Being an active eBayer, I am often being asked about products to sell. A common question is "Where can I purchase products such as new release CD's DVD's and Video Games for Playstation and X box at a 75% to 100% discount. Well folks, this sort of discount on this type of merchandise is not available from Wholesalers or Dropshippers. The reason being, the competitive nature of the electronics industry, and simple supply and demand.
Still with the tremendous popularity of these products and their ease to package and ship, people want to sell them. So where can you find these products at a great price? Liquidators! Yes that's right, Liquidators! What exactly are Liquidators? You Ask. Well, as explained in my book "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" a Liquidator is a company who buys surplus, over runs, bankruptcies, and going out of business inventory etc. They purchase this merchandise for pennies on the dollar and in turn pass this saving on to you. There are many Liquidators who would have just what you are looking for. There are General Merchandise Liquidators who basically purchase and sell all sorts of general merchandise. And, there are Liquidators who specialize and only purchase and sell merchandise in a specific niche - say electronics.
An Electronics Liquidator would purchase products from music stores or department stores with an electronics dept or movie rental stores or electronic stores that are going out of business, declaring bankruptcy or who have overstock. From that inventory they would have some of the latest CD's, DVD's and Video Games.
Liquidators are similar to Wholesalers and Dropshippers in that you will have to become a member to have access to their inventory. Most require no fee to become a member, while others may charge a nominal fee. However, Liquidators have a set number of units you must buy in order to get a great price. A Liquidator will purchase inventory in bulk and therefore will want to sell the merchandise in cases or lots.
So, Yes You can make Good Money Selling New Release CD's, DVD's and, Video Games and the likes on your eBay auction by choosing the proper supplier. And remember that selling on eBay is all about research. You must research the product you are interested in selling. What is the best price for the item? What is the best selling price you can get for that item? Also, research that item's market to see just how many people are selling this product.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Can You Really Make Money From Blogging
One of the questions I see frequently asked on online discussion forums is, "Can You Really Make Money From Blogging?" People want to know if there's some way to profit from the time they spend maintaining their weblogs or personal online journals.
My answer is an emphatic "YES," because I do it... everyday!
Today I'll share with you how I do it.
Let me begin by saying that I don't make thousands per month from MOST of my blogs. However, I do have many making hundreds. Since I don't put in a lot of time maintaining them, and I enjoy blogging, I consider the money a bonus. I blog while sitting in my yard with my laptop (on a wireless connection)... watching the clouds roll by.
Another bonus I get from blogging is that it helps my regular websites that are set up as my "money machines."
The search engines visit my blogs more often than they visit my regular sites, and they follow the links from my blogs pointing to other sites. Some of these links point to my sites, and some point to sites of partners. This does help the search engine rankings of these sites MASSIVELY.
How Do I Monetize My Blogs?
I monetize my blogs by creating blogs on topics people are searching for... and that they are spending money on. I know which niches are hot to an extent based upon what my research proves pay-per-click advertisers are willing to spend their advertising dollars on.
I run Google AdSense ads on my blogs. I simply insert these ads in my menu bar and other strategic places on the webpage. I also experiment with other paid advertising on my blogs.
I sell affiliate products from my blogs. I simply find affiliate products at places like PayDotCom.com and Commission Junction. I incorporate these into my blogs. I do things like product reviews, how-to articles, etc. You can also locate suitable affiliate products by typing your target keywords + "affiliate program" at any major search engine. This should point out numerous websites with suitable affiliate programs to you.
How Do I Setup/Host My Blogs?
I have blog hosted on some of my own domains using Moveable Type. This is just one of many great pieces of blogging software. You have other choices... my programmer recommended this one to me.
I also have blogs hosted for free on Blogger.com. I have them on Blogger.com because they are incredibly easy to set up and maintain. A secondary reason I have them on Blogger.com is that Google OWNS Blogger.com and they index webpages hosted on their servers OFTEN and FAST!
The secret to getting Google and Yahoo! to visit your blogs often is a technique called "blogging and pinging." It's a method of notifying all of the major search engines, and blog directories, each time that you update your blog. The search engines come to take a look and they follow links from your blog to spider other blogs/sites. It's very powerful.
That happens to be one of my pages too :-) I won't tell you what ALL I'm up to on that page... that's another article. The technique involves using your own domains to promote affiliate products rather than advertising someone else's domain... so it improves your link popularity.
I'm not going to show more of my blogs because that just invites competition. Instead, I'm going to answer another question you have to be wondering...
"How do I find time to maintain all of these blogs, even if they are profitable?"
Well, first of all, I don't really need a lot like the "sacrificial lamb" that I showed you above to keep me satisfied.
What AutoBlogger does is allow me to queue up a number of posts for my various blogs in advance. It lets you queue up "articles" which can really be anything you want. Then you tell the software at what frequency to make a post.
My AutoBlogger account allows me to automatically post to an UNLIMITED number of blogs.
WARNING: A program like AutoBlogger can get you in trouble if you misuse it! If you use it to spam or abuse the search engines, it's just going to get you banned. If you use it to abuse the blog hosts, they're just going to delete your blogs.
Here's how I use AutoBlogger:
I have sites where I discuss Internet marketing... as just one example. On these sites I share many of my articles and tidbits. I simply queue up these articles/tidbits to post at a given frequency. This frequency can be a set number of hours, days, weeks, or months. So theoretically, I can set up a blog, pre-schedule 50 posts, and not touch it in months, while it is automatically posted to for the next 50 intervals.
AutoBlogger even lets you set it to start rotating through the posts again when they run out, if you want to. I personally wouldn't do this since you'd just be posting duplicate content.
AutoBlogger allows you to insert RSS feeds right into your blog posts. So in addition to posting articles you can also auto-update by adding new RSS feeds at a set interval. Since I HATE sending my traffic to other sites (without reciprocation), these RSS feeds generally pull from MY sites. That way, my traffic is only sent to my other sites.
If you don't even feel like queuing up a lot of posts, you can go to a site like Elance.com and hire someone else to do it for you... or just hired your kids to do it for you. It can be as easy as you want to make it.
OK, I've just proven to you that you can make money off of blogs. In-fact, you can make more money than many people make off of their REGULAR websites. It just takes a little thinking outside the box!
It also takes not being too greedy. What I just showed you works for me because I'm not doing anything that's likely to get me banned from the search engines, Google AdSense, Blogger.com, or any affiliate program. It's only when you get carried away, and do things that harm the search engines that you "shoot yourself in the foot."
Set up blogs providing useful content. Make regular posts to these blogs but not in a manner that seems unnatural. By that, I mean don't auto-post twenty times in an hour, or post every hour for a month! No human can possible post to a blog at these rates for long, so the search engines detect something is "wrong." They don't generally prohibit you from using tools to make your job easier... just don't get carried away!
My answer is an emphatic "YES," because I do it... everyday!
Today I'll share with you how I do it.
Let me begin by saying that I don't make thousands per month from MOST of my blogs. However, I do have many making hundreds. Since I don't put in a lot of time maintaining them, and I enjoy blogging, I consider the money a bonus. I blog while sitting in my yard with my laptop (on a wireless connection)... watching the clouds roll by.
Another bonus I get from blogging is that it helps my regular websites that are set up as my "money machines."
The search engines visit my blogs more often than they visit my regular sites, and they follow the links from my blogs pointing to other sites. Some of these links point to my sites, and some point to sites of partners. This does help the search engine rankings of these sites MASSIVELY.
How Do I Monetize My Blogs?
I monetize my blogs by creating blogs on topics people are searching for... and that they are spending money on. I know which niches are hot to an extent based upon what my research proves pay-per-click advertisers are willing to spend their advertising dollars on.
I run Google AdSense ads on my blogs. I simply insert these ads in my menu bar and other strategic places on the webpage. I also experiment with other paid advertising on my blogs.
I sell affiliate products from my blogs. I simply find affiliate products at places like PayDotCom.com and Commission Junction. I incorporate these into my blogs. I do things like product reviews, how-to articles, etc. You can also locate suitable affiliate products by typing your target keywords + "affiliate program" at any major search engine. This should point out numerous websites with suitable affiliate programs to you.
How Do I Setup/Host My Blogs?
I have blog hosted on some of my own domains using Moveable Type. This is just one of many great pieces of blogging software. You have other choices... my programmer recommended this one to me.
I also have blogs hosted for free on Blogger.com. I have them on Blogger.com because they are incredibly easy to set up and maintain. A secondary reason I have them on Blogger.com is that Google OWNS Blogger.com and they index webpages hosted on their servers OFTEN and FAST!
The secret to getting Google and Yahoo! to visit your blogs often is a technique called "blogging and pinging." It's a method of notifying all of the major search engines, and blog directories, each time that you update your blog. The search engines come to take a look and they follow links from your blog to spider other blogs/sites. It's very powerful.
That happens to be one of my pages too :-) I won't tell you what ALL I'm up to on that page... that's another article. The technique involves using your own domains to promote affiliate products rather than advertising someone else's domain... so it improves your link popularity.
I'm not going to show more of my blogs because that just invites competition. Instead, I'm going to answer another question you have to be wondering...
"How do I find time to maintain all of these blogs, even if they are profitable?"
Well, first of all, I don't really need a lot like the "sacrificial lamb" that I showed you above to keep me satisfied.
What AutoBlogger does is allow me to queue up a number of posts for my various blogs in advance. It lets you queue up "articles" which can really be anything you want. Then you tell the software at what frequency to make a post.
My AutoBlogger account allows me to automatically post to an UNLIMITED number of blogs.
WARNING: A program like AutoBlogger can get you in trouble if you misuse it! If you use it to spam or abuse the search engines, it's just going to get you banned. If you use it to abuse the blog hosts, they're just going to delete your blogs.
Here's how I use AutoBlogger:
I have sites where I discuss Internet marketing... as just one example. On these sites I share many of my articles and tidbits. I simply queue up these articles/tidbits to post at a given frequency. This frequency can be a set number of hours, days, weeks, or months. So theoretically, I can set up a blog, pre-schedule 50 posts, and not touch it in months, while it is automatically posted to for the next 50 intervals.
