talk about building your website. There are two ways you can approach this:

1) Do it Yourself (DIY) from scratch

2) Use Site Build It! (SBI!)
The Do It Yourself Method

I've actually used both methods for building my site and there are advantages and disadvantages to both.

If you use the DIY method, you will have to go and register a domain name (yoursite.com) and then sign up for a web host and build your pages. You can either learn HTML or buy some kind of web editor like Microsoft FrontPage to build your pages. That's the method I used to build this site.

Averaging between $7 and $15 per month, the DIY method is usually the most cost friendly of the two but you are mostly on your own in terms of learning how to create your web pages and adding the AdSense code to your site.

Web hosts are generally there to house your site. They don't specialize in helping you market and optimize your site for the search engines to help you get traffic. So don't expect a lot from them in terms of helping you market your site.

This is not necessarily a bad thing. I had to learn how to build this site on my own and it wasn't very difficult.

I bought Microsoft FrontPage and in about a day or two my site was up and running. So if you don't mind learning, it's definitely doable. In fact, most people use the DIY method to build their websites. The 2nd method below is fairly new in comparison.
Use Site Build It! - A Web Host Made for AdSense

This is a revolutionary web host like no other. I use it for my site, www.flat-stomach-exercises.com, and after only 11 months the site was earning over $700 per month for AdSense alone.

Two years after launch, the total monthly earnings shot up to $2,000 to $2,500.

Today, the site continues to earn money from AdSense yet I have no products to sell. I'm simply offering information on a topic I know a lot about and SBI showed me how to rank high in the search engines for various keyword phrases. Over 90% of traffic comes from the free search engines.

The reason SBI is different from the other do-it-yourself hosts is that first it provides all the web page building and marketing help all in one place. Your domain registration, web hosting and marketing help come with the price.
Super Easy Web Page Builder

Creating your pages is as simple as entering text into form fields and using the user-friendly editor to add text, create links, add pictures and more. No software is needed to install or download. You simply select a template you want to use and your site is built in seconds...literally.

I took a screenshot of the SBI! interface...

Free Guides

What's even better is that you will have access to tons of free guides that show you how to optimize your site for the popular search engines so you can get as much free traffic as possible.

Remember, without traffic, you won't make any money with AdSense. That's why having a host like SBI is so important. Keep in mind, a regular DIY host does NOT help you with search engine rankings and traffic.
Brainstorming Tool

Site Build It also comes with a powerful brainstorming tool. So for all of you sitting there wondering about a topic, this tool literally scours the net and helps you decide on the best topic by showing demand and supply (i.e. number of sites on X topic and roughly how feasible it will be to bring in traffic for that particular subject). It is amazing.

The creator of Site Build It even built a micro site that describes how to maximize your AdSense earnings. And since Site Build It's main goal is to show you how to build income through content...it's almost as if AdSense was designed specifically for a web host like SBI.

See the SiteSell AdSense site here.

I highly recommend using SBI -- especially if you plan on building a site specifically to earn money from AdSense. It is the kind of host that stands for everything AdSense is about -- rewarding website owners for building an abundance of useful content.

Even though the two companies are not related, it really is the perfect marriage between a great concept like AdSense and a web host that is dedicated to showing you how to make money by simply providing information.
Successful SBI Websites

Be sure to also take a peek at all the successful SBI websites created by mostly beginners who have never created a site before. Every site listed on this page is in the top 3% in terms of amount of traffic received on the web - thanks to the SBI search engine help.
How to Join AdSense
After you have created your website, click the button on the right to join. Most sites are either accepted or rejected within 24 to 48 hours, so you shouldn't have to wait too long to find out if your application has been approved.

Once you've been accepted, simply copy and paste the provided HTML code into any page that you'd like to show the ads. If you've done a good job of defining the content on your web pages, the ads that show should be relevant to the content of your page...increasing the chances of click-thrus by your visitors.

You can either display the ads vertically along side the page like Google does or in a banner-like formation horizontally across your pages. The placement is up to you. You can even customize the colors to match your site's theme.
If Your Site Is Rejected by Google...

If you receive that email from Google stating that your site has not been accepted, the first thing you should remember is that as an AdSense member, you become a partner and are representing Google, Inc.

