Monday, December 18, 2006

Joel Comm Leads Us Astray

Unintentional, I am sure, Joel Comm released free Google AdSense templates today which are against Google AdSense Program Policy.

Today, Google's Arlene Lee sets the record straight about having images next to ads, something Joel and others claim was the breakthrough in 2005 for AdSense publishers.

Google gives us these images of ad placement that breaks policy:

Ad with picture placement















and...
























Granted, Joel's pictures are better; still they are placed near the ad block in a way that, as Google says:

If your visitors believe that the images and the ads are directly associated, or that the advertiser is offering the exact item found in the neighboring image, they may click the ad expecting to find something that isn't actually being offered. That's not a good experience for users or advertisers.

Joel's AdSense template:


















If you're offering this type of page, now might be a good time to clean house.

Sunday, December 17, 2006

The Art of Combining Niches

MoneyThere are so many flaws in the work of most struggling for any Internet marketing profits, I would love to have a token percentage of money lost to the PPC and CPC advertising giants. Still, I feel the need to help.

It's true that once the cat is out of the bag, the airtight plan you had to retire on progressively spins out less and less fortune. That's why many of us who make a great living off the Internet don't open our hand. You dilute the mix. Just makes sense.

However, I have not been quiet about the majority of my findings that if followed, could set you free. The problem I find time and again is that people are too lazy (busy?) to read it all and follow. We live in a quick-fix world; Internet marketing should reward us for simply participating, no?

One great tip, especially for those who are stating they can't seem to make a profit with AdSense and AdWords, is by combining niches. More on that in a second.

The beauty of the Google AdWords system is that it allows you to create an ad that can be displayed on their Content Network for mere pennies a click. I have several campaigns that run a penny a click on my ad.

But the fact of the matter is that on the Content Network, people are not looking for you.

On the Search Network, they are.

If you can remember that, your chances of success in creating a low-costing ad (0.01 is nice), and sending that traffic to a page displaying ads that pay you $1.00 a click is good. Why?

Because when people are really searching for you or your great ad, IF they click on it, it's only because that barely caught their attention. Remember, they weren't looking for you. You're just comic relief on an otherwise boring page. Or, possibly, a footnote on someone's page. (Depends on where your ad appears on their page.)

So, remember, converting those people who wandered half-awake to your page, is a major challenge. Your ad and your landing page should reflect this. Wake them up with great copy.

With AdWords Content Network groups, you must come up with a quiver of keywords that will help Google know where to serve your ad. For example, if you are targeting mountain bikers, you will be competing big-time with other mountain-biking companies if your keywords have to do with that sport. Chances are, unless few companies are using the Content Network to advertise, your ad won't even show up - unless you fund it well - say $0.10 or more a click.

But then your conversion ratio has to be unbelievably high - around 10% or more - to make any profit.

So what do you do? Well, okay, what else do mountain-bikers like to do? Kayak? Climbing? Adventure types? YES!

I like mountain biking and do read a few sites on wake boarding, because I like that as well. So what if there's a mountain biking ad in my wake boarding site? If I'm bored with the content, I would probably click to find out if I need the latest gizmo in biking. Just a thought... that works for me.

And for all the Keyword Elite users, quit targeting the top money keywords. Start with something smaller - with a low R/S ratio. You'll profit less per click, but you'll get far more conversions.