AutoBlogger even lets you set it to start rotating through the posts again when they run out, if you want to. I personally wouldn't do this since you'd just be posting duplicate content.
AutoBlogger allows you to insert RSS feeds right into your blog posts. So in addition to posting articles you can also auto-update by adding new RSS feeds at a set interval. Since I HATE sending my traffic to other sites (without reciprocation), these RSS feeds generally pull from MY sites. That way, my traffic is only sent to my other sites.
If you don't even feel like queuing up a lot of posts, you can go to a site like Elance.com and hire someone else to do it for you... or just hired your kids to do it for you. It can be as easy as you want to make it.
OK, I've just proven to you that you can make money off of blogs. In-fact, you can make more money than many people make off of their REGULAR websites. It just takes a little thinking outside the box!
It also takes not being too greedy. What I just showed you works for me because I'm not doing anything that's likely to get me banned from the search engines, Google AdSense, Blogger.com, or any affiliate program. It's only when you get carried away, and do things that harm the search engines that you "shoot yourself in the foot."
Set up blogs providing useful content. Make regular posts to these blogs but not in a manner that seems unnatural. By that, I mean don't auto-post twenty times in an hour, or post every hour for a month! No human can possible post to a blog at these rates for long, so the search engines detect something is "wrong." They don't generally prohibit you from using tools to make your job easier... just don't get carried away!
BLOG…PING…OPT-IN…SIG FILE…EZINE!
A Guide to INTERNET MARKETING TERMS
In the beginning…
I recently started my own “money-making, home business” which I signed up to with the understanding that I was going to earn money for doing nothing. Others (affiliates) were going to pay me commission for referring new sign-ups to their sites. This sounded like a fantastic opportunity to make lots of money without really selling anything. No stocks holding, postage etc.
My signup included (among other items) a guide which covers 30 days. I also had to sign-up to 5 online marketing sites (you receive the enrolment fee back in no time) and join a web-hosting company.
Massive amounts of information are fed to you but in an absorbable manner. It was very exiting. I would liken this information to reading a suspense novel…can’t wait to see what happens next!
Anyway this article is not meant to be about that…it’s meant to cover some of the terminology and their definitions, some of which I had never heard before.
AdSense
AdSense is a fast and easy way for website publishers of all sizes to display relevant ads on their website's content pages and earn money. Because the ads are related to what your visitors are looking for on your site — or matched to the characteristics and interests of the visitors your content attracts — you'll finally have a way to both monetise and enhance your content pages.
It's also a way for website publishers to provide web and site search to their visitors, and to earn money by displaying ads on the search results pages.
Adwords
With AdWords you create your own ads, choose keywords to help us match your ads to your audience and pay only when someone clicks on them.
Affiliate
A person, organization, or establishment associated with another as a subordinate, subsidiary, or member: network affiliates.
Auto-Responder
This is a clever marketing tool. It automates your emails and follows-up on potential clients after they have signed up to your newsletter etc.
Blog
An online diary or personal chronological log of thoughts published on a Web page; also called Weblog, Web log. Typically updated daily, blogs often reflect the personality of the author. It is a shortened form of Weblog.
Ezine
A magazine that is published electronically, especially on the Internet.
Keyword
A word used as a reference point for finding other words or information. See Adwords.
Off-line Marketing
As an example, advertising in newspapers, radio and television. Using the phone as a off-line marketing tool has also become very popular.
On-line Marketing
Advertising using the internet, examples may include…email, banners, popups etc.
Opt-In/Opt-out Subscribers
This is when you choose you receive newsletters etc. via email. Example:
By doing this you opt-in to an email mailing list. These lists are sold over the internet by various marketing companies. Most emails sent via the opt-in method also have an opt-out choice. Use this when you no longer wish to receive email from the marketer. When you have no choice it is referred to as SPAM.
Ping
A protocol that sends a message to another computer and waits for acknowledgment, often used to check if another computer on a network is reachable.
You need to use ping your blog to get it online. (easy as pie)
Sig File
A block of text at the end of a message identifying the sender and providing additional information for instance, web/e-mail address.
Solo Ad
This is advertising via email attached to an ezine. This is only one ad (as apposed to many small ads from various companies), thus giving you maximum exposure.
Viral Marketing
This works similar to a virus but instead of being destructive it encourages people to pass along a marketing message.
In the beginning…
I recently started my own “money-making, home business” which I signed up to with the understanding that I was going to earn money for doing nothing. Others (affiliates) were going to pay me commission for referring new sign-ups to their sites. This sounded like a fantastic opportunity to make lots of money without really selling anything. No stocks holding, postage etc.
My signup included (among other items) a guide which covers 30 days. I also had to sign-up to 5 online marketing sites (you receive the enrolment fee back in no time) and join a web-hosting company.
Massive amounts of information are fed to you but in an absorbable manner. It was very exiting. I would liken this information to reading a suspense novel…can’t wait to see what happens next!
Anyway this article is not meant to be about that…it’s meant to cover some of the terminology and their definitions, some of which I had never heard before.
AdSense
AdSense is a fast and easy way for website publishers of all sizes to display relevant ads on their website's content pages and earn money. Because the ads are related to what your visitors are looking for on your site — or matched to the characteristics and interests of the visitors your content attracts — you'll finally have a way to both monetise and enhance your content pages.
It's also a way for website publishers to provide web and site search to their visitors, and to earn money by displaying ads on the search results pages.
Adwords
With AdWords you create your own ads, choose keywords to help us match your ads to your audience and pay only when someone clicks on them.
Affiliate
A person, organization, or establishment associated with another as a subordinate, subsidiary, or member: network affiliates.
Auto-Responder
This is a clever marketing tool. It automates your emails and follows-up on potential clients after they have signed up to your newsletter etc.
Blog
An online diary or personal chronological log of thoughts published on a Web page; also called Weblog, Web log. Typically updated daily, blogs often reflect the personality of the author. It is a shortened form of Weblog.
Ezine
A magazine that is published electronically, especially on the Internet.
Keyword
A word used as a reference point for finding other words or information. See Adwords.
Off-line Marketing
As an example, advertising in newspapers, radio and television. Using the phone as a off-line marketing tool has also become very popular.
On-line Marketing
Advertising using the internet, examples may include…email, banners, popups etc.
Opt-In/Opt-out Subscribers
This is when you choose you receive newsletters etc. via email. Example:
By doing this you opt-in to an email mailing list. These lists are sold over the internet by various marketing companies. Most emails sent via the opt-in method also have an opt-out choice. Use this when you no longer wish to receive email from the marketer. When you have no choice it is referred to as SPAM.
Ping
A protocol that sends a message to another computer and waits for acknowledgment, often used to check if another computer on a network is reachable.
You need to use ping your blog to get it online. (easy as pie)
Sig File
A block of text at the end of a message identifying the sender and providing additional information for instance, web/e-mail address.
Solo Ad
This is advertising via email attached to an ezine. This is only one ad (as apposed to many small ads from various companies), thus giving you maximum exposure.
Viral Marketing
This works similar to a virus but instead of being destructive it encourages people to pass along a marketing message.
Blogging for Dollars
Blogging for dollars might sound like the latest game show or some new drinking game, but it's the latest craze to hit the Internet. Bloggers began blogging for a number of reasons, but as the blog movement has increased in popularity, they have found ways to monetize their blogs and are seeing their commitment pay off.
Whether a blogger's focus is to communicate with customers or just to have fun, they have begun looking at ways to earn revenue from their blogs. The most popular ways for bloggers to earn some added cash for their pet projects are:
1. ) Google Adsense in Blogs
Google AdSense allows webmasters to dynamically serve content-relevant advertisements in blogs. If the visitor clicks one of the AdSense ads served to the blog, the website owner is credited for the referral. Webmasters need only to insert a Google-generated java script into the blog or blog template. Google's spider parses the AdServing blog and serves ads that relate to the blog's content. Google uses a combination of keyword matching and context analysis to determine what ads should be served.
2. ) Affiliate Programs (Product Endorsements)
Affiliate Programs work when an affiliate web site receives income for generating sales, leads, or traffic to a merchant website. Generally, bloggers will mention or endorse specific products and if site visitors purchase the product, bloggers will receive a portion of the sale.
3. ) Product Promotion
Businesses use blogs to detail how specific features or product add-ons can increase functionality and save time. Content-rich product promotion will help with search engine placement.
4.) Banner Ads
While less popular than in the past, websites with high traffic levels can still earn decent revenue by selling banner space.
As the Internet evolves bloggers will continue to seek out ways to monetize their opinions and thoughts. Daily journals and online blogs have become more than just a communication means to many.
Whether a blogger's focus is to communicate with customers or just to have fun, they have begun looking at ways to earn revenue from their blogs. The most popular ways for bloggers to earn some added cash for their pet projects are:
1. ) Google Adsense in Blogs
Google AdSense allows webmasters to dynamically serve content-relevant advertisements in blogs. If the visitor clicks one of the AdSense ads served to the blog, the website owner is credited for the referral. Webmasters need only to insert a Google-generated java script into the blog or blog template. Google's spider parses the AdServing blog and serves ads that relate to the blog's content. Google uses a combination of keyword matching and context analysis to determine what ads should be served.
2. ) Affiliate Programs (Product Endorsements)
Affiliate Programs work when an affiliate web site receives income for generating sales, leads, or traffic to a merchant website. Generally, bloggers will mention or endorse specific products and if site visitors purchase the product, bloggers will receive a portion of the sale.
3. ) Product Promotion
Businesses use blogs to detail how specific features or product add-ons can increase functionality and save time. Content-rich product promotion will help with search engine placement.
4.) Banner Ads
While less popular than in the past, websites with high traffic levels can still earn decent revenue by selling banner space.
As the Internet evolves bloggers will continue to seek out ways to monetize their opinions and thoughts. Daily journals and online blogs have become more than just a communication means to many.
Beware: The Dangers of Selling on eBay 101
It's obvious that eBay provides internet users with an online flea market where buyers and sellers from around the world meet to conduct trade.
However, like most traders who are faced with an innovation of this sort, the first question will always be: It is safe?
The answer is yes, but devious scammers seem to be plotting daily to forward their dastardly schemes and take advantage of eBay's power.