They have to make sure the websites that display these ads are up to par or they could run the risk of losing advertisers. Imagine if you were paying Google to display your ad and you found it showing up on a poorly developed, junky website.

Of course, if your site is rejected, it doesn't mean it is poorly developed. There may be other reasons:

1) Is your site an "About Me" page?

Google does not usually accept these kinds of personal sites because most of them do not have a specific topic or theme. They are usually just random facts about the website owner or their hobbies, pictures, etc.

It would be difficult for Google's technology to display targeted ads on these kinds of pages because the topics vary from subject to subject.

They are looking for "themed" sites that contain a generous amount of information on a specific topic. It could be anything from sewing tips to sports. Just make sure there is an obvious theme with adequate information.

2) Is your site organized?

Be sure your site has a neat and clean navigation that's easy to follow. Also ensure all the links work and that there are no typos. Keep the colors to a minimum and make sure each page has a consistent layout.

3) How many pages are on your site?

Even though Google doesn't specify a page number requirement, many believe they are looking for web sites with a certain amount of content. Again, it's not likely a two-page site will get accepted. Try to strive for at least 15 pages.

4) Is your content solid?

Don't just submit a website with a bunch of links to other sites. Be sure you have a themed/niche site with enough original content of your own.

5) Is your site an exact carbon copy of someone else's?

Some believe Google can find out if your site is original or not. Don't risk it and steal from someone else. It will come back to haunt you.

If you're stuck, write a few articles of your own and then go to sites like www.articlecity.com and sprinkle a few of their articles around your site to beef it up.

6) Be sure to read their program policy and procedures carefully and make sure your site hasn't violated any of the terms.
Tips on Succeeding With AdSense

Here are some tips for achieving success with AdSense.
1. Create a website with your (YourSite.com). Don't try to use a free web host because your site will likely have banners and pop-ups and get rejected because it looks unprofessional. Not to mention, a free web host will give you a website address like this:

http://thefreewebhost.com/yoursite/member1234/home.html

instead of...

http://www.yoursite.com

See how much more clean, concise and professional that last link is?

If paying for a website causes you to frown, remember the money you earn from AdSense could more than pay for the web hosting fees you'll incur.

Look at it as an investment instead of a cost. I never dreamed I'd have this much success with this program. My AdSense earnings clearly outweigh the few dollars I pay every month to maintain my sites.

2. If you don't know web programming or have no desire to learn it, get a beginner's design editor like Dreamweaver (what I use) or CoffeeCup. You can publish your content directly to the web from the software.

Keep in mind you can't use the software alone. You must have a web host that will allow you to publish your site to the Internet. (More on web hosting in a sec.)

3. If the main goal of your site is to make money with AdSense, be sure to choose a topic that you know a lot about so you can write lots and lots of content.

Don't like to write? No problem! There are sites like www.ezinearticles.com that provide free articles with reprint rights. Just search their database and find articles that match the theme of your site.

Don't rely completely on sites like this, however. You'll definitely want to have some of your own unique content. A few articles from these sites is fine, but relying on them for 90% of your information is not going to help your site.

4. Get traffic. Once your site is up and running you'll need to learn how to get your site listed in the major search engines.

Getting into Google is completely free and can bring in hundreds or even thousands of visitors per day. All you have to do is submit your site to them and wait patiently while Google ads it to the index. It can take a few months. Patience is key with Google. Then do the same with Yahoo, MSN, etc.

And while you're waiting it's important you build up as much unique content around your theme as possible. Google loves large sites with useful content centered around a specific theme. Don't create a hodgepodge site with topics on everything under the sun. Stay focused and make sure your site has an obvious theme.

5. Partner up with other related sites and participate in link swaps. This means that you place a link to another person's site on your own site and they do the same for you in return. This is a great way to get even more free traffic.

Sign up for AdSense.
Why Most People Fail With AdSense

It's a depressing title, but unfortunately it's true. Watch my video below so you can avoid common pitfalls many Webmasters make with AdSense...

4 Kasım 2007 Pazar

The Biggest Secret To Successful Copywriting

copied from http://adsense-alligator.blogspot.com;

The Biggest Secret To Successful Copywriting There Is

In the 33-plus years since I created my first little piece of direct response sales copy, I've written considerably more than a thousand direct response ads, television spots and mail pieces.

