Archive for February, 2010
Tracking Your AdSense Performance
Casey Yew asked:
Google AdSense is a program that offers an easy way for web publishers to display ads relevant to their site on their pages and earn money. It also offers pay per impression, or pay per click advertising, options to businesses who want to get the word out about their product or service to interested customers. Once you start your AdSense account don’t forget about it and wait for money to start rolling in. There is still work to be done.
Since you will only make money from click-throughs on your site, you’ll need traffic – and the more traffic, the more money you’ll make. Here are some tips for getting the most from your AdSense dedicated space and for driving up traffic:
Location, location, location. Position your AdSense ads at the top of your page or near the focal point of your pagesOffer freebies or unique content. Free stuff is a big draw to visitors and more visitors equal more click throughs, which turns into more money in your walletRotate content often and let your visitors know it’s always changing. It keeps them coming back for more.Keep those email addresses. It’s important to keep the email addresses of your visitors and let them know when your content has changed. Consider offering a free newsletter or ezine to your visitors to stay in contact with them.Add Google search to your site. In addition to offering visitors the convenience of searching on your site, you can make more money from Google by adding this feature.Keep your graphics small and simple. Because graphics and animations take longer to load than text and links, the simpler your pages, the quicker they load. And the faster they load, the faster your visitors can click their way to your profit.Keep the design simple and clear.
Reporting and monitoring is the next important step. Google has built in reporting features but you may want more detailed reports as well. The Google reports will show:
Total number of page impressionsNumber of ad clicks and the click through rateThe cost per click (CPC) and cost per 1000 impressions (CPM)Total earnings
While this is wonderful, valuable information, you may also want to know:
Click through rates of every page on every domain you are using AdSense on (the Google tool called “Channels” limits the information you get from each domain or ad type)Keyword reports if you have the Google Search feature on your site(s), so you can optimize for those search wordsReporting in real time, rather than waiting 48 hours for reporting from GoogleWhich particular ads are making you moneyDetailed information about each click including IP address, date/time, page the ad was on, particular ad that was clicked on, original referrer to your site
You can get all of this from third party AdSense tracking software, available online from a number of vendors. You may want to email Google to make sure it’s an approved script; otherwise you risk being removed from the AdSense program.
Once you have the data regarding which ads are working and which aren’t, change your preferences to stop running ads that aren’t paying off and increase the ads that are. There are options to change color palettes of the ads to better fit your site, a variety of ad formats to always keep your website looking fresh and don’t be afraid to rearrange content often.
Create a video blog…instantly.
Google AdSense is a program that offers an easy way for web publishers to display ads relevant to their site on their pages and earn money. It also offers pay per impression, or pay per click advertising, options to businesses who want to get the word out about their product or service to interested customers. Once you start your AdSense account don’t forget about it and wait for money to start rolling in. There is still work to be done.
Since you will only make money from click-throughs on your site, you’ll need traffic – and the more traffic, the more money you’ll make. Here are some tips for getting the most from your AdSense dedicated space and for driving up traffic:
Location, location, location. Position your AdSense ads at the top of your page or near the focal point of your pagesOffer freebies or unique content. Free stuff is a big draw to visitors and more visitors equal more click throughs, which turns into more money in your walletRotate content often and let your visitors know it’s always changing. It keeps them coming back for more.Keep those email addresses. It’s important to keep the email addresses of your visitors and let them know when your content has changed. Consider offering a free newsletter or ezine to your visitors to stay in contact with them.Add Google search to your site. In addition to offering visitors the convenience of searching on your site, you can make more money from Google by adding this feature.Keep your graphics small and simple. Because graphics and animations take longer to load than text and links, the simpler your pages, the quicker they load. And the faster they load, the faster your visitors can click their way to your profit.Keep the design simple and clear.