So, what is the user's recourse? The users of eBay must learn to gather information and take meticulous care in dealing on eBay. Only then can they be less gullible to scammers.
A common consensus is that bidders are often scammed by sellers. But it is possible for things to be the other way around.
Here is a list of the common problems sellers encounter and the means to handle them.
Fake Escrow Services
A winning bidder may request that an escrow service be used to assure both parties of a fair transaction. Unfortunately, the seller is sometimes duped into using a fake escrow system.
To avoid this situation, the seller must always verify the authenticity of an escrow service. eBay recommends the use of escrow.com. If the bidder insists on his or her escrow service, chances are, that person is a scammer.
Victims of this fraud find it difficult to reclaim their items. They may, however, appeal to the legal system afforded by the state they live in. They must also contact eBay regarding the matter for any assistance they may be willing to offer.
Deadbeat Bidders
Deadbeat bidders (a winning bidder who doesn't pay for an item at the auction's close) are more common on eBay. If the winner of your auction does not pay, you may leave that person a negative feedback.
As for the listing fees the seller shells out, eBay lays out a four step procedure that sellers can use to potentially recover lost selling fees. If sellers complete the process to eBay's satisfaction, they will receive a Final Value Fee credit and a re-list credit. Filing out an Unpaid Item dispute is the first step toward eBay reimbursing such fees. A person can report an unpaid item up to 45 days after an auction's close.
Trade Dispute
This occurs when the seller and bidder disagree on some terms of the sale. This may also happen if there is a purported violation of any of these agreements.
If communication between both parties does not help, they may consider availing of a third-party dispute resolution outfit to help. SquareTrade.com is one of these outfits that eBay recommends.
An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure
A seller's life may be made terrible because of the constant scamming attacks unscrupulous individuals undertake. But, with proper information and care, he or she can continue trading on eBay with relative safety.
Payment Methods on eBay
Gone are the days when only cash (or cattle in some cases) was the only accepted mode of payment for trades. As the concept of trading evolved, so did the means of paying for items.
Today's electronic world pushes the envelop further. With the advent of online trading systems such as eBay, many new forms of payment have flourished.
First of all, on eBay, the mode of payment depends on the agreement between the buyer and the seller. Most often, the seller will specify his or her desired payment method. In these cases, the seller often has primacy in the decisions regarding payment modes. However, the buyer may still communicate with the seller regarding a viable alternative if it suits both parties.
The following is a list of common eBay payment modes.
Cash On Delivery
Cash is, after all, still cash. This payment method can be done through a third party courier system or by the buyer and seller meeting each other at an agreed place. The advantage of a cash transaction is that the exchange of the item for payment is done in the presence of the buyer and the seller (or the seller's representative). However, some people will not accept the risk present when two strangers meet.
Personal Check
One popular method of payment is personal check. Writing checks is easy and safe. However, many sellers do not like accepting check because they are easy to cancel.
PayPal
PayPal is the payment of choice on eBay. In fact, eBay owns PayPal.
Using PayPal is easy, convenient, and relatively safe. PayPal acts as like an internet 'wire transfer.'
After signing-up for PayPal, one may send cash to anyone with an email address using the PayPal system. PayPal also has security features that safeguard against fraud in case there is a dispute between the seller and the buyer. This system is best for transactions up to $1000.
Escrow.com
Escrow.com is the payment of choice for purchases over $500. Escrow.com holds the buyer's money from the seller until the seller delivers the item. Only then will the funds be released to the seller. This system makes for a very safe, although highly procedural transaction.
Wire Transfer
This is the payment of choice for countries that do not carry the PayPal service. Wire transfers are risky because the buyer usually has to wire over the funds before the seller sends the items. The chance for non-delivery of items is high.
Other Payment Systems
The number of third party payment services is steadily on the rise. Their systems for payment vary. However, to be successful they must be convenient to use and safe as well.
However, like most traders who are faced with an innovation of this sort, the first question will always be: It is safe?
The answer is yes, but devious scammers seem to be plotting daily to forward their dastardly schemes and take advantage of eBay's power.
So, what is the user's recourse? The users of eBay must learn to gather information and take meticulous care in dealing on eBay. Only then can they be less gullible to scammers.
A common consensus is that bidders are often scammed by sellers. But it is possible for things to be the other way around.
Here is a list of the common problems sellers encounter and the means to handle them.
Fake Escrow Services
A winning bidder may request that an escrow service be used to assure both parties of a fair transaction. Unfortunately, the seller is sometimes duped into using a fake escrow system.
To avoid this situation, the seller must always verify the authenticity of an escrow service. eBay recommends the use of escrow.com. If the bidder insists on his or her escrow service, chances are, that person is a scammer.
Victims of this fraud find it difficult to reclaim their items. They may, however, appeal to the legal system afforded by the state they live in. They must also contact eBay regarding the matter for any assistance they may be willing to offer.
Deadbeat Bidders
Deadbeat bidders (a winning bidder who doesn't pay for an item at the auction's close) are more common on eBay. If the winner of your auction does not pay, you may leave that person a negative feedback.
As for the listing fees the seller shells out, eBay lays out a four step procedure that sellers can use to potentially recover lost selling fees. If sellers complete the process to eBay's satisfaction, they will receive a Final Value Fee credit and a re-list credit. Filing out an Unpaid Item dispute is the first step toward eBay reimbursing such fees. A person can report an unpaid item up to 45 days after an auction's close.
Trade Dispute
This occurs when the seller and bidder disagree on some terms of the sale. This may also happen if there is a purported violation of any of these agreements.
If communication between both parties does not help, they may consider availing of a third-party dispute resolution outfit to help. SquareTrade.com is one of these outfits that eBay recommends.
An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure
A seller's life may be made terrible because of the constant scamming attacks unscrupulous individuals undertake. But, with proper information and care, he or she can continue trading on eBay with relative safety.
Payment Methods on eBay
Gone are the days when only cash (or cattle in some cases) was the only accepted mode of payment for trades. As the concept of trading evolved, so did the means of paying for items.
Today's electronic world pushes the envelop further. With the advent of online trading systems such as eBay, many new forms of payment have flourished.
First of all, on eBay, the mode of payment depends on the agreement between the buyer and the seller. Most often, the seller will specify his or her desired payment method. In these cases, the seller often has primacy in the decisions regarding payment modes. However, the buyer may still communicate with the seller regarding a viable alternative if it suits both parties.
The following is a list of common eBay payment modes.
Cash On Delivery
Cash is, after all, still cash. This payment method can be done through a third party courier system or by the buyer and seller meeting each other at an agreed place. The advantage of a cash transaction is that the exchange of the item for payment is done in the presence of the buyer and the seller (or the seller's representative). However, some people will not accept the risk present when two strangers meet.
Personal Check
One popular method of payment is personal check. Writing checks is easy and safe. However, many sellers do not like accepting check because they are easy to cancel.
PayPal
PayPal is the payment of choice on eBay. In fact, eBay owns PayPal.
Using PayPal is easy, convenient, and relatively safe. PayPal acts as like an internet 'wire transfer.'
After signing-up for PayPal, one may send cash to anyone with an email address using the PayPal system. PayPal also has security features that safeguard against fraud in case there is a dispute between the seller and the buyer. This system is best for transactions up to $1000.
Escrow.com
Escrow.com is the payment of choice for purchases over $500. Escrow.com holds the buyer's money from the seller until the seller delivers the item. Only then will the funds be released to the seller. This system makes for a very safe, although highly procedural transaction.
Wire Transfer
This is the payment of choice for countries that do not carry the PayPal service. Wire transfers are risky because the buyer usually has to wire over the funds before the seller sends the items. The chance for non-delivery of items is high.
Other Payment Systems
The number of third party payment services is steadily on the rise. Their systems for payment vary. However, to be successful they must be convenient to use and safe as well.
Be realistic when selling on eBay....
As some of you know, I spent many years buying and selling both on and offline and several of my products are based upon my own experience in this area. I know that the vast majority of my customers and subscribers have an interest in trading whether it be on eBay or at the local market but more and more I am seeing people with completely unrealistic expectations of what they will be able to do. Most commonly these unrealistic expectations are in respect of how much it actually costs to purchase specific products and what they can then be sold on for.
I regularly get emails from people who want to know where they can purchase products such as mobile (cell) phones, new release DVDs, Playstation games and similar at, say, a 50% discount to resell on eBay. The fact is that such a thing is not available - it is a simple case of supply and demand and competition.
Take DVDs for example, most people think that these are excellent products to resell on eBay because they are very popular, not particularly expensive and easy to package and ship. Unfortunately, they could not be more wrong. The DVD market is one of the most competitive that there is - take a look for yourself and see how many auctions there are on eBay for DVDs at any one time. I have just looked and counted almost 300,000! At any one time there will only be a certain number of buyers wanting to purchase a particular DVD and if you take into account the numerous different places there are that each buyer could purchase from, it is likely that in general, there will be more copies of an individual DVD available than there are buyers to purchase them. This situation causes prices to fall. The other factor that forces prices down is the fact that one DVD is the same as another. By this I mean that from a buyers point of view, there is no difference to a new DVD purchased on eBay to one which is purchased from their local DVD store. Often the only way to differentiate is on price and of course, the only way to make the price more attractive to a buyer is to lower it.
The above reasons help to explain why the wholesale discount on a new release DVD is just £1 or £2 at most ($2 or $3 roughly in the US). When you take into account the fact that the large retail chains can purchase thousands of DVDs at a time and receive a bigger discount than individual traders, you soon see why it is very difficult for a small business to compete in such a competitive industry. You simply cannot purchase new release DVDs at 50% discount and even if you could, it wouldn't be long before prices were forced down as there is always someone willing to sell a little bit cheaper than the next man.
It isn't just DVDs that fall into this category. Take mobile (cell) phones. Here in the UK you can walk down just about any high street and get the latest phones either free or for a minimal token payment. The stores are relying on making their money from the line rental contract that you will have to sign in order to get the phone. Of course, the actual cost of the phone is not free - most new mobiles are actually worth £200 or £300 which means that if you want to buy a batch of phones at wholesale, you are going to be looking at a pretty high unit cost. As with most electrical products, the market is competitive and prices have been forced down which means that the difference between your wholesale buying price and your retail selling price is minimal.