Because nearly all of them were direct response promotions, each produced an easily measurable and almost immediate result. And over the years, as I studied those results, my approach to strategizing and creating sales promotions began to evolve.

Today, my work process is very different than it was in those early years. My first thought is no longer about the product benefits or even the product's USP. Nor do I begin each project by thinking about all the rational "reasons why" my prospect should buy.

Please don't get me wrong: It's not that I've discarded any of these techniques. They still have prominent places in every promotion I create. But something else has risen to the top of my "to-do" list when creating a promotion — and that change has produced the closest thing to sales miracles I have ever witnessed.

Dinosaurs still roamed the earth when I started my writing career. Back in the early 1970s, there were no computerized mailing lists, no toll-free order hotlines, no affordable fax machines, no FedEx or other overnight delivery services — and no personal mentors or coaches for aspiring copywriters.

Thankfully, I had The Giants to instruct me. I read, re-read and re-re-read the wonderful guides left for me by those who had come before — particularly, Claude Hopkins' Scientific Advertising, Rosser Reeves' Reality in Advertising and John Caples' Tested Advertising Methods.

Thanks to these Giants, I "knew" every ad was supposed to begin by identifying the benefits my product offered to prospects — the ways in which it made their lives easier, richer, and more rewarding.

I knew I should use the most powerful of these benefits to craft a compelling Unique Selling Proposition ... establish it right up front ... and turn it into a mantra throughout my copy.

And I understood the importance of fully developing every "Reason Why" my prospects should buy.

But there was a problem: My only assignments were from fund-raising organizations — groups that had no product to sell and offered little if any direct benefit to the donor!

Giving them money wouldn't relieve your rheumatism, banish bad breath, give you whiter teeth or make you attractive to the opposite sex. Nor would it help you avoid a disaster in the health or wealth departments, or even save you time in the laundry room.

In fact the only tangible, personal result of forking over a ten-buck contribution was that you'd wind up $10 poorer!

Sure — there were vague benefits in the selfless act of giving away money to a worthy cause — like feeling good about the good you were doing. But even at that early age, I suspected that writing an appeal letter or TV spot saying, "Give me money — it'll make you feel good" — wouldn't exactly set the world on fire.

Here again, fate stepped in for me ...

What could possibly be BETTER
than leading with a tangible benefit?

From the age of 16, I had held down a part-time job in a printing plant as a folding machine operator. But this wasn't just any printing plant: Its forte' was printing and mailing appeal letters for a national fund-raising organization.

And since I worked alone on the night shift, I had plenty of time to read every one of those 8-page appeal letters.

They amazed me. At the time, I had no way of knowing the letters were being written by Richard Viguerie, Steve Winchell and Jerry Huntsinger — the "Powers, Kennedy and Reeves" of the direct mail fundraising industry. But I did know that they worked: They convinced people to donate tens of millions of dollars each year to my employer.

Poring over those appeal letters while my folding machine thunked away all night long was a real eye-opener. Whether by instinct or trial and error, these geniuses had figured out that to get a donor to write a check for a good cause, they needed to go beyond the intellect — beyond rational, "reason-why" copy and beyond a snappy USP.

In short, they needed to stimulate powerful emotions about the subject at hand — emotions that their prospects already had gurgling around inside them.

And to do that, they had to begin at a different place: Not with the product, as my reading of the Giants' books had led me to do, but with a clear understanding of the prospect's state of mind and how he already felt about the subject at hand!

Armed with this understanding, Viguerie, Winchell and Huntsinger began every appeal ("sales") letter with a headline and opening that instantly activated their prospect's emotions and made it impossible for him to look away: A shot to the gut ... a kick to the groin or a right hook to the Adam's apple.

And once the copywriters had the prospect's resident emotions working for them, all they had to do was to keep those emotions on their side until the prospect had become as passionate about the cause as the writer was — and the check had been written and mailed.

And as I studied their letters, I realized something else: Viguerie, Winchell and Huntsinger were not stupid men. They were brilliant. They could have chosen the "easy" way — to get rich selling widgets that gave them dozens of tangible benefits to offer their prospects.