Reporting and monitoring is the next important step. Google has built in reporting features but you may want more detailed reports as well. The Google reports will show:
Total number of page impressionsNumber of ad clicks and the click through rateThe cost per click (CPC) and cost per 1000 impressions (CPM)Total earnings
While this is wonderful, valuable information, you may also want to know:
Click through rates of every page on every domain you are using AdSense on (the Google tool called “Channels” limits the information you get from each domain or ad type)Keyword reports if you have the Google Search feature on your site(s), so you can optimize for those search wordsReporting in real time, rather than waiting 48 hours for reporting from GoogleWhich particular ads are making you moneyDetailed information about each click including IP address, date/time, page the ad was on, particular ad that was clicked on, original referrer to your site
You can get all of this from third party AdSense tracking software, available online from a number of vendors. You may want to email Google to make sure it’s an approved script; otherwise you risk being removed from the AdSense program.
Once you have the data regarding which ads are working and which aren’t, change your preferences to stop running ads that aren’t paying off and increase the ads that are. There are options to change color palettes of the ads to better fit your site, a variety of ad formats to always keep your website looking fresh and don’t be afraid to rearrange content often.
Create a video blog…instantly.
AUTOMATE Your On-Line Business For Maximum Profit
Erik Carter asked:
Imagine that the home-based business you’ve always dreamed of starting has grown into a sophisticated enterprise, with a sales department, a billing department, a customer care department, shipping, management, and all other departments of a large international business. Imagine you are the CEO, meeting with your staff to determine what departments are meeting their goals, and what departments are exceeding your expectations. Imagine the harder your departments work, the more money they produce – and NEVER ask for a DIME in raises!
THAT is the position you could be in, if you use the automation tools available for Internet-based small businesses. Plan from the beginning to use these tools as EMPLOYEES rather than just “time-savers,” and your business will grow like you won’t believe. Any successful CEO will tell you that a business’s success is dependent on the quality of the people it hires – so YOU should “hire” the best to perform routines that can be automated.
AUTORESPONDERS can perform many functions related to customer contact and product delivery. Autoresponders can deliver a campaign of personalized emails over weeks or months, to convince a visitor to your website to become a customer. They can also deliver information products, newsletters, announcements, and other tasks related to staying in contact with your clients. A well-planned autoresponder can act as your customer care representative, responding to common inquiries.
AD TRACKING can act as your marketing department, determining the effectiveness of ads and ad campaigns. Ad tracking programs can provide you with virtually instantaneous feedback on whether a new headline or new sales letter is generating more traffic or more sales.
WEB SITE BUILDER is your own personal “geek” who designs web sites that look exactly the way you want them, and say exactly what you want them to say. Finding and learning the web site editor that you are comfortable with will save you countless hours and maybe thousands of dollars that you would have to spend on hiring someone to design, implement and maintain your website. Plan on hiring a webmaster to expand your website as your company grows in size and sophistication, by automating the web site maintenance function in a powerful web site editing program.
BILLING AND COLLECTIONS is the lifeblood of a company. You can’t run a company if it doesn’t collect the money. Finding and using a powerful “shopping cart” program, to automatically process payments or generate monthly billings for membership programs, will guarantee that your company’s income comes in on time and in full.
TRANSLATIONS and handling international customers can expand your business’s market to international dimensions. Translation programs are coming down in price and increasing in functionality, much faster for both than their human counterparts. Incorporating this function in your websites and business from the beginning will give you a presence in the international market, which is a competitive advantage over the other players in your arena.
When you are planning on setting up or expanding your on-line business, plan on what employees you would want working for you. Expect that you will hire the hardest-working, most loyal, and brightest employees you could ever imagine. Know that they will have skills and talents in their areas that far exceed anything you could ever hope to achieve. And then – use the Internet and the tools available to FIND and “HIRE” these employees. And best of all – they NEVER go on vacation, call in sick, ask for a raise, or harass the other employees. All they do is make you money!
Caffeinated Content – Members-Only Content for WordPress
Imagine that the home-based business you’ve always dreamed of starting has grown into a sophisticated enterprise, with a sales department, a billing department, a customer care department, shipping, management, and all other departments of a large international business. Imagine you are the CEO, meeting with your staff to determine what departments are meeting their goals, and what departments are exceeding your expectations. Imagine the harder your departments work, the more money they produce – and NEVER ask for a DIME in raises!