There are numerous products that suffer from the same market conditions as DVDs and phones and new/small traders really should avoid trying to sell such items at all costs because it will usually be frustrating and ultimately not financially rewarding. When trying to decide what products to sell, you need to be thinking about the type of market that a particular product is sold in. If there are already numerous sellers and many large companies selling at considerable discounts this is far from ideal. The exception to the rule is if you are able to add value in some way to make your 'offering' more unique. I wrote about adding value last year in one of my newsletters - you can read it here: http://www.thetraderonline.com/jul2204.html
At the end of the day, it is all about research, being realistic and having an understanding of the market that you want to operate in. Whilst it would be great to be able to buy and sell new release DVDs (or whatever) all day long, doubling your money every time, I am afraid that this is just not going to happen.
I regularly get emails from people who want to know where they can purchase products such as mobile (cell) phones, new release DVDs, Playstation games and similar at, say, a 50% discount to resell on eBay. The fact is that such a thing is not available - it is a simple case of supply and demand and competition.
Take DVDs for example, most people think that these are excellent products to resell on eBay because they are very popular, not particularly expensive and easy to package and ship. Unfortunately, they could not be more wrong. The DVD market is one of the most competitive that there is - take a look for yourself and see how many auctions there are on eBay for DVDs at any one time. I have just looked and counted almost 300,000! At any one time there will only be a certain number of buyers wanting to purchase a particular DVD and if you take into account the numerous different places there are that each buyer could purchase from, it is likely that in general, there will be more copies of an individual DVD available than there are buyers to purchase them. This situation causes prices to fall. The other factor that forces prices down is the fact that one DVD is the same as another. By this I mean that from a buyers point of view, there is no difference to a new DVD purchased on eBay to one which is purchased from their local DVD store. Often the only way to differentiate is on price and of course, the only way to make the price more attractive to a buyer is to lower it.
The above reasons help to explain why the wholesale discount on a new release DVD is just £1 or £2 at most ($2 or $3 roughly in the US). When you take into account the fact that the large retail chains can purchase thousands of DVDs at a time and receive a bigger discount than individual traders, you soon see why it is very difficult for a small business to compete in such a competitive industry. You simply cannot purchase new release DVDs at 50% discount and even if you could, it wouldn't be long before prices were forced down as there is always someone willing to sell a little bit cheaper than the next man.
It isn't just DVDs that fall into this category. Take mobile (cell) phones. Here in the UK you can walk down just about any high street and get the latest phones either free or for a minimal token payment. The stores are relying on making their money from the line rental contract that you will have to sign in order to get the phone. Of course, the actual cost of the phone is not free - most new mobiles are actually worth £200 or £300 which means that if you want to buy a batch of phones at wholesale, you are going to be looking at a pretty high unit cost. As with most electrical products, the market is competitive and prices have been forced down which means that the difference between your wholesale buying price and your retail selling price is minimal.
There are numerous products that suffer from the same market conditions as DVDs and phones and new/small traders really should avoid trying to sell such items at all costs because it will usually be frustrating and ultimately not financially rewarding. When trying to decide what products to sell, you need to be thinking about the type of market that a particular product is sold in. If there are already numerous sellers and many large companies selling at considerable discounts this is far from ideal. The exception to the rule is if you are able to add value in some way to make your 'offering' more unique. I wrote about adding value last year in one of my newsletters - you can read it here: http://www.thetraderonline.com/jul2204.html
At the end of the day, it is all about research, being realistic and having an understanding of the market that you want to operate in. Whilst it would be great to be able to buy and sell new release DVDs (or whatever) all day long, doubling your money every time, I am afraid that this is just not going to happen.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
A Website Model That Makes Money
I would like to share with you one simple stratergy in creating income with your own website. This is just one method out of simply millions that you could create for yourself. Remember the internet provides no limits. This is one example that does work for me, and may give you an insight into exactly a website model, that you may like to put into action for yourself. Affiliate marketing and/or sales of any kind on the internet, requires a real commitment, as I am sure you do already realize. The internet is really one of the greatest training grounds in the world for sales. You can try and fail many times, until you find that system and approach that will work for you. But the commitment that you show in meeting this challenge, will be a lesson that you will always remember. Success is always achieved in no matter what you do, through simple hard work. There is no easy path to success, but when you achieve the success you are after, there is no greater feeling. So lets begin. In this example my website, which for the purposes of this article i will call '????'. I will give you the exact profit breakdowns.
With this website I treat all my affiliate products as purely residual income, much like adsense. Adsense itself generates for me, on this website, on average around $2 per day. I also use various other companies affiliate products, which generate around $200 per month. Also within the website, I sell e-book informational products, which I own the full resale rights for, which generate around $700 per month. And here lies the answer to making money online, no matter what you sell. The products, that generate the most income, are the ones that you will own yourself. Certainly I should be making more from the affiliate info products that I sell. But I lose commissions through simple affiliate url tampering. Commissions that are stolen or lost are a real pain. You can try every method in the book to protect your affiliate codes. But after all the hard work is done, you still lose that valuable income. The people who sell the original affiliate product know this, which is mostly why a high percentage of the sales price is offered to an affiliate to begin with. Because they realize that a very high ratio of sales made on their products will give them the total profit back. The reasons why people change affiliate product codes etc, could run into pages. Lets just say it is inevitable. This is the reason why I treat all my affiliate based products as purely residual income.
But as you can see in this example clearly where the highest return on investment lies. And that is in the products that you actually own. You can purchase resale rights for info products easily, and it involves not much money at all, most products are available for under $50. Or if you have the time and patience to search the internet. You can find amazing e-books that have free resell rights and the information they contain is really valuable. You will find these types of treasures occasionally, and the lights will start flashing in your eyes when you do. The information that you have just discovered is of value and that is a real key to success. This is why I, at this point, strongly emphasize the importance of this one principle. Only sell products that you feel strongly about and you know that will be of great value to the person who may purchase it. That includes products you have bought the resale rights for, or a free product, you have discovered with resale rights.
If you sell strong products with real informational value consistently you will always succeed. Your customers will return, quite simply because they know where the value of the information they seek is the greatest. And that is at your website. Always remember to put yourself into your visitors shoes. Ask yourself the question? Would you buy the products you are selling? Answer this question with a Yes. And you will be really on the start too online success.
With this website I treat all my affiliate products as purely residual income, much like adsense. Adsense itself generates for me, on this website, on average around $2 per day. I also use various other companies affiliate products, which generate around $200 per month. Also within the website, I sell e-book informational products, which I own the full resale rights for, which generate around $700 per month. And here lies the answer to making money online, no matter what you sell. The products, that generate the most income, are the ones that you will own yourself. Certainly I should be making more from the affiliate info products that I sell. But I lose commissions through simple affiliate url tampering. Commissions that are stolen or lost are a real pain. You can try every method in the book to protect your affiliate codes. But after all the hard work is done, you still lose that valuable income. The people who sell the original affiliate product know this, which is mostly why a high percentage of the sales price is offered to an affiliate to begin with. Because they realize that a very high ratio of sales made on their products will give them the total profit back. The reasons why people change affiliate product codes etc, could run into pages. Lets just say it is inevitable. This is the reason why I treat all my affiliate based products as purely residual income.
But as you can see in this example clearly where the highest return on investment lies. And that is in the products that you actually own. You can purchase resale rights for info products easily, and it involves not much money at all, most products are available for under $50. Or if you have the time and patience to search the internet. You can find amazing e-books that have free resell rights and the information they contain is really valuable. You will find these types of treasures occasionally, and the lights will start flashing in your eyes when you do. The information that you have just discovered is of value and that is a real key to success. This is why I, at this point, strongly emphasize the importance of this one principle. Only sell products that you feel strongly about and you know that will be of great value to the person who may purchase it. That includes products you have bought the resale rights for, or a free product, you have discovered with resale rights.
If you sell strong products with real informational value consistently you will always succeed. Your customers will return, quite simply because they know where the value of the information they seek is the greatest. And that is at your website. Always remember to put yourself into your visitors shoes. Ask yourself the question? Would you buy the products you are selling? Answer this question with a Yes. And you will be really on the start too online success.
At Home Internet Jobs, Who Said It Was Easy?
I’m sure you’ve heard it all before, build a website and people will come. But if you’ve built a money-making website, that’s not what you want to hear. After all, you picked one of these at home internet jobs, because you want to be financially independent and your own boss.
Here’s one alternative from the many home internet jobs you’ve surely read on the net. Join an affiliate or partnership or referral program. Study these three alternatives, to help you maximize your profit streams.
1. Exclusive retailer. There are many online malls; they offer a comprehensive range of products and services. Concentrate on supplying the needs of a narrower market segment. You’ll be unique and sought out.
2. Join the more profitable affiliate program. Although there are literally
hundreds you can join, take your time. Read the FAQ section. Check out their products. If the products and services they offer are ones you look for, there’s a good chance that you’ll earn as an affiliate.
Other factors you may want to think about. Are the commissions high enough, that you’ll turn a profit? Remember you’ll need to set up your own website, and secure advertising money. Choose to join an affiliate program whose products are mid range and will sell it self with little effort.
3. Create a website that focuses on your passion. Although the focus is on the range of products that the affiliate program has, that’s not the only thing you offer. Give advice that is contextual to the products. Maybe you could write about the history of the products, or the processes involved in manufacturers. You could write about the celebrities who use this. Build a website that’s full of contents that your customers can use to better their lives. You’ll win their trust. They’ll soon become your most loyal customers.
Here’s one home internet job opportunity you may not have thought of. It’s a profitable and excellent venue to a steady stream of profits.
Be an online retailer of e-books with the reseller or reprint rights. Here’s one of the many ways you can do it. Offer a one time entry fee for the subscriber, it can be $20.00 a year or life time subscription fee. The subscriber will have the right to download any e-book from in your library. Some of the more successful business models target niche markets. You can be a retailer of e-books that specialize on the recipes of different countries. Wouldn’t that be fun? You can commission e-books or buy from known e-book authors. Read the e-books to be sure you’re selling the real deal.
