Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Effective SEO Through Good Code Structure

For a successful Search Engine Optimization strategy, take into consideration that search engines look at content and also at the structure of the markup. They emphasize the importance of text content, page titles, keywords rich text, meta descriptions and information architecture. A website where quality of content and code prevails will rank higher in the major search engines.

There are many Search Engine Optimization tactics, but try to find the best combination and don't sacrifice the usability and performance of your website. Here is some basic information about improving your source code from an SEO perspective:

Avoid Classical 404 Error Pages

The 404 - File Not Found - page is presented to the user by the server as an error page. The user gets this message directly from the server of the website he is trying to visit. This error page is supposed to appear only when the server cannot find the requested location and is unsure of its status.

In the vast majority of cases, the 404 error emerges for pages that were moved or even deleted or the layout of the site or page information changed.

Many hosting companies offer a 404 redirect page. This means that when a user enters the URL of any page of your domain, and that page does not exist or can no longer be found, you can automatically redirect the user to a specified page - usually your home page or your sitemap.

Pay special attention when you decide to delete certain pages. Remember to redirect them to a main page of your site using the 301 (Moved Permanently) HTTP response code.

You can greatly improve the user friendliness of your website by creating a custom 404 page.

- Present a message of apology for the inconvenience;
- Try to ease the user's way back to your site. Introduce error messages and include evident links to the home page, sitemap, and contact page;
- Offer assistance and encourage the user to continue to search for the information he needs on your site. You could even include a search box right on the error page;
- Keep the same design for the error page as for the rest of the website.

But remember that the best strategy for a 404 error page is to prevent it from coming up altogether, as many customers might be left with the impression that the whole website does not exist and not just the specific page they were trying to access.

Keep Away From Orphan Pages

An orphan page is a page that is not linked to another one and thus cannot be found by spiders. To avoid having orphan pages on your website, check regularly that all your pages are linked to each other.

Search engines consider sites with orphan pages to be unprofessional, and not worthy of getting a high rank. This kind of website is under construction or is the result of a poor design process. If your pages aren't linked properly search engines won't index them and will consider them irrelevant for the search.

Pay attention to the fact that some search engines don't correctly index websites that use HTML frames. When spiders crawl through your internal pages, they index each individual page and display them as orphan pages in search results. Most frame designs include a content frame and a navigation frame.

Visitors require both frames to navigate through the site. Create a JavaScript to check if the page is loading correctly, and load the frameset. In this way, users won't be able to open pages outside the frame. This is a very easy way of losing clients.

Use 301 Redirect Pages

To avoid displaying a 404 error page, set up a 301 redirect page. The code 301 means "moved permanently" and it's the easiest way to preserve your search engine rankings for that page.

There are two ways of generating proper 301 redirect pages. If your site is hosted on a Linux or Unix server create a .htaccess file to add the redirect to your server's web root.

The .htaccess file contains specific instructions for certain requests, including security, redirection issues and how to handle certain errors. If it is hosted on a Windows or IIS server then the 301 redirect can be set up in the Administrator's section of the server software or through the DNS (Domain Name Server) zone.

Make a habit of reviewing the log files which contain data sent by your server. Search engine spiders often make critical decisions based on what your server tells them through the server's headers.

Pay attention, an improper 301 redirect can cause you big problems, since your website might fail and users won't be able to visit your pages. Setting up a correct "301 redirect" assures that you'll stay high in search rankings.

Create a Sitemap

A sitemap is a web page that lists all the pages on your website. They are intended both for users - to find easier the information they need, and for search engines to index pages.

Your sitemap link should be right on your home page. In this way spiders are sent directly to the place where all your content information is gathered. Sitemaps can improve SEO, however, be advised that they only take into consideration a limited number of links to those pages.

To make sure that spiders check your whole site and have more chances to get indexed, it would be a good idea to use a sitemap generator. You can use ROR sitemaps that are readable by all search engines.

ROR is a sitemap tool that uses XML feeds to describe your website. ROR sitemaps allow search engines to match text search with structured information, thus obtaining more relevance for your site. This kind of sitemap helps search engines to better understand your website content - products, services, images, articles, etc. By creating a file with product names, descriptions, prices, images, availability, affiliate programs, and any other relevant information customers can find you easier.

Don't Overuse Dynamic Pages

Dynamic web pages include dynamic content - images, text, etc - which change without the page being reloaded. Client-side languages like JavaScript and ActiveX are usually used to create these types of web pages.

Search engines don't rank dynamic pages with many parameters well. If you choose not to turn your dynamic URLs into static ones, at least put the most important parameters in your URLs first and try to limit dynamic parameters to no more than two.

Spiders can't read the text rendered as graphics. Any text that you want the spiders to read and index should be written out as text. At the very least, put any text that appears in graphics into the images' ALT attribute.

A slightly better alternative is to write your text in Flash, but remember to have a "Skip this intro..." link that takes visitors (and spiders) to the text-rich content of your site. Don't neglect this information if you want to optimize your search engine strategy.

Put .CSS and JavaScript into External Files

For a search engine, improperly formatted code will have a negative impact on your rankings. Since search engines read only a certain amount of information on a web page, you should try to increase the text content to HTML tag ratio.

If you have too much HTML code, the text content won't be seen entirely. For reducing HTML code, utilize hand coding using external .css files and Javascript.

Make Sure You Have Well Formatted [X]HTML

Try to fix as many of the HTML errors as possible. Although the search engines don't rank websites that have standard compliant code better they tend to "read" them easier. Use the W3 HTML Validator to check the validity of your code.

For a successful Search Engine Optimization strategy, take into account all of the aspects presented here. It takes time, effort and patience to achieve a higher rank in the main search engines. The idea is to have a long term strategy that makes your website stay on top for an extended period of time.

Author : Google AdSense News

Managing PPC & Consulting

I alaways use webuildpages tools for check backlinks and the anchor text used in those backlinks.Neat-O Backlink Tool Knowing who is linking to you and what link text they're using is one of the most important aspects in Search Engine Optimization SEO . This tool checks your backlinks (only showing one backlink per URL that links to you) and shows the link text used to link to you.

Pay Per Click (PPC) Campaign Management Services Include:

* Automated bid management
* Budget management
* Keyword research
* Creative editing
* Campaign assessment meetings
* Click fraud negotiations
* Personal account managers
* Advanced ROAS software
* Competitive analysis
* Detailed campaign analysis and reporting
* Opportunity identification
* Offline sales tracking

Overture and Google Adwords

PPC search engines offer instant traffic, completely side stepping the lengthy process of optimizing sites for the search engines. In addition, they allow you to optimize your site for your human visitors and not just those machines that spider your site. In a way it seems you can have it all - traffic and an on-topic site designed for your customer.