But these geniuses had intentionally chosen to specialize in the fund-raising field instead! Why?

Could it be that they knew something I didn't?

Could it be that they understood that the "curse" of having no benefits to sell, no "reason-why" copy to create and no USP to shout from the rooftops ... could really be a blessing in disguise?

Could it be that they believed starting with the prospect instead of the product — setting out to first identify and then activate the strongest emotions the prospect already has — might be a better way to go?

And if so, I asked myself, "What if you could do both at the same time?"

Instead of beginning with the product and merely trusting the prospect to respond positively to its benefits ...

What if I began by thinking about the prospect and how he must feel about the subject at hand — and then carefully crafted every part of my sales message to get those resident emotions working for me?

What if I began by selecting themes that connected most powerfully with those emotions? What if I added a kind of "emotional overlay" to every headline, every opening, every credibility device, every product benefit, every offer and every call to action?

Wouldn't the response be substantially better?

"Hmmmm ...!"

These angels on my shoulders
put millions in my pocket

A decade after I left that printing plant, the 30-something version of myself sat down at a typewriter in a musty basement bedroom in Minneapolis ...

My mission: To write a promotion that would sell rare Morgan silver dollars to subscribers of The Money Advocate investment newsletter.

The Money Advocate was published by a coin company; Security Coin & Bullion. And until I came along, they were doing just fine, using rational, left-brain, reason-why, benefit-oriented copy and a pretty good USP to sell about $360,000-worth of rare coins per month.

So there I sat, staring at a blank page, wondering how to begin. As was their custom by this time, the ghosts of Kennedy, Hopkins and the rest of the classic advertising choir were perched on my left shoulder — as close as they could get to the left side of my brain — chanting, "benefit ... Benefit ... BENEFIT!"

They wanted me to begin logically — by headlining and then focusing on the benefits of investing in rare coins.

Meanwhile, on my right shoulder, Viguerie, Winchell and Huntsinger were doing their dead-level best to out shout them, telling the right side of the brain to begin with the feelings my prospect most likely felt relative to my product: Lead with "emotion ... Emotion ... EMOTION!" they chanted.

So I sat there, turning that old Morgan Silver dollar over and over in my hand. What is it, really," I asked. Where did it come from? Where has it been? What does it symbolize?

Suddenly, I was reminded of the movie Somewhere In Time — in which Christopher Reeves was magically transported through time after seeing the date on a coin. I thought ...

"This isn't a coin, it's a TIME MACHINE!"

"If these coins could talk ..." I wrote, "what wonderful stories would they tell?"

"They would speak of a time gone by. Of the hardy prospectors who mined their silver. Of smoky saloons, honky-tonk pianos, raucous poker games and painted ladies.

"They would speak of freedom. Independence. Honor. The code of the West.

"The Morgan silver dollar was there with Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday at the gunfight in the O.K. Corral. And it was on the poker table when Wild Bill Hickock drew his "dead man's hand" and succumbed to an assassin's bullet.

"They only look like beautiful and potentially profitable 'rare coin' investments. And while they are, they are also more: Each is touchstone with our colorful, uniquely all-American history that you can hold in the palm of your hand."

Then, just to keep my left-shouldered, left-brained "benefit" angels quiet (and to give my prospects' spouses a plausible reason why their significant others had succumbed), I included plenty of "reasons why" buying those coins was the smartest thing they could do. After all — they were great investments!

That copy, a two-page flyer, mailed on January 1. Thirty days later, it had brought in $3.6 million in sales — TEN TIMES MORE than my client's purely rational, logic-based, greed-driven approach had ever generated in a single month.

And that was just the beginning. Within one year, my new approach had my client selling $16 million-worth of rare coins each month, making him the single largest rare coin dealer in America — by far.

Flash forward ten more years ...

The 40-something version of myself sat down at his computer on the top floor of my four-story beach house on the Gulf of Mexico ...

I had just completed my second promotion for Health & Healing. The first had been gangbusters, generating eight times the response of any health package Phillips had ever mailed.

Now, it was time to write my headline (yes, I do it backwards) — a way to "grab prospects by the eyeballs" and compel them to open and read my sales copy.