What are the benefits you received from reading that e-Book you just purchased? Right an article or review explaining the benefits and then get that article or review published and placed in front of the eyes of your best prospects.
Be a dropper shipper and establish your storefront at EBay or the competitor Yahoo auctions. EBay’s traffic alone runs to approximately 800,000 visitors daily. It’s the worlds’ best online auction, and you wont’ go wrong.
Now what’s a dropshipping business? It’s a business model where you put products on a website or through EBay. You take the orders they come and pass these on to the dropship supplier, who ships this to your buyers.
Another way of putting it is, you’re the middleman, and you take the orders via Paypal, credit card or fax.
All the home internet jobs here will net you profit. All you need is a computer, internet access and basic knowledge about your pc and the net.
Here’s one alternative from the many home internet jobs you’ve surely read on the net. Join an affiliate or partnership or referral program. Study these three alternatives, to help you maximize your profit streams.
1. Exclusive retailer. There are many online malls; they offer a comprehensive range of products and services. Concentrate on supplying the needs of a narrower market segment. You’ll be unique and sought out.
2. Join the more profitable affiliate program. Although there are literally
hundreds you can join, take your time. Read the FAQ section. Check out their products. If the products and services they offer are ones you look for, there’s a good chance that you’ll earn as an affiliate.
Other factors you may want to think about. Are the commissions high enough, that you’ll turn a profit? Remember you’ll need to set up your own website, and secure advertising money. Choose to join an affiliate program whose products are mid range and will sell it self with little effort.
3. Create a website that focuses on your passion. Although the focus is on the range of products that the affiliate program has, that’s not the only thing you offer. Give advice that is contextual to the products. Maybe you could write about the history of the products, or the processes involved in manufacturers. You could write about the celebrities who use this. Build a website that’s full of contents that your customers can use to better their lives. You’ll win their trust. They’ll soon become your most loyal customers.
Here’s one home internet job opportunity you may not have thought of. It’s a profitable and excellent venue to a steady stream of profits.
Be an online retailer of e-books with the reseller or reprint rights. Here’s one of the many ways you can do it. Offer a one time entry fee for the subscriber, it can be $20.00 a year or life time subscription fee. The subscriber will have the right to download any e-book from in your library. Some of the more successful business models target niche markets. You can be a retailer of e-books that specialize on the recipes of different countries. Wouldn’t that be fun? You can commission e-books or buy from known e-book authors. Read the e-books to be sure you’re selling the real deal.
What are the benefits you received from reading that e-Book you just purchased? Right an article or review explaining the benefits and then get that article or review published and placed in front of the eyes of your best prospects.
Be a dropper shipper and establish your storefront at EBay or the competitor Yahoo auctions. EBay’s traffic alone runs to approximately 800,000 visitors daily. It’s the worlds’ best online auction, and you wont’ go wrong.
Now what’s a dropshipping business? It’s a business model where you put products on a website or through EBay. You take the orders they come and pass these on to the dropship supplier, who ships this to your buyers.
Another way of putting it is, you’re the middleman, and you take the orders via Paypal, credit card or fax.
All the home internet jobs here will net you profit. All you need is a computer, internet access and basic knowledge about your pc and the net.
A Smart Trick for Attracting Higher Paying AdSense Ads
There are no guarantees in life, so I don’t guarantee that following these tips will bring you more money every time. However, I do guarantee that they will greatly increase your chances of pulling more of the top-paying AdSense ads to your site than if you don’t follow these suggestions.
Enough with the disclaimers, let’s get down to the business of making money. Google lets advertisers bid anywhere from a minimum of .05 per click right up to a whopping $100. It should be pretty obvious that you’re not going to get rich running .05 cent ads on your site, but getting a few $100 ads, or even some $10, $20, or $30 ads can’t be a bad thing, right?
Now the problem is, Google is pretty closed-mouthed about who is paying what for their ads, and there is no real way to determine which words pay the most per AdSense click.
But ah, far away in a parallel universe we find another Pay-Per-Click provider called Overture. It seems that Overture is less sensitive about releasing their top-priced words and anyone who cares to find out what web sites are paying for words and phrases can do so by simply using Overtures tattle-tale special pricing tool (http://www.pixelfast.com/overture/). And it couldn’t be easier to use. You simply type in a key word or phrase and the tool returns a list of advertisers using that word and how much they are paying. It even shows you the actual ad.
Oh what a treasure trove of wealth-grabbing results this can be if you know what can be done with that priceless information.
Consider this possibility
Any key word or phrase that’s worth big bucks on Overture is probably worth big bucks on Google as well, maybe even more, right? So try this experiment:
Enter the phrase “SEO Services” without the quotes in the Overture tool (http://www.pixelfast.com/overture/). When I entered that phrase on the day I wrote this article, I was found a company called SEO Inc. that was willing to pay $8.01 per click, followed by SEO Advantage at $8.00, and Online Web Consultants at $6.50. Other bidders appeared below them in the $3.00 range straight on down to some who wouldn’t pay more than a dime per click.
Now, if a company is willing to pay that much money for a click on Overture, it is probably willing to pay that or more on Google. Even if that particular company isn’t advertising on Google, you can be pretty sure that the same key phrase is drawing near the same bid price from other companies who do advertise on Google. So what that means is there is no way that you can possibly afford NOT to have some web pages posted somewhere that are targeted to those sweet-paying words.
All you have to do is use Overture’s pricing tool to find the highest-paying key words that are related to your site and then optimize those words to start pulling similar ads. If all goes to plan, you can perhaps double, triple, or even quadruple your AdSense revenue without needing any increase in traffic or click-through rate.
Enough with the disclaimers, let’s get down to the business of making money. Google lets advertisers bid anywhere from a minimum of .05 per click right up to a whopping $100. It should be pretty obvious that you’re not going to get rich running .05 cent ads on your site, but getting a few $100 ads, or even some $10, $20, or $30 ads can’t be a bad thing, right?
Now the problem is, Google is pretty closed-mouthed about who is paying what for their ads, and there is no real way to determine which words pay the most per AdSense click.
But ah, far away in a parallel universe we find another Pay-Per-Click provider called Overture. It seems that Overture is less sensitive about releasing their top-priced words and anyone who cares to find out what web sites are paying for words and phrases can do so by simply using Overtures tattle-tale special pricing tool (http://www.pixelfast.com/overture/). And it couldn’t be easier to use. You simply type in a key word or phrase and the tool returns a list of advertisers using that word and how much they are paying. It even shows you the actual ad.
Oh what a treasure trove of wealth-grabbing results this can be if you know what can be done with that priceless information.
Consider this possibility
Any key word or phrase that’s worth big bucks on Overture is probably worth big bucks on Google as well, maybe even more, right? So try this experiment:
Enter the phrase “SEO Services” without the quotes in the Overture tool (http://www.pixelfast.com/overture/). When I entered that phrase on the day I wrote this article, I was found a company called SEO Inc. that was willing to pay $8.01 per click, followed by SEO Advantage at $8.00, and Online Web Consultants at $6.50. Other bidders appeared below them in the $3.00 range straight on down to some who wouldn’t pay more than a dime per click.
Now, if a company is willing to pay that much money for a click on Overture, it is probably willing to pay that or more on Google. Even if that particular company isn’t advertising on Google, you can be pretty sure that the same key phrase is drawing near the same bid price from other companies who do advertise on Google. So what that means is there is no way that you can possibly afford NOT to have some web pages posted somewhere that are targeted to those sweet-paying words.
All you have to do is use Overture’s pricing tool to find the highest-paying key words that are related to your site and then optimize those words to start pulling similar ads. If all goes to plan, you can perhaps double, triple, or even quadruple your AdSense revenue without needing any increase in traffic or click-through rate.
Article on the timing of events with Site Build It
Firstly let me say that I think Site Build It, it rocks. When I started on this journey, that I am still on, I started reading everything about mail marketing, web marketing etc etc. I had already been ripped off with the developers of my first site so I was not going to let that happen again. But then I was shown SBI and I have not looked back.
However, there are ways that you can make you use of SBI better, not by using something else, not by not reading the manual, which you should do about 5 times. (The devil is in the detail!!), but if this is your first site then you can maximize your SBI investment with timing. Why, well when you start you are probably going to go through stages, reading the manual, research, writing, reading, putting up pages, adding links etc etc, it is at this stage, prior to monitorising your site that timing is everything to maximize what site build it does for you and what you can do for yourself FREE. Here is the timing.
Buy site build it and stop reading any other web marketing stuff
Read the manual
Re-read the manual
Do the Brain thing
Document everything
Write loads of copy
Start putting the copy up
When you get to 40 pages
Become a Zealot (See Hints and Tips at Site Central)
Start doing the mini hum thing
Ask for a DMOZ listing
Write some articles and send them off
Apply for Google Adesense
Get as many links as you can
Then Monitorise your site with Google
Then add your newsletter stuff
Then add your affiliate links.
Now read all the other SBI products
(keep re-reading the manual)
OK, OK now you are asking why that order. Well a lot of it is covered in the manual so a lot of it I will just glance over, but the middle bit I will dwell on. Now I am supposing you want the best results for the cheapest price – right.
OK If you are new to this you probably either want to put up loads of content or a sales page. If you read the manual you will see the content must come first, content, content and more content.
Now I presume you have bought your site, you have done the brainstorm thing and got everything in hand, you have loads of content. OK now you have built the site to about 30 to 40 pages, make sure they are spell check, linked and look good.
Now go off and become a Zealot. Details are on the tip and hint’s site build it site. Just go to the site and do the quiz, if you fail do it again, if you fail read the answers and keep going until you pass, one you do then put forward you site.
Now why do things in this order, because as soon as you have put up any adds or a few links to affiliates the webmasters they deem you as a commercial website and say you have to pay. If you have no ads etc, then you get in if you have a good content site.
Now do not just put up you main page, put up every page in every section you can. Try doing three pages a day until you start getting the replies back saying you have been accepted.