Wait, you say...too good to be true! Of course, we agree. After having spent countless hours and recovering from every pitfall imaginable in the Pay Per Click game, we have to say the promise is there, but someone must be willing to do the work. We have done the work over and over. We've read the books, we hang out in Forums dedicated to Pay Per Click topics, we are constantly performing research, but most of all, we are doing it live on many campaigns - and making it work.

But if you're a business prefessional, a site owner, a graphic designer who just wants a little bit of exposure and doesn't really care about the ins and outs of "exact match" vs "broad match" and which partner sites carry one engine's ads or another...you just want traffic...don't worry! Whether you're a seasoned PPC Pro or a "newbie", we can still work with you.

Author : Webuildpages

Monday, May 12, 2008

15 Tips to optimize Your pages

When doing search engine optimization (SEO), there are many aspects to consider. A good keyword selection process is important, choosing a good domain name for your site, link building, writing press releases and articles that promote your website, etc.
Another aspect that is important is page optimization. You need to make sure that your web site’s pages are “bot friendly”. Meaning that your pages should organize and display the information in a manner that the bots used by the major search engines (Google, Yahoo!, MSN, etc.) will recognized your targeted keywords and give more weight to your site based on them.

Here are 15 tips to optimize your pages.

  1. Make sure each page have a title tag. Your targeted keywords should be as much as possible at the beginning of the tag. You can leave your web site’s name in the title, but it is recommended that you leave it at the end.
  2. Have a meta keywords and descriptions. Although, not as important has other aspects, the description text is often used in the search engine results pages to describe your site. It should be well written and also not too long.
  3. Meta keywords should contain your primary keywords as well as common typos and grammatical errors.
  4. Use only one H1 tag by page with keywords similar to the title tag.
  5. Use sub-titles (H2 and/or H3) before each paragraph or logical section of your page. This helps readability and helps define your content for search engines.
  6. Use bullet and numbered lists and bold text to clean up the page’s content and make it easier to read.
  7. Use text links as much as possible. Image and Flash links should be avoided when possible.
  8. Include a site map with links to each of your web site’s pages.
  9. Make sure each page is unique. Don’t duplicate your content!
  10. Write content for your visitors, not for the bots! If not, your site might become difficult to read and it could get penalized.
  11. Images are never read by the bots. Avoid using images for text and titles. The same goes for Flash.
  12. When using images, always add an alt tag to describe the image. The alt tag should contain keywords related to the image and the page.
  13. Your page’s content should always contain some of your keywords. Always make sure the content of your pages remain relevant.
  14. Your home page should have links to the most important pages of your site. These links should also contain your keywords.
  15. Your site should be easy to navigate for visitors and for bots. Place links at the bottom of each of the web site’s pages to the important sections of your site. Also place a link to your site map so it is easily accessible to bots.

Matt Hudson writes on Internet marketing and search engine optimization related issues. You can learn more by visiting my blog Search Engine Optimization for Beginners. http://seofornewbies.blogspot.com

Top 8 Google AdSense Money Makers

The following is a list of the Internet’s eight biggest Google AdSense Money Makers publishers. The information was compiled from interviews and articles found on the Internet. This is a list of individual site owners - people just like you and me. Big corporate AdSense publishers like AOL are excluded.

1: Markus Frind: PlentyOfFish.com - $300,000 per month

money makers Markus Frind is a local Vancouverite who is turning the online dating world upside down. His site, Plentyoffish.com is the biggest free dating site on the Internet. Plentyoffish.com receives up to 500 million page views per month and make over $10,000 per day for Markus, who runs the site from home.

You think a site this big would be staffed by a hundred people but the only employee that Markus has is his girlfriend, who helps to answer the emails. Markus coded Plenty of Fish all by himself. The site is lean and mean and requires only four servers to handle all that traffic.

Doubts about Makus’s Google earnings were silenced when he posted this $900,000 check from Google. According to Markus’s blog entry, the check represented two months of AdSense earnings.

2: Kevin Rose: Digg.com - $250,000 per month

Money Makers Kevin Rose started Digg in December of 2004 with just $1000. Today Digg is one of the biggest news sites on the Net, with over 400,000 members and over 200 million page views per month. According to this article from Business week, Digg will make Money $3 million this year from a combination of Google AdSense and Federated Media ads. Unfortunately, only Mr. Rose and his accountants knows how much came from Google and how much came from Federated Media. I can try to take a guess based on the number of times I have seen a Federated Media ad vs. a Google ad on Digg but, being in Canada, it’s almost 100% Google ads Money Maker.

Whatever Google’s share of Digg’s $250,000 per month in ad revenues may be, one thing is for sure, it is not small.

3: Jeremy Shoemaker - $140,000 per month

Make Money From Home Free With Pay-for-performance or Affiliate Marketing
Pay-for-performance or Affiliate Marketing is a form of online marketing where an advertiser pays for results rather than paying to reach a particular audience. A Web site (the “publisher”) advertises products or services offered by another Web site (the “advertiser”) in exchange for a commission on leads or sales. The publisher displays banners, ads, text links or products on their Web site and is
paid a commission by the advertiser when a visitor takes a specific action, such as filling out a form or making a purchase. Adsense Money Makers Check Jpg

If ever anyone can be considered an Internet marketing superstar Money Makers, ShoeMoney would be near the top of the list. Jeremy Shoemaker is a search engine marketer who knows how to take advantage of both Google AdSense and AdWords. In the above photo, you see him with the biggest Google AdSense check he has ever received from Google. The income was earned back in the month of August 2005. Since then Mr. Shoemaker has moved to wire transfers. No doubt, he got tired to dealing with the bank tellers when trying to deposit $100K plus checks every month.

Unlike the other Google whores on this list, ShoeMoney, as he likes to be call, does not own just one site. He makes his enormous Google checks using hundreds of sites and thousands of domains.

4: Jason Calacanis: Weblogs, Inc. - $120,000 per month

Money Makers Before Jason Calacanis sold Weblogs, Inc to AOL for $25 million, he got the network of blogs making over $4,000 a day from Google AdSense. So impressive was his AdSense performance that Google used Weblogs for a case study.

Now that AOL controls Weblogs, you can bet it is making a lot more than a measly $120,000 a month.

5: David Miles Jr. & Kato Leonard - $100,000 per month

Money Makers According to this Washington Post article, David Miles Jr. and Kato Leonard, claims they make $100,000 a month from their site, Freeweblayouts.net, which gives away designs that people can use on MySpace.

The only problem with the revenue figure is it is not 100% AdSense. Free Web Layouts use other advertising networks in addition to Google. However, with a claimed $100,000 per month in revenues, I am fairly confident that the AdSense portion is higher than our next Google whore.

