http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/internet/ppc-advertising/adsense-advertising-money-googles-recipe-to-success.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/ppc-advertising/adsense-advertising-money-googles-recipe-to-success.html Tue, 23 May 2006 00:00:00 -0500
Google realised that the key to successful online advertising was to show the right ads to the right customers. This in turn increases your click through rate, a measure of the percentage of visitors who have clicked an advert on your website, ultimately creating you revenue.

One of the many challenges facing webmasters looking to profit from their websites is to find relevant adverts that suit the content of their website. So how does Google adsense tackle this problem? Simple, they choose the right ads to put on your website for you.

Once you have placed adsense code on your website, a process that takes only a few clicks, it will start displaying relevant ads within minutes.

But how?

Utilising their powerful search engine algorithms, google adsense code scans your page, harvesting keywords, subtitles, body text and content in order to choose relevant ads to display on your page. This process occurs as your page loads, meaning your adverts remain relevant, even if the content is dynamic.

Over time, google monitors which adverts are the most successful on your site, automatically filtering off the less profitable ones, fine tuning your page into a money-making machine.

So how do you go about getting adsense on your website?

Again, Google have struck gold by keeping it simple. Signing up for an adsense account is free, quick and easy. Visit www.google.com/adsense to find out more.

During initial sign up, you must agree with the following policies that outline what is permitted under the program. One interesting condition that google stipulates in the agreement, is that you must not place adverts on pages without any content. Not only would this defeat the mechanics of the program, but also serves to maintain the quality of the Adsense network. You must agree to the following guidelines in the application when registering for an account.

• I agree that I will not click on the Google ads I'm serving through AdSense.

• I will not place ads on sites that include incentives to click on ads.

• I agree that I can receive checks made out to the payee name I have listed above.

• I will not place ads on sites that include pornographic content.

• I certify that I have read the AdSense Program Policies.

Visit www.google.com/adsense to find out more.

Good luck!

Find more information about how to use adsense in your websites at Fortunes Today

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Make money online at fortunes-today.com. Our online guides to your success.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/affiliate-programs/affiliate-network-success-the-first-steps-to-making-money.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/affiliate-programs/affiliate-network-success-the-first-steps-to-making-money.html Tue, 23 May 2006 00:00:00 -0500
An affiliate network is composed of two groups. A group of merchants who have products to sell, and a group of affiliates who sell their products for them. The merchants pay a commission to the affiliate for every sale he or she makes.

Affiliate networks offer some great advantages for both the merchant and the affiliate. The merchant gets his product advertised across a wide network, whilst the affiliate does not necessarily need to make a certain sale amount for one particular merchant before getting paid.

Advantages of affiliate networks

* No need to deal with stock, warehouse space, deliveries, or customer support issues.

* Price of products decided by the merchant. No need to monitor competition's pricing.

* Affiliate networks keep all of your affiliated products and merchants in one place, saving you time and money.

* You will be paid when you earn a certain amount of money accumulated from all of your merchants together, rather than from each one separately. Not only will this mean you get paid quicker, but will also save you money in handling fees.

How to succeed with your affiliate network

Affiliate networks are incredibly popular. However, only a very small percentage of affiliates account for most of the sales conducted through them.

Why is this? Their secrets to success lie in a few simple, yet vital strategies you must utilize and develop upon to transform your site from a drip feed, into a torrent of revenue.

* Education - If you are new to affiliate marketing, you must learn. If you are a veteran, you already know that you never stop learning. As the old saying goes, knowledge is power, and in affiliate marketing, power is money. You are learning right now, as you pick up the principles on this page, setting a firm foundation on which to educate yourself. Visit our Shop for numerous resources from which to draw on to become a successful affiliate.

* Know your product - Selling a product from first hand experience will gain your customer's trust. Unless you have bought the product yourself, read reviews and testimonials and discuss the product with other customers. Are they satisfied? If so, your customers will be as well. Customer satisfaction is highly underestimated, something you should strive to gain. It will bring your customers back for more, as well as their recommendation to others, building you credibility and traffic.