Now do the same things with DMOZ
(News just in – Value Exchange started Excellent – I got an email prior to Ken's Newsletter so I went straight in and so far I have got three ‘good’ links)
Now build your E-bay page and link to your site from that – see details in MYNAS at Site Central Hints and Tip’s
Now apply for Google Adsense, follow the instructions at site build it. Again if you do this in this order you will avoid not getting onto Adsense because you are already advertising one of their clients. Just one of the things that can fail you.
OK now go for the mini hubs that are also in the tips and hints.
OK, now that has probably taken a bit of time and during that time Site Build It, your new links and other work have probably now got you up in the Alexa rankings, now is time to add your Newsletter forms, your Google Adsense code and start the work on the affiliates site.
I hope that this helps, as the man said ‘It’s all in the timing’.
However, there are ways that you can make you use of SBI better, not by using something else, not by not reading the manual, which you should do about 5 times. (The devil is in the detail!!), but if this is your first site then you can maximize your SBI investment with timing. Why, well when you start you are probably going to go through stages, reading the manual, research, writing, reading, putting up pages, adding links etc etc, it is at this stage, prior to monitorising your site that timing is everything to maximize what site build it does for you and what you can do for yourself FREE. Here is the timing.
Buy site build it and stop reading any other web marketing stuff
Read the manual
Re-read the manual
Do the Brain thing
Document everything
Write loads of copy
Start putting the copy up
When you get to 40 pages
Become a Zealot (See Hints and Tips at Site Central)
Start doing the mini hum thing
Ask for a DMOZ listing
Write some articles and send them off
Apply for Google Adesense
Get as many links as you can
Then Monitorise your site with Google
Then add your newsletter stuff
Then add your affiliate links.
Now read all the other SBI products
(keep re-reading the manual)
OK, OK now you are asking why that order. Well a lot of it is covered in the manual so a lot of it I will just glance over, but the middle bit I will dwell on. Now I am supposing you want the best results for the cheapest price – right.
OK If you are new to this you probably either want to put up loads of content or a sales page. If you read the manual you will see the content must come first, content, content and more content.
Now I presume you have bought your site, you have done the brainstorm thing and got everything in hand, you have loads of content. OK now you have built the site to about 30 to 40 pages, make sure they are spell check, linked and look good.
Now go off and become a Zealot. Details are on the tip and hint’s site build it site. Just go to the site and do the quiz, if you fail do it again, if you fail read the answers and keep going until you pass, one you do then put forward you site.
Now why do things in this order, because as soon as you have put up any adds or a few links to affiliates the webmasters they deem you as a commercial website and say you have to pay. If you have no ads etc, then you get in if you have a good content site.
Now do not just put up you main page, put up every page in every section you can. Try doing three pages a day until you start getting the replies back saying you have been accepted.
Now do the same things with DMOZ
(News just in – Value Exchange started Excellent – I got an email prior to Ken's Newsletter so I went straight in and so far I have got three ‘good’ links)
Now build your E-bay page and link to your site from that – see details in MYNAS at Site Central Hints and Tip’s
Now apply for Google Adsense, follow the instructions at site build it. Again if you do this in this order you will avoid not getting onto Adsense because you are already advertising one of their clients. Just one of the things that can fail you.
OK now go for the mini hubs that are also in the tips and hints.
OK, now that has probably taken a bit of time and during that time Site Build It, your new links and other work have probably now got you up in the Alexa rankings, now is time to add your Newsletter forms, your Google Adsense code and start the work on the affiliates site.
I hope that this helps, as the man said ‘It’s all in the timing’.
Are you using both sides of the GoogleCoin?
By now most of you realise that Google can give our websites the ability to appear within their results pages using a Pay
Per Click model (PPC).
This is called Google Adwords
Hopefully, you will also be aware that that Google offers website owners the ability to display these PPC results on
their own websites.
For this privilege, Google will pay the website owner a share of the PPC revenue earnt from any click throughs on the results displayed on their website.
This is called Google Adsense
So there you have both sides of the Google coin.
On one side, the ability to drive low cost targeted traffic and on the other side, the ability to generate revenue from
your existing traffic.
You'd think that was the end of it but really it is only the beginning.
Heads or Tails?
Heads it is….
Let's look at Adwords
There are those that think…
…write your ad, pays your money and away you go.
Which to 80% of the people using Adwords, this seems to work OK for them. Remember I said OK!
For the other 20% , these guys and gals, are testing,changing, innovating and working Google as hard as they can.
One such character is Chris Carpenter , whose GoogleCash is pioneering in the way that he works Google and now lets
other work Google just as hard.
"Like Bruce Lee taught us the art of fighting without fighting, Chris Carpenter shows us the art of website revenue generation without a website!"
Chris has shown examples of Adwords campaigns that cost cents to set up but pay dollars in commissions. None of my
current investments give me such a high ROI.
I have tried my hand at it and I am currently making around $4000 per month just from this one product. I am only
spending $250 on Adwords to get this return.
Tails you win!
Secondly, while most people just cut and paste Adsense code into all the pages of their site, they just leave it at that
thinking job done!
They don't explore the high value keywords in their market or niche.
Why do that?
Well if you knew what the more profitable keywords and terms are, you can write content and these words can be displayed.
Google Adsense will then look at your page content and work out what to display.
You could double your income by changing words on your site. Maybe Life insurance to life assurance or personal loan to
loans or adverse credit to bad credit.
Also sites tend to use one format and one position for the ads.
Test, test, test
Try different layouts and work out which ones work best for you. You may be surprised.
Test, test, test
There are several tools that can help you identify keywords but the best for you would be either the Google Adwords program or Overture view bids tool.
Don't worry about thinking you are doing anything wrong. In fact, think about it - you will be creating relevant content for Google to display and for their users to read. Users are happy, Google are happy and you will earn more revenue from Adsense. So hopefully you'll be happy too!
A Win Win situation!
Again, like most things rather than reinvent the wheel there is a whole book on Adsense written my friend William
Charlwood has written The Definitive Guide to Google AdSense which tells you exactly how to make money by hosting small
ads on your website. It is a detailed road-map of everything you need to do to get going and then maximise your AdSense income.
Once you've got it right, you can look forward to a check every month from Google.
Check this out here: http://howtoblog.tk , internetsecurity.tk
Per Click model (PPC).
This is called Google Adwords
Hopefully, you will also be aware that that Google offers website owners the ability to display these PPC results on
their own websites.
For this privilege, Google will pay the website owner a share of the PPC revenue earnt from any click throughs on the results displayed on their website.
This is called Google Adsense
So there you have both sides of the Google coin.
On one side, the ability to drive low cost targeted traffic and on the other side, the ability to generate revenue from
your existing traffic.
You'd think that was the end of it but really it is only the beginning.
Heads or Tails?
Heads it is….
Let's look at Adwords
There are those that think…
…write your ad, pays your money and away you go.
Which to 80% of the people using Adwords, this seems to work OK for them. Remember I said OK!
For the other 20% , these guys and gals, are testing,changing, innovating and working Google as hard as they can.
One such character is Chris Carpenter , whose GoogleCash is pioneering in the way that he works Google and now lets
other work Google just as hard.
"Like Bruce Lee taught us the art of fighting without fighting, Chris Carpenter shows us the art of website revenue generation without a website!"
Chris has shown examples of Adwords campaigns that cost cents to set up but pay dollars in commissions. None of my
current investments give me such a high ROI.
I have tried my hand at it and I am currently making around $4000 per month just from this one product. I am only
spending $250 on Adwords to get this return.
Tails you win!
Secondly, while most people just cut and paste Adsense code into all the pages of their site, they just leave it at that
thinking job done!
They don't explore the high value keywords in their market or niche.
Why do that?
Well if you knew what the more profitable keywords and terms are, you can write content and these words can be displayed.
Google Adsense will then look at your page content and work out what to display.
You could double your income by changing words on your site. Maybe Life insurance to life assurance or personal loan to
loans or adverse credit to bad credit.
Also sites tend to use one format and one position for the ads.
Test, test, test
Try different layouts and work out which ones work best for you. You may be surprised.
Test, test, test
There are several tools that can help you identify keywords but the best for you would be either the Google Adwords program or Overture view bids tool.
Don't worry about thinking you are doing anything wrong. In fact, think about it - you will be creating relevant content for Google to display and for their users to read. Users are happy, Google are happy and you will earn more revenue from Adsense. So hopefully you'll be happy too!
A Win Win situation!
Again, like most things rather than reinvent the wheel there is a whole book on Adsense written my friend William
Charlwood has written The Definitive Guide to Google AdSense which tells you exactly how to make money by hosting small
ads on your website. It is a detailed road-map of everything you need to do to get going and then maximise your AdSense income.
Once you've got it right, you can look forward to a check every month from Google.
Check this out here: http://howtoblog.tk , internetsecurity.tk
Sunday, September 19, 2010
An Introduction To Selling on eBay for Profit
It doesn't take a genius to make money on eBay, nor does it require you to have any specialized computer knowledge. You don't even need to be a skilled entrepreneur, because eBay does most of the work for you. With over 1.5 billion page views per month and more than 1000 categories, they bring customers TO YOU and save you enormous advertising costs.
Your job, therefore, is to make a successful sales pitch to the customers who see your auctions, and doing that isn't as easy as you might think. You will be competing with more than two million other eBay sellers, many of whom are veterans at online marketing and highly knowledgeable in the niche markets found on Ebay. So how do you compete with them? The answer is simple: INFORMATION!
This guide provides the information needed to get ahead on eBay and gives you an instant edge over your competitors. I will provide you with insider secrets on Ebay trading that I have learned from years of online auction sales. If you read this guide carefully, you will be armed with the knowledge necessary for an extremely lucrative home-based business selling virtually anything on eBay.
====eBay First Steps====
Step one: Enter all the information that is requested on that form then click submit. You will then be forwarded to a page where you get to pick your eBay user ID.
Step Two: You will need a unique name when asked for a user ID. You might as well advertise your company name for your user ID. For example, Instead of "BobSellsoneBay99" it's best to use your company name, like, "Bobs-Metro-Camera" or something to that effect. I think you get the point. If you don't have a company name, just make one up!
Step Three: Once that is done, you simply have to confirm your new eBay account by checking your email. Simply click on the "Confirmation" link within the confirmation email to confirm your new account. This step confirms your request to sign up to buy and sell on eBay.