6: Tim Carter: AskTheBuilder.com - $30,000 per month

Money Makers Tim Carter is a licensed master plumber and carpenter with his own radio show. He also makes frequent television appearances. He founded AsktheBuilder.com in 1995, The primary focus has been catering to an avid following of fellow builders on the site. According to the Google case study, Mr. Carter did such a good job tweaking the Google ads on his site that it now makes $30,000 a month.

Tim’s AdSense revenues now average $1400 a day and growing. Overall, Carter is enthusiastic about AdSense: it allows him to focus on content development, and gives him built-in tools to measure ad performance and make changes to maximize revenues. “People come to me for help,” says Carter. “They get what they need from my columns and advice - and also from ads delivered by AdSense.”

7: Joel Comm - $24,000 per month

Money Makers Joel Comm is get rich quick guru. He wrote the best selling e-book, What Google Never Told You About Making Money with AdSense. The e-book, along with the website that promotes it has a screen shot of Mr. Comm AdSense earning from November 19, 2005 to December 15, 2005. Whether or not Mr. Comm still makes this much from Google is anybody’s guess.

8: Shawn Hogan – DigitalPoint.com $10,000 per month

Back in January of 2005 the New York Times had an article about AdSense, featuring Shawn Hogan, founder of DigitalPoint. The article states that Mr. Hogan makes $10,000 per month from Google AdSense using a very unique revenue sharing model.

Google pays Digital Point about $10,000 a month, depending on how many people view or click on those ads, said Shawn D. Hogan, the owner and chief technology officer of Digital Point.

Mr. Hogan said he started the revenue-sharing approach in 2004 “as kind of a marketing gimmick.”

“But everyone seemed to think it was a cool idea,” he said. “I saw a lot of other sites doing the same thing maybe six months later.”

Author : AdSenseOnFire

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Top Reasons Commenting is Good For Bloggers

Please try this. For the next week make an effort to comment on more blogs. Each day post more comments than the last, on more blogs. Comment well, not just “ditto”. Add something of value, your own thoughts.

So what was all that about?

I don’t think we comment enough and I put that down to bloggers not realising the benefits. Here are the benefits as I see them, let me know if I miss any:

  1. It’s the right thing to do - people complain about not enough comments on their own blog but don’t take enough time to comment on others. We all like some attention or an occasional pat on the head for a job well done. Treat others as you would like to be treated yourself!
  2. Make friends and influence people - Blogging is partly a networking activity. People are more likely to link to you (or more) if they have heard of you. Get yourself out there, make friends.
  3. Clicks - People click your link to see what other interesting stuff you write about. Obvious but true.
  4. Develop a Bloggers Eye - Find the point of interest in a story. By commenting you are training your brain to think of something interesting.
  5. Create Commentable Content - By observing which posts you commented on and which you did not (or couldn’t no matter how hard you tried!) you develop an awareness of what works to attract comments.
  6. Comments = Ideas - You managed to comment. Could your comment be expanded into a post …?
  7. You never know who is reading - It amazes me who reads my comments on obscure blogs that I thought only myself and a handful of others read. My comments on one blog lead to a consulting gig. You never know unless you try.
  8. What you give you get more of - I strongly believe what you put out comes back to you. You will get more comments yourself. Try it.
  9. Keep Match Fit - Exercise your writing muscles, the more your practice the more you improve. Comments should be short, fast, to the point and make an impact. They are excellent tests of your writing skill.
  10. Comment on Fresh Blogs For Fresh Perspectives - If you are always among the same crowd you will find inevitably the same thoughts being reflected back over and over. Break out! I advise people to comment on new blogs every day. By not commenting on the same old blogs, or especially setting a goal to comment on more blogs than the day before, you will be forced to leave your blog-reading comfort zone and visit new blogs. This exposes you to new ideas, different ways of looking at things, and hopefully a way out of the echo chamber.

Blogging is not just about saying your piece, it is also about going out and joining the conversation where it is happening. It’s about reaching out to people and exposing yourself (steady!) to new ideas. Some giving as well as all this taking back we focus on.

Ask not what the blogosphere can do for you but what together we can do for the blogosphere.

I didn’t manage to comment on more blogs every day, but I did make a ton of comments. It sparked ideas, conversations, new contacts, opened up opportunities, attracted more subscribers and I had a lot of fun.

Those of you who tried it, what did you find?

author : Crisg

Monday, May 5, 2008

How to Engaging Readers

Blog Content Ideas

If you are blogging for a purpose it is not enough just to attract attention, we need things to happen as a consequence. That means at least providing the right content to the right people.

As I have said many times before, while many people are looking for “traffic”, you can often be more successful with a smaller audience.

One of the challenges we face when launching a new blog is what our theme or subject should be. What will attract a good audience for what we have to offer?

The simple answer is to follow the diagram at the top of this page

  1. Find out what readers want to know
  2. Narrow it down to what you can credibly provide
  3. Provide it
  4. ??
  5. Profit

It can be that simple, but to be truly successful, and to really stand out from the crowd, and actually achieve the goals you set out, you need to do more.

What is that missing element? Engagement.

What is Engagement?

I was going to say “not in the marriage sense” but actually that’s not a bad way of looking at it. You want your audience to stay with you in a relationship for the long haul, not be casual here today gone tomorrow flings!

Most blogs, in fact most websites, have that hit-and-bounce-away effect. We need to create an environment where people want to stay around.

Attract attention, employ occupy (person, powers, thought). Emotional involvement or commitment
– Oxford Illustrated Dictionary.

the act of sharing in the activities of a group; “the teacher tried to increase his students’ engagement in class activities”
– Princeton.edu

Engagement is simply the elements of your blog that cause readers to be more involved:

  1. Motivation - Rather than talk to “interest”, can you answer a real need?
  2. Attraction - While traffic isn’t the only answer of course it is part of the mix
  3. Incentive - What do the visitors expect to receive in return for giving you that attention?
  4. Encouragement - How well do you get your readers involved?
  5. Interaction - Is the blog a two-way discussion or a one person soap box?
  6. Value - Are you providing real and original value?
  7. Community - Do people feel a part of something?
  8. Loyalty - Is there a willingness to return repeatedly or even bring friends?
  9. Connection - How much of a connection do people feel with you?
  10. Experience - Most important, is frequenting your blog a positive and rewarding experience?

If you can answer all of those ten points positively and confidently you are onto a winner. Otherwise you need to work on developing your blog into a better culture. Blog culture begins with you and it requires you to be

  • Present
  • Involved
  • Interested
  • Open

It’s about putting yourself into your blog and not seeing it purely as a cash delivery device but as a way to interact with your audience and provide them with what you promise. It’s about valuing and respecting your reader.