* Presentation - To sell your products, you must first sell yourself. Unless you have the software, the ability, or the time to construct a well presented, clean and functional website, you will not sell your products. Various studies on how people surf the internet have shown that websites, in much the same manner as magazines and cd covers have only a few seconds to convince the visitor they've found what they're looking for.

* Web hosting - Your website will not succeed if it is hosted by a free web host, splashing your pages with adverts and promotions. This is the number one way to loose credibility. In order to succeed you must project success, and having a paid, reliable web hosting service is vital. Visit our web hosting guide for more information.

* Traffic - The most obvious, and most illusive aspect to your website. Not only must you attract a sufficient volume of traffic, but also traffic interested in your website's topic, and ready to buy the products you affiliate.

Good luck with your affiliate programs!

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Webmaster, designer, artist and photographer of http://www.fortunes-today.com

Quite the complete package!

Make Money Online. Visit fortunes-today.com for our guides to your online success.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/affiliate-programs/amazon-associates-where-it-all-began.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/affiliate-programs/amazon-associates-where-it-all-began.html Tue, 23 May 2006 00:00:00 -0500
"The Amazon Associates program was the first online affiliate program of its kind when it launched in 1996. Today, it is among the largest and most successful online affiliate programs, with over 1,000,000 members world-wide. If you are a Web site owner, Amazon seller, or Web developer, you can start earning money today and earn up to 8.5% in referral fees."

- amazon.com

Amazon associates, how does it work?

During your time surfing the internet, you are more than likely to have purchased a product from Amazon. If so, you would have been custom to quick, efficient and thorough customer support backed by some of the lowest prices on the internet. Amazon began life as an online book store, though it soon diversified it's product range to include CD's, DVD's, software, electronics and even furniture.

Through Amazon Associates, you can now refer your visitors to these great products and services, earning up to 8.5% commission on every sale you generate.

As a member of Amazon's associate program, you can refer to any product from their entire catalogue. An user friendly interface called associates central gives you quick access to your earnings and reports, performance tips, amazon associates discussion boards, and the product catalogue.

When you select a product from the catalogue, associates central will generate the html for you to place in your website in the form of a simple I-Frame. These act as a "window" onto a specific product at amazon's website, meaning the product information, picture or prices never need to be stored on your server.

This has two distinct advantages.The prices of the products you sell are current and up to date.Displaying Amazon's product on your site does not require you to upload any images or content onto your server.

Join amazon associates

Getting started with Amazon associates couldn't be easier. Choose Join Now at the amazon associates home page, and spend five minutes filling out a registration form. In addition your general details, you are asked to choose your preferred payment method. There are three to choose from.

Direct bank deposit requires that you earn $10 before you are paid initially, and carries no handling or processing fee.

Standard check requires that you earn $100 before you are paid initially, and carries an $8 handling fee.

Amazon vouchers requires that you earn $10 before you are paid initially, however this option locks your money with amazon.

The choice here isn't a difficult one, the direct bank deposit being the most economic and efficient solution. Amazon also offer two commission plans, which is also another no-brainer decision.

Classic - Fixed flat rate of 4% commission on every sale
Performance - Commission percentage of 4% that increments to 8.5% commission, according to number of sales generated.

Be accepted into Amazon Associates

When you apply for an amazon associates account, you will be required to submit the URL of your website. Amazon then inspects your site to ascertain whether it meets their standards, and soon after sends you an email confirming your acceptance.

Amazon requires that your site does not violate intellectual property rights, or promote sexually explicit materials, violence, illegal activities, or discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, or age.

Good luck with your own Amazon Associates business!