THAT is the position you could be in, if you use the automation tools available for Internet-based small businesses. Plan from the beginning to use these tools as EMPLOYEES rather than just “time-savers,” and your business will grow like you won’t believe. Any successful CEO will tell you that a business’s success is dependent on the quality of the people it hires – so YOU should “hire” the best to perform routines that can be automated.
AUTORESPONDERS can perform many functions related to customer contact and product delivery. Autoresponders can deliver a campaign of personalized emails over weeks or months, to convince a visitor to your website to become a customer. They can also deliver information products, newsletters, announcements, and other tasks related to staying in contact with your clients. A well-planned autoresponder can act as your customer care representative, responding to common inquiries.
AD TRACKING can act as your marketing department, determining the effectiveness of ads and ad campaigns. Ad tracking programs can provide you with virtually instantaneous feedback on whether a new headline or new sales letter is generating more traffic or more sales.
WEB SITE BUILDER is your own personal “geek” who designs web sites that look exactly the way you want them, and say exactly what you want them to say. Finding and learning the web site editor that you are comfortable with will save you countless hours and maybe thousands of dollars that you would have to spend on hiring someone to design, implement and maintain your website. Plan on hiring a webmaster to expand your website as your company grows in size and sophistication, by automating the web site maintenance function in a powerful web site editing program.
BILLING AND COLLECTIONS is the lifeblood of a company. You can’t run a company if it doesn’t collect the money. Finding and using a powerful “shopping cart” program, to automatically process payments or generate monthly billings for membership programs, will guarantee that your company’s income comes in on time and in full.
TRANSLATIONS and handling international customers can expand your business’s market to international dimensions. Translation programs are coming down in price and increasing in functionality, much faster for both than their human counterparts. Incorporating this function in your websites and business from the beginning will give you a presence in the international market, which is a competitive advantage over the other players in your arena.
When you are planning on setting up or expanding your on-line business, plan on what employees you would want working for you. Expect that you will hire the hardest-working, most loyal, and brightest employees you could ever imagine. Know that they will have skills and talents in their areas that far exceed anything you could ever hope to achieve. And then – use the Internet and the tools available to FIND and “HIRE” these employees. And best of all – they NEVER go on vacation, call in sick, ask for a raise, or harass the other employees. All they do is make you money!
Caffeinated Content – Members-Only Content for WordPress
Ad Tracking Programs And Their Benefits
Shouvik Mazumder asked:
What Is An Ad Tracker?
You place a classified ad with a link to your site in an e-zine. the ad tracker tells you the response from that ad, i.e.the number of people who clicked through your site from that ad.
Why You Need To Track Your Ad?
Businesses who track their advertising are able to tell how well a particular ad was received which can help them to maximize their profits. Expert internet marketers will tell you that it is absolutely necessary to constantly experiment, change, tweak or test your ad. An ad tracker program make all these processes extremely easy. Ad tracker program shows you how much traffic is coming from where. It also shows you IP and time logs from each source, or you can know whether or not you are being cheated on traffic.
What Are The Different Things That You Can Check With An Ad Tracker Program?
An ad tracker can effectively check and display:
1) Basic visitor stat (user browser type, operating system, ip address, referring url etc)
2) Return visitors (i.e visitors who again visit your site). This visitors have special interest in the theme of your site.
3) What action visitors are taking (like clicking on links,downloading e-books etc)
4) Remote site tracking (what are your visitors doing in your affiliate site/sites)
5) Keyword search — which keywords are people entering into engines to find your site?
and more….
How An Ad Tracker Works?
Setting up an ad tracker program is not difficult.
You first need to setup an ad campaign. after that you need to go to your ad tracker control panel to view the stats.
The ad tracker program will run at your own site, or if, you are using an external service it will run on a tracker site.
For setting up the ad campaign, you need to cloak your site with the ad tracker url.
say your site is http://www.yoursite.com and your site code in your ad tracker program is xxxxx
Then you will be given an ad tracker url like
http://www.exampletrack.com/a.cgi?a476&xxxxx for your use.
If anybody clicks at your ad tracker URL, he will be redirected to your site. And as soon as he does click the ad tracker URL, his stats are automatically inserted in the control panel of your ad tracker program which you can view by logging in to your ad tracker program account.