When you succeed in creating a valuable, interactive, welcoming resource that meets your readers real needs that is when you create an engaged and loyal community.

source : chrisg

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Boost Your Technorati Rank


My Technorati Authority seems to have been stuck for months. Luckily I might have a solution!

Now before I tell you the “secret”, I have to inform you that this will only work for an established blog. A brand new blog will have to focus on gaining new links.

With that caveat out of the way, what is this big trick?

It seems that Technorati misses a lot of the links pointed at your blog. This leads to a familiar frustration for many bloggers who feel that they are not getting the recognition they deserve.

To be fair it is not Technorati’s fault if the people who link to you do not make their blogs known to the service. That’s where you can help them, you and Technorati at the same time.

When you get a new referrer that isn’t noted by Technorati, submit it so that it shows up.

How to Get the Technorati Rank You Deserve

  1. Gather a list of blogs linking to you - you can use a tool or a Yahoo! link: search
  2. Submit the list to Technorati - manually or using a service

Easy, eh? :)

To make it even easier, there is a tool over at Sebastian’s Pamphlets to make submitting to Technorati as simple as copy, paste and click!

I’m going to try it and hopefully I should see a small jump in my rank!

Source : Crisg

Sunday, April 27, 2008

1001 Newbie - Friendly Tips


Author : Bob McElwain
Copyright : Bob McElwain, 2001.
Number of Pages : 255 pages
Chapter : 9 chapters.
(Stake Your Claim, Getting Your Site Right, Website Basics, Promoting Your Site For Greater Profits, The Search Engine Game,Ezines And Your Bottom Line, Odds And Ends, Product Reviews, Great Deals).
Appendices : 9 appendices
Reprint rights : can be reprinted whatever format you like.
Reselling rights : received a license to resell the work at whatever price.
Giveaway right : can even give the book away.
Type of document : PDF

Author Welcome Page :

Here is the best of my work published in "STAT News" and elsewhere. Each piece has been reedited and updated to include the latest information available. I hope you enjoy every single article. And that you find great ideas throughout to help you start or improve your website, one that succeeds in producing ever greater profits. How To Use "1001 Newbie-Friendly Tips" Many will prefer to simply read it from beginning to end. However the Table of Contents is designed to make it easy to select items of interest. And to return to them at your convenience. The reason for this is in two parts. First, on a given day, you may have no interest in many of the topics. But when you do need the information, you will find it easy to select the appropriate article. Second, as we read about something we really need, we do so with care. We may take notes, even reread it, just to be sure we have it locked in our minds. But when we turn to paper or a computer screen, we often find what we thought was clear, is not. The Table of Contents makes it a snap to go back for another look. Don't Miss These Opportunities Be sure to check out the Appendix items. I have included some excellent offers that may be exactly what you have been looking for. In particular, if you are not a subscriber to "STAT News," I hope you will join my list. Each week you will receive the best information I have been able create and collect.

A Technical Point About Links Links to other parts of "1001 Newbie-Friendly Tips" appear as links on any web page, typically the title of an article or a click-here item. Links to the Web are noted only with the domain name. My site reads: SiteTipsAndTricks.Com. The actual link, however, includes "http://www." and a page name if needed. When you click a URL to the Web, most systems load the dialer if not already online. If this does not happen in your situation, you will need to be online for a click on a URL to work. The links at the very bottom of the page to Contents and Appendices are probably obvious. But note that Chapter returns you to the beginning of whatever chapter you are in. About Printing Some printers may not work well with this book format. Or may waste paper. Many articles included are available in text format from an autoresponder. These printup nicely. For a list, please see Appendix G. Any Questions? As you use these notes, you are bound to encounter an idea or two that is not clear, or one that may seem flat wrong, please feel free to ask about it. I welcome all questions and comments. Just send me note at: TIPS@sitetipsandtricks.com I will get back to you ASAP. Here's Too Successful Site Building! Again, I hope you enjoy what you find here. And that it adds significantly to your bottom line. Bob McElwain BACK

Author Tips :
To all seeking success on the Web:
"I hope these notes help you achieve your personal and financial goals, and make it easier for you to do so". -- Bob
Download : Click Here

MyBlogLog Traffic Secrets


Author : Easybookrights
Copyright : Easybookrights, 2007.
Number of Pages : 17 pages
File size : 294 Kb
Resell right : -
Reprint right : can reprint this ebook
Giveaway right : can even give the book away.
Type of document : PDF
Original retail value : -
Brought to you by : EasyEbookRights And Yusa Indera Weblog


That kind of traffic doesn’t yield feasible results.

When I first started using MyBlogLog (a service of Yahoo), I joined with the simple intention of just checking it out, I really wasn’t expecting any miracle traffic nor was I planning on becoming a daily active user. When I started exploring the community however, I was surprised at how userfriendly their interface is and how cleverly designed the entire system is. In fact, MyBlogLog has created the program to literally push users to your blog and help you generate traffic. They motivate their community members to browse the websites of one another and unlike

MYBLOGLOG TRAFFIC SECRETS REPORT

StumbleU pon, a lot of the visitors to your blog aren’t there just to “exchange” traffic with you, they are truly interested in what you have to offer. For instance, when I placed my very first “paid” product on my blog, I received 6 sales the very
first day, and this is with only having a community of about 60 users at the time! I couldn’t believe it, I had never sold a darn thing with Squidoo, and had never generated nowhere near this much traffic with any of the other communities so heavily promoted in the marketing industry. While six sales isn’t anything worth opening a bottle of champagne over, it was a clear indicator that MyBlogLog can do more than just send a handful of visitors to my blog or website. I have created a step-by-step blueprint that will help you generate traffic and make sales using MyBlogLog, an extremely important and useful tool

Download : Click Here

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Top 9 PPC Program 2008


  1. Adbrite

    as a publisher, you can use AdBrite to set your own ad rates and approve or reject every ad that’s purchased for your site. AdBrite enables you to instantly sell ads to your visitors via a “Your Ad Here” link, in addition to selling through our market.

  2. RevenuePilot

    RevenuePilot is a leading Pay-Per-Click network that brings advertisers and web surfers together. RevenuePilot’s Affiliate Program allows web publishers to serve as intermediaries between web surfers and advertisers, earning money each time their users click on an advertiser’s listing.

  3. UmaxLogin

    UmaxLogin is a Pay-Per-Click system that has the most relevant results at the highest bids in the industry. Partnership with UmaxLogin provides you with stable income while improving the content of your sites. UmaxLogin provides numerous tools to help you integrate search results on your website and optimize it to get the maximum out of your traffic and help you build a stronger user base. UmaxLogin generates highest revenues paying 70% rev-share with no hold biweekly.