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Webmaster, designer, artist and photographer of http://www.fortunes-today.com

Make Money Online for our online guides to your fortunes.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/web-design/web-design-make-good-first-impressions-then-make-them-last.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/web-design/web-design-make-good-first-impressions-then-make-them-last.html Tue, 23 May 2006 00:00:00 -0500
How often do you surf the web? For how long? Come now, be honest.

If I'm to be modest, I'd say I spend around five hours in front of my computer every week day. Over the years this has gained me many obscure talents that I'm only aware of when I think consciously about them, such as touch typing, or that vast repertoire of acronyms I exchange with my electronic friends to pretend we're socializing. LOL!

If those weren't impressive enough however, my latest hidden talent was brought to my attention by one of my real friends, who caught me scouring the web for the cheapest site to buy Nick Hornby's new book, "A long way down". Not being very technologically adept himself, he couldn't for the life of him keep up with my progress as I shot around in my usual manner, unblinkingly, shuffling through the web pages like a pack of cards.

Hence, it occurred to me that through certain overexposure to the internet, that I had fine tuned my brain into being able to scan pages I was looking at, in a few seconds at the most, picking out keywords, subtitles and pictures, gauging the relevance of that page to what I was looking for; my search criteria you could say. Sounds a bit robotic I know, but I was surprised to find many thousands of topics and articles on how we surf the net, all leading to similar conclusions.

A study conducted by Canadian Researchers concluded that we can make assumptions and form impressions of a website, based on its design in around 20ms. Yes milliseconds! That's half the time it takes to blink. Quite impressive, but what does this mean for your website?

What this means for your website

There are many factors that could sway a visitor either way, which also means that you can never produce a website that will appeal to everyone. There are a few key fundamental designs that you should incorporate into your site however, that will ensure you appeal to the masses.

People are more likely to respond positively to your website, if it conforms to the schema they have in their minds of how a website should look, feel and function. It's a safe bet that by constructing your site following a standard template or design, you will maintain the comfort and attention of your visitor.

It may feel contrived, even counter-productive to stick to the norm of web design, to emulate the structure of every other website out there, "how will mine stand out?", "I want to make something different!", but your average Joe surfing the web is a timid being. He is easily scared by what he isn't used to, especially when it disrupts the flow of his browsing. Abandoning the norm will loose your visitors trust and credibility, so what are the key design points to follow?

Good navigation. Simple, clean and effective navigation. It is essential for maintaining the flow through your website, making it easier for your visitor to find what her or she is looking for.

Where am I? Always indicate on each page of your site, which page your visitor is browsing, by means of a navigation menu, or a breadcrumb bar. e.g.

Home >> Topic >> Subject >> Article

It is also important for your visitor to know where he or she has already visited. Make sure your links change colour as they're used, giving your visitor a mental map of where they've been, and where they should try next.

Search fields. For the lazy amongst us, search fields are a blessing. Consider adding one to your website if it spans a lot of pages. The Google adsense program also offers "Adsense for search", that adds a search box such as the one on Fortunes-Today.com's footer on your pages. Relative adverts are displayed with searches conducted through these search boxes, that can ultimately generate you revenue. Find out more about Adsense at fortunes-today.com/money-online-guide/articles-about-blogging

Colour scheme. Choose a moderate, calm and suitable colour scheme that matches your website's content. Not only does a grass green backdrop suit a Garden Center's website, colour is the major factor that our brains processes in that 20ms we take to make our initial impressions.

Subtitles. Subtitle your main topics on your index, or homepage, and associate them with relative pictures. People read subheadings and pictures rather than body text to make their decisions on where to go next.

Frequently asked questions. If you provide a service or a product, make sure you have an FAQ page to tick off any mental questions a visitor may have about your product or service. You can quickly regain their trust and confidence if it was lost to ambiguities or doubts in their mind.

Good luck with your website, and may it make a good impression to your visitors!

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Webmaster, designer, artist and photographer of http://www.fortunes-today.com

Make money online. Fortunes-Today, our online guides to your success.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>