Where You Can Place Your Ad tracking URL?
classifieds
e-books
article submission directories/e-zine directories
auctions
discussion lists and discussion boards
paid per click search engines
Pop Up Ads
Reciprocal links
signature files
etc…………
Auto Responders Have Their Own Ad Tracking Program
One of the big benefits of using auto responders is that they all have their own ad tracking facilities.
What Can Be Your Next Steps After Tracking The Ads?
Since you know which sources are producing and which ones are not, it is easy to identify which ones you should drop. The truth is, you will find that there are at least a few ads that are not making the results. Drop the ones that don’t do well, and cut your ad budget but not your profits!
After you have dropped the poor producers, you can spend more with those bringing in the best results. If you can spend one dollar to make three dollars, so why not increase the amount of times you do ad tracking?
Caffeinated Content
What Is An Ad Tracker?
You place a classified ad with a link to your site in an e-zine. the ad tracker tells you the response from that ad, i.e.the number of people who clicked through your site from that ad.
Why You Need To Track Your Ad?
Businesses who track their advertising are able to tell how well a particular ad was received which can help them to maximize their profits. Expert internet marketers will tell you that it is absolutely necessary to constantly experiment, change, tweak or test your ad. An ad tracker program make all these processes extremely easy. Ad tracker program shows you how much traffic is coming from where. It also shows you IP and time logs from each source, or you can know whether or not you are being cheated on traffic.
What Are The Different Things That You Can Check With An Ad Tracker Program?
An ad tracker can effectively check and display:
1) Basic visitor stat (user browser type, operating system, ip address, referring url etc)
2) Return visitors (i.e visitors who again visit your site). This visitors have special interest in the theme of your site.
3) What action visitors are taking (like clicking on links,downloading e-books etc)
4) Remote site tracking (what are your visitors doing in your affiliate site/sites)
5) Keyword search — which keywords are people entering into engines to find your site?
and more….
How An Ad Tracker Works?
Setting up an ad tracker program is not difficult.
You first need to setup an ad campaign. after that you need to go to your ad tracker control panel to view the stats.
The ad tracker program will run at your own site, or if, you are using an external service it will run on a tracker site.
For setting up the ad campaign, you need to cloak your site with the ad tracker url.
say your site is http://www.yoursite.com and your site code in your ad tracker program is xxxxx
Then you will be given an ad tracker url like
http://www.exampletrack.com/a.cgi?a476&xxxxx for your use.
If anybody clicks at your ad tracker URL, he will be redirected to your site. And as soon as he does click the ad tracker URL, his stats are automatically inserted in the control panel of your ad tracker program which you can view by logging in to your ad tracker program account.
Where You Can Place Your Ad tracking URL?
classifieds
e-books
article submission directories/e-zine directories
auctions
discussion lists and discussion boards
paid per click search engines
Pop Up Ads
Reciprocal links
signature files
etc…………
Auto Responders Have Their Own Ad Tracking Program
One of the big benefits of using auto responders is that they all have their own ad tracking facilities.
What Can Be Your Next Steps After Tracking The Ads?
Since you know which sources are producing and which ones are not, it is easy to identify which ones you should drop. The truth is, you will find that there are at least a few ads that are not making the results. Drop the ones that don’t do well, and cut your ad budget but not your profits!
After you have dropped the poor producers, you can spend more with those bringing in the best results. If you can spend one dollar to make three dollars, so why not increase the amount of times you do ad tracking?
Caffeinated Content
Call Tracking in 2010
Daniel Bernal asked:
Call tracking in 2010 promises to be even more fluid and responsive than it is today. As a performance monitoring system for multiple ad campaigns launched on the internet, radio, press or other forms of media, call tracking has evolved at lightning speed since the initial introduction into the internet marketing equation in the 1990’s.
Originally tracking calls was a complex and expensive benefit only provided to enterprise level corporations by advertising agencies as a way to monitor the return on the investment made in marketing and advertising promotions on the internet. The scope of the process was limited to situations where code could be embedded in the acknowledgment page resulting from a click event that could be counted as a direct result of the ad. The data collected still needed to be compiled in a meaningful way before it was useful for determining the effectiveness of the promotion vehicle. Today there is a large number of call tracking service providers offering call tracking services online at rates as low as $25 per month for basic call tracking plans.