  4. ABCSearch

    The ABCSearch founders have been pioneers in the online ad industry since 1995 and have successfully built many well known web properties. ABCSearch is a subsidiary of Internext Media Corp. based in Encino, California. ABCSearch launched in early 2001 and has become a recognized leader in the online advertising industry. Serving in excess of 2.5 Billion searches per month, ABCSearch is one of the world’s top providers of cost-per-click search on the Internet. We are dedicated to delivering to consumers the most relevant, high quality search results possible.

  5. Alternateurl

    If you use Google AdSense or any other ad program to earn money from your website, now you can increase the amount of revenue you make automatically. Most online ad programs, including Google, will sometimes show default ads, or public service announcements (PSAs) when they have no paying ads to show. This can happen for many reasons, especially when their ad code crawls your pages. AlternateURL lets you replace those ads with paying ads. Just use the code we provide to replace your ad program’s default ads. For use with Google, FastClick and many other ad programs. Or you can use AlternateURL as your primary ad program.

  6. Text Link Ads

    Text Link Ads are unique because they are static html links that can drive targeted traffic and help your link popularity which is a top factor in organic search engine rankings.

  7. InterServe

    InterServe provides publishers with the ability to generate unlimited revenue by using our unique adserving technology to deliver advertising campaigns in a wide range of media formats. Our feature packed real time solution puts publishers in total control over the advertiser campaigns you display, whilst ensuring maximum return for your advertising inventory.

  8. Etology

    Good PPC Program. Greate alternative to adsense. Try it.

  9. AdMedian

    Founded in 2003, AdMedian LLC is a profitable online media company that provides solutions to advertisers and publishers worldwide. AdMedian manages a wide range of advertisers in both the US and abroad offering run-of-site or vertical specific graphical ad campaigns and sponsored search advertising options. Publishers are offered multiple solutions to help them monetize their web site traffic through our Publisher Network on a CPM and CPC basis. By utilizing our performance driven ad-serving capabilities and secured by our proprietary click fraud technology, advertisers are able to maximize their ROI, while enabling publishers to reach their full earning potential. We have paid out millions of dollars to our publishers who are loyal to our network due to our ability to provide multiple payment options, fast payback, personal service and leading money making opportunities.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

10 PPC Tips Improve Advertising

1. Define your goals and what strategy you want to use to reach these goals. Also what metric will you use to define your campaign a success and consider your goal to have been met.

2. Gather Data. There is nothing more important than making informed decisions. I have seen too many account owners and account managers make decisions based a current trend instead of looking at the bigger picture. Gathering data should not be limited to a single online source but open your eyes and look at every possible influence on your business rather than just what your keyword search volumes from Overture or AdWords are showing. Customers are a great source of data and the savvy search marketer is always in tune with his customers needs and plans accordingly.

3. Keyword level Tracking. As, I mention in point 2 it is important for you to gather data to make informed decisions. For this I highly recommend using a 3rd party tracking system. I will review my thoughts on some tools in an upcoming post.

4. Bid on approriate keywords. Its a general theory and common misconception that the more keywords you bid on the better. Well theoretically you will drive more traffic to your site but it will not be relevant. Start with your base group of keywords and expand on those. This will not be a one time process, it will be constantly evolving. This is another reason for the importance of Keyword level tracking. It gives you the ability to expand on words that are performing well, they maybe unexpected words that initially would have not made your list.

5. Target proper landing pages. Finding the ideal landing page can take some trial and error, but for a general rule, it is best to use as relevant a page as possible. This is not always the case and I will discuss some examples soon, but it is a good general rule to follow. Too many people go straight to the home page and their conversion rate suffers badly.

6. Scare factor. Avoid flashy images, videos, bright colors or music on your landing pages. These cause an instant reaction for users to click the back button and leave your site immediately, costing you money!

7. Easy Landing pages. Yes, the third point about landing pages is make sure they are focused enough to get the user to do what you want. Make the 'buy now' or 'add to cart' buttons very obvious, do not bury them below the fold. It is also ok to have multiple buttons at the top middle and bottom of your product page, if the page requires vertical scrolling.

8. Stick to the majors. Sure you can go out there and sign up with every engine or PPC program but are you really going to see the return on your investment. I'm not only talking about the lower numbers of traffic, which you maybe able to scrape some conversions from, but the time it is going to take for you to manage these accounts may not be worth it. LookSmart, Kanoodle, Findwhat, BlowSearch etc do not have the tools developed to help you operate efficiently and their click fraud systems are a little less developed which may lead wasted funds. So for the time being I would keep my money in Yahoo, MSN, Ask, and *gasp* Google.

9. Prepare for seasons. It is always a wise idea to prepare campaigns that fit the seasons. For the upcoming holidays you should probably already have a few holiday ads and ad groups with holiday terms in the works. It is also beneficial to create a holiday ad group that has some of your best producing words paired with some holiday focused ads. This also applies to other seasons that affect your consumers shopping habits

10. More data. Did I already say this? Well I can't stress it enough. If you are just using the consoles that Google Adwords and Yahoo Search Marketing provide, you are missing a lot of important information. Think of it as going to Best Buy to purchase a plasma tv. You don't just purchase the first plasma tv you see, right? Of course not. I will expand on which stats packages are the best for making informed decisions in an upcoming post.

source : Marketing Shift

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

50 Adwords Tips

This article tells you all of the top tricks and tips you - or your Google Pay Per Click (PPC) company - can use to maximise profits and get those click and conversion rates climbing ever-skyward.

By the time we have finished, you should have a fully-organised AdWords profit-making machine that makes more money for the same investment.

Google AdWords as this is one the best advertising tools on the internet, and you don't have to be a 'surgeon' to be able to set up an account and run ads on it!

To get the most out of our advice, just put a few things into action and you will start to see:

  • Higher click-through rates
  • More conversions
  • More profit

What is Google AdWords?

AdWords is Google's flagship advertising product and main source of revenue. AdWords offers PPC advertising, as well as site-targeted advertising for both text and banner ads. The AdWords program includes local, national and international distribution. Google's text advertisements are short, consisting of one title line and two content text lines.

Pay-Per-Click Advertisements

Advertisers specify the words that should trigger their ads and the maximum amount they are willing to pay per click. When a user searches on Google, ads for relevant words are shown as 'sponsored links' on the right side of the screen, and sometimes above the main search results.

As you can see in the following screenshot:

Google Search        Results Page

The ordering of paid listings depends on other advertisers' bids in the Pay for Placement (P4P) programme and the 'quality score' of all ads shown for a given search. The quality score is calculated from historical click-through rates and the relevance of an advertiser's text, keyword and landing page to the search, as determined by Google.