The next major step is to get set-up to send and receive payments. Becoming e-commerce enabled if you will. The good news is this is very easy with an eBay owned company called "PayPal." PayPal makes things very easy to send and/or receive money with a credit card, checking account, or your PayPal account balance. Sign-up is fast, free and easy.
Congrats! You are now ready to begin buying and selling on eBay!
Now lets start selling. First you will need to set up your eBay sellers account. Please take the time to read all the tutorials and "how to" links eBay provides: http://pages.ebay.com/help/basics/n-selling.html
Once you have these initial steps completed, you are on your way to becoming a very successful eBay Power Seller!
Your job, therefore, is to make a successful sales pitch to the customers who see your auctions, and doing that isn't as easy as you might think. You will be competing with more than two million other eBay sellers, many of whom are veterans at online marketing and highly knowledgeable in the niche markets found on Ebay. So how do you compete with them? The answer is simple: INFORMATION!
This guide provides the information needed to get ahead on eBay and gives you an instant edge over your competitors. I will provide you with insider secrets on Ebay trading that I have learned from years of online auction sales. If you read this guide carefully, you will be armed with the knowledge necessary for an extremely lucrative home-based business selling virtually anything on eBay.
====eBay First Steps====
Step one: Enter all the information that is requested on that form then click submit. You will then be forwarded to a page where you get to pick your eBay user ID.
Step Two: You will need a unique name when asked for a user ID. You might as well advertise your company name for your user ID. For example, Instead of "BobSellsoneBay99" it's best to use your company name, like, "Bobs-Metro-Camera" or something to that effect. I think you get the point. If you don't have a company name, just make one up!
Step Three: Once that is done, you simply have to confirm your new eBay account by checking your email. Simply click on the "Confirmation" link within the confirmation email to confirm your new account. This step confirms your request to sign up to buy and sell on eBay.
The next major step is to get set-up to send and receive payments. Becoming e-commerce enabled if you will. The good news is this is very easy with an eBay owned company called "PayPal." PayPal makes things very easy to send and/or receive money with a credit card, checking account, or your PayPal account balance. Sign-up is fast, free and easy.
Congrats! You are now ready to begin buying and selling on eBay!
Now lets start selling. First you will need to set up your eBay sellers account. Please take the time to read all the tutorials and "how to" links eBay provides: http://pages.ebay.com/help/basics/n-selling.html
Once you have these initial steps completed, you are on your way to becoming a very successful eBay Power Seller!
A Niche Marketing Model In Three Easy Steps: Keyword Storage Sheds
In this article we will review how you can put together a powerful three
step an action plan to attack a niche market.
Step I. - You Must Research A Niche Market.
First and most importantly you will have to research a market. I have
already done this and below the keyword example is -
Storage Sheds
Here are the top four keyword phrases on this list for this niche topic.
NOTE: The full keyword list for contains over 250 phrases.
KEYWORD PHRASE 24 Hr Count 24 Hr Prediction
------------- ------------ ---------------
storage sheds 1345 1151
storage shed 631 540
outdoor storage sheds 445 381
storage shed plans 409 350
Now that we know that there is an actual demand for storage sheds we
can move on to step two.
Step II. - You Must Determine What The Surfer Really Wants.
This one is glaringly obvious that the surfer is looking for storage sheds
which is a physical product. They obviously need or want to have extra
storage space on their property or nearby.
More than likely the surfer wants to find the cheapest and easiest way to
get the best and most suitable storage shed for their needs.
So we need to move to step three.
Step III. - Put Together Your Profit Strategy.
You have several options to profits from niche this niche market but here
are just a few:
1. Create A Review Website.
You could create a website reviewing different types of storage sheds that
includes information such as:
- What sizes and models do different storage sheds come in?
- What type of material different storage sheds are made of?
- How long will your storage shed last before you have to buy a new one?
- What kind of storage shed you should buy based on your areas climate?
- What is required to put together a storage shed and how long does it take?
- Which brand of storage sheds are easiest to construct?
Do you get the picture that I am trying to paint here?
This will give your surfer a real reason to stay on your site and come back
often.
You could easily get this information by interviewing different storage
shed manufacturers or suppliers by giving them a call or emailing them.
Many times product manufacturers already have this type of information
already created to better sell their product. If they do ask them if you can
you use the information to add content to your website.
Also, you can ask them if they have an affiliate program for their storage
sheds. If not ask them if you could set up one for them and negotiate a
percentage of the sales for your self.
2. You Could Create An E-book or Physical Product.
How To Easily Build A Rock-Solid Long Lasting Storage Shed
Perfect For Your Specific Needs With Just $50 Worth Of Materials.
If you cannot write e-book yourself you can outsource this writing
project to a professional writer at the following sites:
http://www.elance.com
http://www.freelance.com
http://www.guru.com
3. Generate Extra Revenue By Joining the Google Adsense program.
This is pretty simple. Jus sign up for the Adsense revenue sharing program
at http://www.google.com/adsense. Each time someone clicks on one of
the ads on you website you will get paid a percentage of what the
advertiser pays to Google.
It is really easy to get set up with Adsense and the ads are automatically
targeted to be relevant your visitors interest. All you have to do is log
into your Adsense account and copy/paste a special code into your
web pages.
Always remember, marketing your website is a game of numbers and it
is not wise to build a business around any niche topic without doing the
proper keyword research before hand.
If there are not enough people interested in what you have to offer you
will not be able to bring enough traffic to your website to turn a decent
profit.
step an action plan to attack a niche market.
Step I. - You Must Research A Niche Market.
First and most importantly you will have to research a market. I have
already done this and below the keyword example is -
Storage Sheds
Here are the top four keyword phrases on this list for this niche topic.
NOTE: The full keyword list for contains over 250 phrases.
KEYWORD PHRASE 24 Hr Count 24 Hr Prediction
------------- ------------ ---------------
storage sheds 1345 1151
storage shed 631 540
outdoor storage sheds 445 381
storage shed plans 409 350
Now that we know that there is an actual demand for storage sheds we
can move on to step two.
Step II. - You Must Determine What The Surfer Really Wants.
This one is glaringly obvious that the surfer is looking for storage sheds
which is a physical product. They obviously need or want to have extra
storage space on their property or nearby.
More than likely the surfer wants to find the cheapest and easiest way to
get the best and most suitable storage shed for their needs.
So we need to move to step three.
Step III. - Put Together Your Profit Strategy.
You have several options to profits from niche this niche market but here
are just a few:
1. Create A Review Website.
You could create a website reviewing different types of storage sheds that
includes information such as:
- What sizes and models do different storage sheds come in?
- What type of material different storage sheds are made of?
- How long will your storage shed last before you have to buy a new one?
- What kind of storage shed you should buy based on your areas climate?
- What is required to put together a storage shed and how long does it take?
- Which brand of storage sheds are easiest to construct?
Do you get the picture that I am trying to paint here?
This will give your surfer a real reason to stay on your site and come back
often.
You could easily get this information by interviewing different storage
shed manufacturers or suppliers by giving them a call or emailing them.
Many times product manufacturers already have this type of information
already created to better sell their product. If they do ask them if you can
you use the information to add content to your website.
Also, you can ask them if they have an affiliate program for their storage
sheds. If not ask them if you could set up one for them and negotiate a
percentage of the sales for your self.
2. You Could Create An E-book or Physical Product.
How To Easily Build A Rock-Solid Long Lasting Storage Shed
Perfect For Your Specific Needs With Just $50 Worth Of Materials.
If you cannot write e-book yourself you can outsource this writing
project to a professional writer at the following sites:
http://www.elance.com
http://www.freelance.com
http://www.guru.com
3. Generate Extra Revenue By Joining the Google Adsense program.
This is pretty simple. Jus sign up for the Adsense revenue sharing program
at http://www.google.com/adsense. Each time someone clicks on one of
the ads on you website you will get paid a percentage of what the
advertiser pays to Google.
It is really easy to get set up with Adsense and the ads are automatically
targeted to be relevant your visitors interest. All you have to do is log
into your Adsense account and copy/paste a special code into your
web pages.
Always remember, marketing your website is a game of numbers and it
is not wise to build a business around any niche topic without doing the
proper keyword research before hand.
If there are not enough people interested in what you have to offer you
will not be able to bring enough traffic to your website to turn a decent
profit.
Aggressive Marketing
If you get an email with a title like 'Don't Ever Trust Me Again!' and continues along the lines of '... then you don't have to take my advice ever again!'
My advice is - Don't *
Perhaps it's because I'm skeptical of the number of "miracle" products, "great deals", 'limited time offers' or 'incredible packages' that are advertised online every day. Perhaps it's because I have bought more products than I can possibly use for now. Perhaps it's because there are probably more people trying to sell this particular package than the number of packages that are available. Or, perhaps it's because I received an email with almost identical content from too many different sources. Whatever the reason, don't make the same mistakes as I have in the past.
* It may be a good deal. It may be exactly what you are looking for. But if you receive emails with exactly the same content from different sources, think carefully before you buy. There are some good internet marketers that I have every respect for. However, there are an increasing number of 'marketers' that show little thought or consideration for others. They will take from you but offer nothing in return. You may disagree with the last statement. If you buy a product from them and you are happy with that product and they are happy with the money earned from selling you that product it's a win-win situation.
That's all well and good until you look more closely at the process. To do this, other factors must be taken into account. These include cost, value, convenience, time, and most importantly trust. You've probably heard of the phrase. "The money is in the list". I wouldn't disagree with that and it's easy to see why many of the "big list" hitters are successful in the percentage game. But unless they offer you something more than somebody else's 'sales pitch' ignore them. Many of these people come and go. Make sure they don't go with your money.
With regard to the email in question, here is a quote from a 'trusted' ezine that I subscribe to "This is only of interest to you, Bryan, if you really need some brand new products to sell. If not, don't bother." At least, this is honest and straight to the point. I know who I'd buy from. On occasion, time may be more important than trust. If this is the case, then make sure you have a use for the product before you buy it. We are all guilty of impulse buying. It can be all too easy to buy something that will seldom, if ever, be used.