During the last few years the advancements in technology and integration of hardware and collaborative software pieces has changed the boundaries of call tracking. The origination of telephone contact, which is the source of 75 to 90 percent of small business sales leads, can now be tracked from on or offline sources through current tracking methodologies. Facebook, Google Pay Per Click, MySpace, associate links, and browser searches can all be identified as the specific source of the contact made by a consumer. Keyword association to the specific telephone number called ties the ad campaign to the conversion of an inquiry. All this information is automatically entered into a central database along with the customers’ name, phone number and item of interest when the telephone call is connected. No human interaction is needed for the information to be accurately recorded and saved for future reference and analysis. The most recent advancement is the development of modules that automatically funnel the raw data collected into analytical software programs that produce reports on the performance matrix for any number of ad campaigns being run.
In addition to the original function as a marketing measurement tool, this service has become a key in a variety of customer service and retention programs. The tracking systems central database can be accessed by all authorized customer service representatives to facilitate in resolving customer service issues quickly and effectively. Having a customer’s complete history on screen the moment a call is received makes the interaction between the customer service representative and the client immediately positive in nature. Monitoring of CSR and client calls to assure quality in service is another advantage. These are a few of the advances a tracking system can bring to customer service.
The future of call tracking may take root in areas currently unthought of but as young software engineers continue to improve on the features currently being used they will undoubtedly be inspired with ideas for new applications.
Caffeinated Content
Call tracking in 2010 promises to be even more fluid and responsive than it is today. As a performance monitoring system for multiple ad campaigns launched on the internet, radio, press or other forms of media, call tracking has evolved at lightning speed since the initial introduction into the internet marketing equation in the 1990’s.
Originally tracking calls was a complex and expensive benefit only provided to enterprise level corporations by advertising agencies as a way to monitor the return on the investment made in marketing and advertising promotions on the internet. The scope of the process was limited to situations where code could be embedded in the acknowledgment page resulting from a click event that could be counted as a direct result of the ad. The data collected still needed to be compiled in a meaningful way before it was useful for determining the effectiveness of the promotion vehicle. Today there is a large number of call tracking service providers offering call tracking services online at rates as low as $25 per month for basic call tracking plans.
During the last few years the advancements in technology and integration of hardware and collaborative software pieces has changed the boundaries of call tracking. The origination of telephone contact, which is the source of 75 to 90 percent of small business sales leads, can now be tracked from on or offline sources through current tracking methodologies. Facebook, Google Pay Per Click, MySpace, associate links, and browser searches can all be identified as the specific source of the contact made by a consumer. Keyword association to the specific telephone number called ties the ad campaign to the conversion of an inquiry. All this information is automatically entered into a central database along with the customers’ name, phone number and item of interest when the telephone call is connected. No human interaction is needed for the information to be accurately recorded and saved for future reference and analysis. The most recent advancement is the development of modules that automatically funnel the raw data collected into analytical software programs that produce reports on the performance matrix for any number of ad campaigns being run.
In addition to the original function as a marketing measurement tool, this service has become a key in a variety of customer service and retention programs. The tracking systems central database can be accessed by all authorized customer service representatives to facilitate in resolving customer service issues quickly and effectively. Having a customer’s complete history on screen the moment a call is received makes the interaction between the customer service representative and the client immediately positive in nature. Monitoring of CSR and client calls to assure quality in service is another advantage. These are a few of the advances a tracking system can bring to customer service.
The future of call tracking may take root in areas currently unthought of but as young software engineers continue to improve on the features currently being used they will undoubtedly be inspired with ideas for new applications.
Caffeinated Content
Make Killer Ads For Email Advertising
Diane De Silva asked:
There are umpteen numbers of ads sent by companies through the internet. It is because the internet is a medium which offers advertisers, small or big, the same tools and services. But, some of these advertisers make use of these tools wisely while others overlook certain benefits.