The auction mechanism that determines the order of the ads has been called a 'generalized second price' auction. It is a variation of the Vickrey auction.

Site-targeted advertisements

In 2003 Google introduced site-targeted advertising. Using the AdWords control panel, advertisers can enter keywords of interest. Google then offers to place ads on sites advertisers consider relevant within their content network. Advertisers then bid for placement. Advertisers can also build a list of sites where they do not wish their ads to appear, but cannot obtain a list of sites where their ads could appear. They can, however see a report of where their ads showed and how many viewings and clicks were achieved. An example of this site-targeted advertising is shown here:

Content       Network

So there we have what Google AdWords is all about - now for the real nitty gritty: what you should be doing to improve all the important features and get the maximum PROFIT.

OK, here we go. Below are your top 50 tips. Next to each tip I have provided a score for difficulty and value. The scores are out of 5, with 5 being the most difficult or the most valuable. If you are new to AdWords, pick the high value low difficulty tips to implement first. However, tips with a value of 5 are fairly essential regardless of the difficulty.

1. Use targeted keywords

Never go with the full list of keywords that Google suggests. Pick the keywords that closely match your business. What would people search if looking for your products. Time and time again we see unrelated keywords in campaigns that companies run. For example, if you sell real estate in Florida, don't buy the keywords 'Florida' or 'real estate', buy 'Florida real estate'. Simple, effective, and won't waste your money.

Keywords really are the central hub of your success on AdWords. Take your time, and read every tip below that has anything to do with keywords before you start.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 3 out of 5 Value:Value level 5 out of 5

2. Search for the keywords that you are buying

Type the keywords into Google. See if your competitors are showing. If the page that shows is unrelated to your business then probably it is not a good search for you.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 2 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

3. Get some keyword clues from your competitors

Companies that know what they are doing in the area of search will have their page titles loaded with their best keywords. Have a look at the good performers in your market. See what keywords they are using in the page titles (the text that appears in the top bar of the browser window). If you are familiar with viewing the source of a page, you can see the keywords they have placed in their 'keywords' META tag.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 3 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

4. Use lots of keywords

Think of as many ways of saying your product or service as you can. This will enable you to buy more specific keywords. It is much better to buy a specific keyword such as 'buy reebok running shoes', than expect to catch this search on a broad match of 'running shoes'.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 4 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

5. Use keyword research tools

Google's tool is good in that it suggests similar searches. Google's tool is available as you set up your AdWords account. You type in a search and the tool will return similar searches. Some of these will be irrelevant so be careful.

Yahoo has a tool that allows you to type in your root term and it shows searches that include this term. It also gives exact search volumes on Yahoo for the previous month for that term. It is an excellent tool when looking for negative keywords. Links to both these tools are below:

Difficulty:Difficulty level 3 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

6. Use Global Negatives

If you're selling something, you don't want people finding your ad when they're searching for free stuff. This sounds obvious, but do some searches and you'll see it happening. Use the word 'free' in your campaign global negatives. Add any words you don't want your ad associated with to this list. Using negative keywords is especially important if you're using broad matching.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 4 out of 5 Value:Value level 5 out of 5

7. Create lots of ad groups

An ad group should contain a small number of keywords (10-40) that are targeted around a certain theme. These keywords will all show the same ad. Ad groups should be created for dominant search terms, different product groups, often individual products if they are well searched. The choosing of ad groups and grouping of the keywords is a difficult area so be prepared to restructure your campaign after a couple of months because your first attempt was not good.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 4 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

8. Test different positions

How much of a difference will being in the first position, as opposed to the second, third or sixth position make, for your net profit? The answer is that it depends on your creative, industry and who else is bidding on your keywords. Test your creative in each position and work out where it will be most effective, from an ROI point of view. Remember also that the AdWords ranking algorithm works on a bid price x CTR (click through rate) basis (it's actually more complicated than that, but this gives an idea as to why out of two ads with similar bids, one will be higher because of a higher CTR).

Difficulty:Difficulty level 4 out of 5 Value:Value level 3 out of 5

9. Test different creatives

You can also test your creatives (the ad text). Write two or three different ads and Google will rotate them in this ad group. The creative that gives you the highest ROI is the one you should go with. You need to give the test long enough to produce statistically significant results. How long this is depends on the search volume and the number of conversions you achieve. Use common sense as to when you think the results show that one ad is better than the others unless you know your stats.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 4 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

10. Rotate ads evenly

In your campaign settings one of the options is to rotate ads evenly or to have Google optimize for you and show better performing ads more frequently. The default setting is for Google to optimize. Change it! Google optimizes based on clicks, not conversions. In other words, it shows the ad that brings Google the most money, not you. Many times we see ads that have lower click through rates getting a better ROI because they appeal to buyers, whereas other ads with higher click through rates appeal to the masses.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 1 out of 5 Value:Value level 3 out of 5

11. Organise your campaigns by topic

You don't want to have your health supplements in with your running shoes now do you? Each campaign should be for a unique topic. If you sell one type of product then keep to one campaign unless there is a good reason to do otherwise. It will be easier to manage this way.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 4 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

12. Target the right languages and locations

I see this mistake over and over again. You run an ad that is selling blue widgets and you want to target the ad to the folks in Kentucky, then what happens? Because you have your settings wrong, Mr Wong goes onto Google China and sees your ad for Blue widgets.

You have targeted the wrong country, and the wrong language!

Difficulty:Difficulty level 2 out of 5 Value:Value level 5 out of 5

13. Make sure your Ad Groups are highly specific

As with your campaigns, each and every ad group should be aimed at a unique product or service.

Example: Campaign 1 - Omega 3 Supplements
Ad Groups -

  • FISH OIL - all keywords relating to fish oil
  • EPA - all keywords relating to EPA (the most important ingredient of fish oil)
  • OMEGA 3 - All keywords relating to Omega-3
  • MIXED - Mixed terms relating to all above

If you are very serious about maximising your profits and really giving AdWords good shot, you will need to do this for every product or service that you are advertising. Keep it organised, clean and laser targeted!

Difficulty:Difficulty level 4 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

14. Optimise all of your Ad including your URL

Lets say for example you were selling golf clubs. Think about which URL looks better:

  • www.sportsshop.com/asp.369£0-/lop0-9823309877654/4/a/098665
  • SportsShop.com/GolfClubs

You also need to remember that the ad copy is what is going to make people click through, so make sure it is keyword rich and appealing In a display URL on AdWords, the domain name (www.sportsshop.com) must exist, but the extension (/golfclubs) does not need to exist, so use it as another opportunity to state your keywords and tell your users that you have a whole section on this topic.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 3 out of 5 Value:Value level 3 out of 5

15. Avoid your home page as your landing page

The landing page is the page that the person who clicked on your ad will see when they come through to your site. Don't use your homepage as your landing page unless it deals only with selling the product you're advertising. For instance, if you're selling posters, have a landing page for 'flower' posters and a landing page for 'car'. You can even go one better and have a landing page for each poster - so you'll have a page for 'sunflower posters' and 'bmw 5 series posters'.