Just to humor the benefit boys, I tapped out the word, "CURES." After all — that was what my copy was packed with and promised more of.

My left-brain angels — Kennedy et. al. — beamed triumphantly.

But what kind of cures were these? Which strong emotion do these kinds of drug-free, surgery-free remedies trigger in my prospects?

"Well," I thought, "The medical industry doesn't want us to know about these alternatives, and even tries to silence people who recommend them.

"So they're ... let's see ... 'prohibited?' No ... 'banned?' No ... 'censored?' Not quite ... 'forbidden?' No ... wait a minute ...

YES! That's it! That's my headline! FORBIDDEN CURES!"

I loved the word "forbidden." It felt like a mischievous child trying something "naughty" for the first time. It also made me feel resentment towards the self-appointed, supposedly superior, paternalistic establishment that believes it's a better judge of what's right for me than I do. It made me feel bound and determined to not just break, but shatter their stupid prohibitions!

And of course, the angels on my right shoulder — the "emotion" boys — loved it, too.

When it mailed, the package beat my control so handily that Phillips' mail quantities reached six million pieces in each 60-day mail cycle. The royalties were so good, I took the rest of the year off and played on the beach.

From genius to dunce
in the wink of an eye

Adding the right shoulder/right brain/ emotionally driven copy techniques practiced by the great fund-raising copy writers ...

... to the more left shoulder/left brain benefit/reason-why/USP approach to copy espoused by the world's greatest advertising copywriters ...

... was quite simply, the single greatest breakthrough of my career.

It was making me richer and more in-demand as a copywriter. And, being young and cocky, I was absolutely convinced that, like Kennedy, Hopkins, Reeves and the rest, I had something new ... something better than anyone had ever thought of before.

But I traded my newfound "genius" status for a dunce hat the minute I began re-examining — and really studied — the ads that Kennedy, Lasker, Hopkins and the other Giants had created during their lifetimes.

These guys may not have said much in their books about the importance of connecting with prospects' resident emotions — but they sure did it an awful lot!

In fact, whether by intent, instinct, or as the natural byproduct of their obsession with selling benefits, they did it all the time!

And as I read their words with new eyes, I even found this, from ad legend David Ogilvy:

"Researchers have not yet found a way to quantify the effectiveness of emotion, but I have come to believe that commercials with a large content of nostalgia, charm, and even sentimentality can be enormously effective."

I felt like a drooling moron. It had been right there in front of me all along — but I had been too obsessed with the nuts and bolts of meticulously identifying product benefits, writing "reason-why" copy and shouting my USP to even notice!

Had I simply emulated what the Giants did — instead of just studying what they said — I would have been miles ahead of the game!

Not only hadn't I invented the technique of identifying and then mobilizing my prospects' emotions to create greater attention, readership and response ...

... it had taken me years to figure out what the Giants had been trying to tell me all along!

Maybe I would have caught on sooner, if, early on, someone had shaken me by the shoulders, slapped me a couple of times and said ...

"People act on their emotions far more often than they do on their intellect alone.

"People buy for emotional reasons far more often than for merely rational ones.

"If you want people to act on your copy and buy your product, first determine how your prospect is likely feeling right now.

"Then, use your benefits as bridges to activate the emotions that will compel him to buy!"

Couldn't have said it better myself!

That's when my work process changed forever.

Put Dominant Emotion Marketing to Work for You NOW!

Instead of beginning like I once had and as many copywriters still do — by identifying product benefits — wouldn't it make more sense to put the prospect and his most compelling emotions FIRST?

Wouldn't it be better, for example, to ...

1. Begin by figuring out what the prospect's resident emotions are regarding the things the product addresses ...

2. Figure out which of those resident emotions are the strongest, most compelling, most "dominant" in his or her life ...

3. Identify the benefits my product offers that will most effectively enhance his strongest positive emotions and/or resolve his negative ones ...

4. Address those benefits in ways that keep the prospect's most dominant emotions working with me — and never against me ...

5. And as you review and edit your sales copy, wouldn't it make sense to keep making this kind of emotional connection at every opportunity?

Hope this helps!

Clayton Makepeace, www.makepeacetotalpackage.com/

Resource: The Biggest Secret To Successful Copywriting