Ever wondered why some of your ads became extremely popular while others fizzled out without any significant results? They might have been advertising the same product, but one of them clicked while the other flopped.
Analysts have been racking their brains to give an explanation. They studied various ads by tracking the response of the viewers to the ads and drew many interesting conclusions.
They found that certain key aspects were present in successful ads which made them click with the viewer. The failed ads didn’t contain these aspects. Interested in finding out what these aspects are?
Here are the two most important conclusions derived after comparing three ads of similar nature:
Personalized headers
Sending e-advertisements, through e-mail, with the subject’s name generated more interest than those without it. You can also ensure that the headings are short and sweet. If it is long, it doesn’t keep the viewer engrossed for long.
In some cases, viewers felt that personalized headings did cause a sense of doubt and caution as it was sent by a stranger. But, in most cases, it aroused their curiosity. They also accepted the sender more courteously and were willing to listen to what the sender had to say.
Use of Bullets
Avoid writing long paragraphs and elaborating on your products. Keep it short. Bullets were found to be the best way to make the ad pleasing to the eye. If bullets aren’t possible, the use of short paragraphs is recommended.
Bullets also help to add emphasis to your ad. It was found that the prospects’ likelihood of signing up for your product was more when bullets were present and the ad was simple and specific, sans unnecessary information.
While the above two inferences will help to make most ads more attractive, it can’t help all ads become successful. This is because these ads belong to a particular group.
To find out how to make your ad a super successful one, it is imperative that you release a few prototype ads in the market, track their responses and compare them to see which one your target audience liked best.
Then, you have to combine all your inferences and use them in your ad to make it appeal to your prospects. This involves some patience, but the end result is worth it.
Another important point to keep in mind is that while some ads click based on some particular aspects, others might not if they aren’t similar to it in content.
So, carry out ad tracking for ads of similar type, but don’t combine them with ads that are completely different. All in all, ad tracking will help you understand your prospects better and produce ads related to their taste.
Caffeinated Content
There are umpteen numbers of ads sent by companies through the internet. It is because the internet is a medium which offers advertisers, small or big, the same tools and services. But, some of these advertisers make use of these tools wisely while others overlook certain benefits.
Ever wondered why some of your ads became extremely popular while others fizzled out without any significant results? They might have been advertising the same product, but one of them clicked while the other flopped.
Analysts have been racking their brains to give an explanation. They studied various ads by tracking the response of the viewers to the ads and drew many interesting conclusions.
They found that certain key aspects were present in successful ads which made them click with the viewer. The failed ads didn’t contain these aspects. Interested in finding out what these aspects are?
Here are the two most important conclusions derived after comparing three ads of similar nature:
Personalized headers
Sending e-advertisements, through e-mail, with the subject’s name generated more interest than those without it. You can also ensure that the headings are short and sweet. If it is long, it doesn’t keep the viewer engrossed for long.
In some cases, viewers felt that personalized headings did cause a sense of doubt and caution as it was sent by a stranger. But, in most cases, it aroused their curiosity. They also accepted the sender more courteously and were willing to listen to what the sender had to say.
Use of Bullets
Avoid writing long paragraphs and elaborating on your products. Keep it short. Bullets were found to be the best way to make the ad pleasing to the eye. If bullets aren’t possible, the use of short paragraphs is recommended.
Bullets also help to add emphasis to your ad. It was found that the prospects’ likelihood of signing up for your product was more when bullets were present and the ad was simple and specific, sans unnecessary information.
While the above two inferences will help to make most ads more attractive, it can’t help all ads become successful. This is because these ads belong to a particular group.
To find out how to make your ad a super successful one, it is imperative that you release a few prototype ads in the market, track their responses and compare them to see which one your target audience liked best.
Then, you have to combine all your inferences and use them in your ad to make it appeal to your prospects. This involves some patience, but the end result is worth it.
Another important point to keep in mind is that while some ads click based on some particular aspects, others might not if they aren’t similar to it in content.
So, carry out ad tracking for ads of similar type, but don’t combine them with ads that are completely different. All in all, ad tracking will help you understand your prospects better and produce ads related to their taste.
Caffeinated Content