Land people in the relevant place.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 4 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

16. Track conversions

This could actually be the biggest key to helping you increase your AdWord profits, if you don't know which words are turning into conversions then you are on a loser right from the word go! Just because an ad has a high CTR doesn't mean that it is making you money! How would you know if you are not tracking it? You can use Google's own conversion tracking codes, or you can use your own software. Use Googles as it will be easier! You need to know which keywords are performing so you can put more money there and switch off words that are not getting you conversions and are wasting your money.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 3 out of 5 Value:Value level 5 out of 5

17. Work out your cost per sale

Why is this important? If it is costing you $20 to gain a sale and the profit on that sale is only $15, then you are losing money! Tracking your cost per sale is easy if you have the Google tracking code inserted on your site as Google work this out for you and display the result in the cost/conversion box on your account.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 4 out of 5 Value:Value level 5 out of 5

18. Don't enter into bidding wars

It is easy to get into bidding wars with your competitors. You want to be number one and so does your competitor. The best thing to do is to take a step back, ten deep breaths and consider how important it really is to be in the number one spot. If you can justify it, fine but otherwise: let your competitor be number one, sit in the number two slot and wait. If you have a better product, your click-through rate will get you to the top - and you'll still be paying the same as you were in the second position.

More and more people are using automated bidding software. This software will update at a set interval to keep the ad in the desired position. Doing battle with this kind of software is even more frustrating and less rewarding than trying to outbid a competitor. Bidding software that targets a certain position can waste a lot of money. You can be cleverer than that by working out your ROI and therefore your optimum bid price.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 2 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

19. Use GeoTargeting for local campaigns

If you are running an Ad Campaign targeting certain geographical areas for example 'golf course repairs in Florida', make sure you use the GeoTargeting option. This will save you a lot of money on useless clicks and help speed your progress toward successful conversions and, ultimately, sales.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 3 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

20. Double-up when GeoTargeting

When running GeoTargeting, always mirror the campaign with a non-GeoTargeted equivalent with place names in the keywords. For example, for a Manchester-based IT company, run 'IT Company' as a keyword in a campaign targeted to Manchester, and run a country-wide campaign including the keyword 'IT Company Manchester'.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 4 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

21. Keep a close eye on your competitors

There shouldn't be any need for this if you are running a highly organised AdWords account that is using statistics, facts and tracking rather than guessing! If you are doing all of this it is you they need to be worried about.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 4 out of 5 Value:Value level 3 out of 5

22. Do not duplicate your keywords in other Ad Groups

Google only shows one keyword per advertiser so there is absolutely no need to go and put the same keyword across all your ad groups.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 2 out of 5 Value:Value level 3 out of 5

23. Keep keywords relevant to your site to maximise profits

You can waste a lot of money by putting up keywords that are not particularly relevant to your site in the hope that it might get you a sale. For example, if someone is looking for the Toronto Blue Jays and your ad pops up saying 'Toronto Blue Jays right here' and your site is selling baseball equipment, it's is as pointless as piles.

It's more than likely they'll click off your site to try and find out whatever it was about the Blue Jays they were trying to find. Be relevant and the click throughs you receive will be more fruitful.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 3 out of 5 Value:Value level 5 out of 5

24. Take advantage of keyword matching options

With some keywords, you will get more ad impressions. With others, you will get fewer impressions, but potentially more clicks. By strategically using keyword matching options, you can reach the most appropriate prospects, potentially reduce your actual CPC or CPM, and increase your ROI. For example, use negative keywords to reduce irrelevant ad impressions and increase your quality score.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 4 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

25. Don't get emotionally attached to keywords

Judge every keyword on its conversions. If your boss says "we need to be number 1 for widgets" show him the data on the cost and return. Coming further down will make sure you are shown more regularly throughout the day for less; wider exposure at a cheaper price.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 2 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

26. Download AdWords Editor to make mass changes quickly and easily

It really is as simple as that, visit: http://www.google.com/adwordseditor/ If you are following this guide then AdWords Editor is essential. Using it will change your life!

Difficulty:Difficulty level 4 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

27. Install Google Analytics

It's free and it can tell you a great deal about your site. This is particularly useful when it comes to finding out what people are doing when they get to your landing page(s).

Difficulty:Difficulty level 4 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

28. Use capital letters wisely

Capitalize the first letter of each word of your ad. Also try to include words that people will love in your ad, or even in the URL, whenever possible. Try to use words like: Free, Special, Strong and Quality, and aim to capitalise them every time. I call these trigger words because they make people more likely to click your ad.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 1 out of 5 Value:Value level 3 out of 5

29. Use numbers in your Ad

An easy trick. Numbers like 10% off or From $19.99 catch the eye.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 1 out of 5 Value:Value level 3 out of 5

30. Use the dynamic keyword feature

This handy feature will allow you to get your keywords into the ad title. This has the great effect of making people more likely to click your ads! However, be sure to add some alternative text in case the search term exceeds the maximum headline length Google allow for ads, or the ad will be shown without a heading. Not good!

Instructions for use of this feature can be found by typing 'keyword insertion' into Google.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 4 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

31. Avoid 'Casual Clickers'

Because clicks equal costs, it's important to make them count. To that end, it's just as important to discourage 'casual traffic' as it is to encourage proper customers. To do this, include text that stops people from clicking your ad at random, while simultaneously encouraging potential customers.

For example if you include a price in your ad, lookieloos may think it is too expensive for them in the first place and therefore not bother clicking the ad at all. Serious customers, on the other hand, are more likely to click on an ad with all the relevant info displayed.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 4 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

32. Be cautious of content-based Ads (The Content Network)

Some people find that the quality of traffic that comes directly from a Google search, as apposed to from content-based ads, is far more likely to converting into a sale. This is something you want to keep an eye on for yourself, particularly in the early stages of your AdWords campaign. Our advice would be to NOT use the Content Network initially unless you know what you are doing.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 1 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

33. Drop the WWW

That's right, make sure you drop the WWW at the start of your display URL. This gives you more room for those all-important trigger words and keywords.

Example:

  • www.storefront.com/trial.asp - BAD
  • StoreFront.com/FreeTrial - GOOD
Difficulty:Difficulty level 1 out of 5 Value:Value level 3 out of 5

34. Understand the Google broad match

What's broad matching? From the horse's mouth: 'If you include general keyword or keyword phrases - such as tennis shoes - in your keyword list, your ads will appear when users search for tennis and shoes, in any order, and possibly along with other terms.'

Google will often show your ads when people search for similar or related topics to the keyword in question using synonyms or much more general terms. It will also show your ad on totally irrelevant searches. You will still get clicks on these, but not very many.

A very low CTR is usually an indicator that your ads are being shown for unrelated searches to people that aren't interested. It may still be a good keyword to bid for, but remember: bid appropriately!

Difficulty:Difficulty level 3 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

35. Focus on your best keywords first

This is especially true when you have a small or limited budget. Often, it can mean dropping or reducing the general terms like 'Stereos' or 'Sound Systems' in favour of specific terms relevant to your site - these more specific terms often convert into sales better. For example, use 'Sony XC 2000' as opposed to the broader terms.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 3 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

36. Optimise your landing page

People will leave instantly if they don't perceive your site offers what they want 'at a glance'. Furthermore, there are a myriad of techniques that can be followed to maximise your chances of a conversion by getting your landing page to act more like your Number 1 sales person. The landing page should effectively: sell your product, explain the benefits and make things clear in order to easily complete that conversion.

Keep checking back because we are putting together some easy to follow quick tips for landing pages.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 5 out of 5 Value:Value level 5 out of 5

37. Include keywords in your Ad Text

Include your keywords in your ad text (especially the title) to show users that your ad relates to their search. If your ad shows when a user searches on a keyword in your Ad Group, the keyword will appear in bold in your ad text. In addition, remember that users tend to search for products and services, so avoid using your company name in the ad title unless your goal is brand/company name recognition. To do this you need to split your keywords around tight themes and show a relevant ad for your top keywords.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 5 out of 5 Value:Value level 5 out of 5

38. Create simple, enticing Ads.

What makes your product or service stand out from your competitors? Highlight these key differences in your ad, and be sure to describe any unique features or promotions you offer.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 5 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

39. Use a strong call-to-action.

Your ad should convey a call-to-action along with the benefits of your product or service. A call-to-action encourages users to click on your ad and ensures they understand exactly what you expect them to do when they reach your landing page. Some call-to-action phrases are: Buy, Sell, Order, Browse, Sign up and Get a Quote.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 2 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

40. Make your website a fully-optimised conversion machine

Ultimately, your website determines how well your ads convert. Be sure it is designed to let users complete the action you want them to take.

Typical internet users decide quickly whether to stay on a website or move on to another. When users click on your ad, they should arrive on a landing page clearly displaying the information or product offered in your ad. If users do not immediately find what prompted them to click on your ad, they are more likely to leave your site without converting.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 5 out of 5 Value:Value level 5 out of 5

41. Keep the user experience in mind

As you design or redesign your landing page and website, make the user experience a high priority.

  • Place important information and images on the top left, where the eye naturally goes first.
  • Help people get what they want in three clicks or fewer.
  • Cut out pop-ups and pop-unders.
  • Create a simple process for users to complete transactions.
Difficulty:Difficulty level 5 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

42. Check your account statistics

Your CTR, minimum bid and keyword status are good initial indicators of how well your ads are performing. Your account statistics are reported at the campaign, Ad Group and keyword or site levels. They include clicks, impressions, CTR, average CPC or CPM, cost, average position, conversion rate and cost-per-conversion. Your most important statistic is cost per conversion. Never get carried away with clicks!

Difficulty:Difficulty level 3 out of 5 Value:Value level 5 out of 5

43. Avoid the ruthless pursuit of 'main' keywords

On Google especially, there is a lot of competition for high volume keywords. Thus, the price to compete for those keywords is very high. In many cases, you might drive volume with those keywords, but you won't be driving profits because you will be bidding more per click than you are making per click.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 3 out of 5 Value:Value level 5 out of 5

44. Drive profit, not clicks (or revenue)

For me, PPC is all about driving profits. Revenues are nice, but if I'm not pulling out significantly more money than I'm putting in, then it's not worth my trouble. In the quest to drive up sales volume it's easy to spend way too much per sale until you are no longer profitable at all. Remember, profits first, volume second.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 5 out of 5 Value:Value level 5 out of 5

45. Optimize

We have given a large number of tips for setting up keywords, testing ads, landing pages etc. These tests are a complete waste of time unless you monitor them and act on the results. This is one of the most difficult areas of PPC. To do this properly you need to use statistical techniques, but you can make massive improvements using common sense and just scanning the numbers by eye. The following tips will help with this optimization.

46. Make an optimization diary

You need to document everything that you do and why. You need to set review dates and stick to them. Give your changes the chance to work.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 5 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

47. Review bids

Following the first month (when you will be feeling your way into the market) review your bids once a week, at the same time. Monday morning is good because you will optimize based on a full week and then not pollute the next week's figures with mixed bids.

Don't be tempted into doing this more frequently unless you are a professional and have access to advances statistics. You will get in a mess.

Raise the bids on good performers and lower on bad performers. Remember that performance of a keyword is random behaviour. Some good keywords will have freakishly low weeks at times, and some bad keywords will get orders. Do not over-react!

Difficulty:Difficulty level 5 out of 5 Value:Value level 5 out of 5

48. Review Ads

Review your ads once a month. The first day of the month is good. Remove bad performing ads and replace them with elements of the good performers with changes. Discover what makes the good ads good. Note the changes in your optimization diary and write down your ideas. There is a lot to optimize and you will forget in 10 minutes, let alone 1 month.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 5 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

49. Clean keywords

Clean the keywords daily in the first week, weekly for the next 3 weeks and monthly after that. Cleaning the keywords involves using advanced analytics and analysing the actual search traffic that comes in against the keyword. For example, you may buy the keyword 'condom' on a broad or phrase match. Analysis of the actual traffic may reveal that your ad is showing when people type 'how to put on a condom' or 'condom pictures'. You need to spot these negatives and act on them.

In all cases, note the changes you make in your optimization diary, and at the next optimization review, analyze the data from this date so you know that you are analyzing the figures at the new, optimized levels.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 5 out of 5 Value:Value level 4 out of 5

50. Is a PPC Agency for You?

Whilst some people can manage their own AdWords account and be very successful at it, complex campaigns often need an expert. There are many agencies to choose from but ensure that if this is a road you follow that you are armed with the right questions to make sure they are going to add value to your campaigns. Read our 'Top 10 Tips For Dealing With PPC Agencies'.

Difficulty:Difficulty level 1 out of 5 Value:Value level 5 out of 5

source : SearchLaboratory