If you subscribe to an ezine or newsletter, it's often useful to keep tabs on the sender. By doing this you will learn to recognize if the content is original or simply a copy of someone else's work. You'll also quickly discover if the sender is only interested in using you as a means of earning a 'fast buck'. This is obvious if there is little or no content, excessive affiliate URLs, or emails that are repetitive or delivered more often than necessary.
If you like the newsletter or email subscription, that's great. If you don't, you can usually 'unsubscribe'. If this fails, then try 'whitelist' filtering to weed it out. If you think the email is from a spammer, then be careful. Don't click on any URL or 'unsubscribe' option, and unless you are absolutely sure of the originator, never open an attachment.
If you use eBay or PayPal, you will no doubt be aware of the fake or spoof emails that are periodically blasted out. Well, the spin cycle has begun again. A good tutorial on spoof emails and how to recognize them can be found at http://pages.ebay.com/education/spooftutorial/index.html
Tip - If you have your own website, don't use your default address for your PayPal or eBay account. Use a different address and you will quickly spot the spoof email in the 'To' line of the email.
My advice is - Don't *
Perhaps it's because I'm skeptical of the number of "miracle" products, "great deals", 'limited time offers' or 'incredible packages' that are advertised online every day. Perhaps it's because I have bought more products than I can possibly use for now. Perhaps it's because there are probably more people trying to sell this particular package than the number of packages that are available. Or, perhaps it's because I received an email with almost identical content from too many different sources. Whatever the reason, don't make the same mistakes as I have in the past.
* It may be a good deal. It may be exactly what you are looking for. But if you receive emails with exactly the same content from different sources, think carefully before you buy. There are some good internet marketers that I have every respect for. However, there are an increasing number of 'marketers' that show little thought or consideration for others. They will take from you but offer nothing in return. You may disagree with the last statement. If you buy a product from them and you are happy with that product and they are happy with the money earned from selling you that product it's a win-win situation.
That's all well and good until you look more closely at the process. To do this, other factors must be taken into account. These include cost, value, convenience, time, and most importantly trust. You've probably heard of the phrase. "The money is in the list". I wouldn't disagree with that and it's easy to see why many of the "big list" hitters are successful in the percentage game. But unless they offer you something more than somebody else's 'sales pitch' ignore them. Many of these people come and go. Make sure they don't go with your money.
With regard to the email in question, here is a quote from a 'trusted' ezine that I subscribe to "This is only of interest to you, Bryan, if you really need some brand new products to sell. If not, don't bother." At least, this is honest and straight to the point. I know who I'd buy from. On occasion, time may be more important than trust. If this is the case, then make sure you have a use for the product before you buy it. We are all guilty of impulse buying. It can be all too easy to buy something that will seldom, if ever, be used.
If you subscribe to an ezine or newsletter, it's often useful to keep tabs on the sender. By doing this you will learn to recognize if the content is original or simply a copy of someone else's work. You'll also quickly discover if the sender is only interested in using you as a means of earning a 'fast buck'. This is obvious if there is little or no content, excessive affiliate URLs, or emails that are repetitive or delivered more often than necessary.
If you like the newsletter or email subscription, that's great. If you don't, you can usually 'unsubscribe'. If this fails, then try 'whitelist' filtering to weed it out. If you think the email is from a spammer, then be careful. Don't click on any URL or 'unsubscribe' option, and unless you are absolutely sure of the originator, never open an attachment.
If you use eBay or PayPal, you will no doubt be aware of the fake or spoof emails that are periodically blasted out. Well, the spin cycle has begun again. A good tutorial on spoof emails and how to recognize them can be found at http://pages.ebay.com/education/spooftutorial/index.html
Tip - If you have your own website, don't use your default address for your PayPal or eBay account. Use a different address and you will quickly spot the spoof email in the 'To' line of the email.
Affiliate Marketing vs. Google Adsense: Let the Battle Begin….
Lately there has been a lot of discussion on how to make tons of money with Google Adsense. In fact, many people are making the claim that Adsense sites can earn a higher revenue then an affiliate-marketing site.
So that brings us to an important question: Which is a better online business - Affiliate-Marketing sites or Google Adsense sites?
Let's explore each one and then find out which online business is better option:
Google Adsense
How do you like the idea of earning m*ney without dealing with customers or answering emails. This is possible when you run a Google Adsense site. With Adsense sites, you can have a virtual passive-income that requires little maintaining. But is this the best option for an online business?
Here are the positives of Google Adsense sites:
· They are perfect for people who run information sites that have no related affiliate product
· You can set it and leave it. With Google Adsense, you can create a content page, and there is little need to update the content.
· Adsense sites are easy to scale. Since they require little upkeep, you can easily create multiple websites that each make a nice income.
Here are the negatives of Google Adsense sites:
· They are not a great long term solution. Instead of getting your visitors to subscribe to a mailing list, you are focusing on getting people to click on ads. Real online businesses concentrate on building assets that can use for long-term growth.
· These sites are dependent on search engines. Most Google Adsense sites make the mistake of depending on search engines for the majority of their traffic. If the SE algorithms change then your income might drop significantly.
Affiliate Marketing
Being an affiliate marketer is great for those who want build a theme site. With this type of business, you can easily create web pages around a topic and get people to buy products through your products. If done correctly, you can easily build a loyal following that will help you make money for years to come.
But can affiliate marketing make you more money then Google Adsense?
Here are the positives of affiliate marketing:
· A great advantage of affiliate-marketing is that you can build a long term business that will bring in a revenue stream for years.
· With affiliate-marketers you need to focus on building an email list. This list is a major asset of your business. Every time you have an offer, you can go to your list and increase your profits..
· Unlike Google Adsense sites, which only concentrates on high paying keywords, an affiliate marketing site can be centered on a topic that you have an interest in.
Here are the negatives of affiliate marketing:
· You have to learn how to write persuasively and get people to purchase the product that you are recommending. For many people this is a difficult skill to learn.
· Each affiliate marketing site requires a lot of effort. You must spend a lot of time writing product reviews, building your email list and creating web content.
So which is better: Affiliate marketing or Google Adsense?
The answer is that both are great solutions for an online business. Instead of choosing one over the other, you should create websites that can take advantage of both.
Here is how you can do this:
1) Create a content site on a topic that you are interest in, while paying a good amount per Adsense click.
2) Integrate your Adsense into the menu bars and the top of your web content.
3) Add web pages for affiliate-products and your opt-in email list. But, make sure that you leave out the Adsense blocks on these pages. This way you are ensuring that you are building your long-term assets.
4) Create optimized web page articles that focus on a specific keyword phrase. Place your Google Adsense in these blocks.
5) Provide your email list with good content and product recommendations. Once in awhile, email your list and provide a link to some of your web articles. That way, you can earn a little bit of m*ney from your subscribers while giving them good content.
By focusing on both affiliate products and Google Adsense, you will be building both short-term and long-term profits.
So that brings us to an important question: Which is a better online business - Affiliate-Marketing sites or Google Adsense sites?
Let's explore each one and then find out which online business is better option:
Google Adsense
How do you like the idea of earning m*ney without dealing with customers or answering emails. This is possible when you run a Google Adsense site. With Adsense sites, you can have a virtual passive-income that requires little maintaining. But is this the best option for an online business?
Here are the positives of Google Adsense sites:
· They are perfect for people who run information sites that have no related affiliate product
· You can set it and leave it. With Google Adsense, you can create a content page, and there is little need to update the content.
· Adsense sites are easy to scale. Since they require little upkeep, you can easily create multiple websites that each make a nice income.
Here are the negatives of Google Adsense sites:
· They are not a great long term solution. Instead of getting your visitors to subscribe to a mailing list, you are focusing on getting people to click on ads. Real online businesses concentrate on building assets that can use for long-term growth.
· These sites are dependent on search engines. Most Google Adsense sites make the mistake of depending on search engines for the majority of their traffic. If the SE algorithms change then your income might drop significantly.
Affiliate Marketing
Being an affiliate marketer is great for those who want build a theme site. With this type of business, you can easily create web pages around a topic and get people to buy products through your products. If done correctly, you can easily build a loyal following that will help you make money for years to come.
But can affiliate marketing make you more money then Google Adsense?
Here are the positives of affiliate marketing:
· A great advantage of affiliate-marketing is that you can build a long term business that will bring in a revenue stream for years.
· With affiliate-marketers you need to focus on building an email list. This list is a major asset of your business. Every time you have an offer, you can go to your list and increase your profits..
· Unlike Google Adsense sites, which only concentrates on high paying keywords, an affiliate marketing site can be centered on a topic that you have an interest in.
Here are the negatives of affiliate marketing:
· You have to learn how to write persuasively and get people to purchase the product that you are recommending. For many people this is a difficult skill to learn.
· Each affiliate marketing site requires a lot of effort. You must spend a lot of time writing product reviews, building your email list and creating web content.
So which is better: Affiliate marketing or Google Adsense?
The answer is that both are great solutions for an online business. Instead of choosing one over the other, you should create websites that can take advantage of both.
Here is how you can do this:
1) Create a content site on a topic that you are interest in, while paying a good amount per Adsense click.
2) Integrate your Adsense into the menu bars and the top of your web content.
3) Add web pages for affiliate-products and your opt-in email list. But, make sure that you leave out the Adsense blocks on these pages. This way you are ensuring that you are building your long-term assets.
4) Create optimized web page articles that focus on a specific keyword phrase. Place your Google Adsense in these blocks.
5) Provide your email list with good content and product recommendations. Once in awhile, email your list and provide a link to some of your web articles. That way, you can earn a little bit of m*ney from your subscribers while giving them good content.
By focusing on both affiliate products and Google Adsense, you will be building both short-term and long-term profits.
Affiliate Marketing: The Easiest Business
There are many ways to make a living. Some people work many long hours a week slaving in a hot factory. Some people go to work for long days in a cubicle, meeting someone else's quota and achieving someone else's goals. Some people have decided these ideas of work do not work for them. These people have realized the freedom and financial gains to be made in Internet businesses. There are many types of Internet businesses, but one stands above the rest as easy and efficient. This business is affiliate marketing, and anyone can be a success.
Affiliate marketing is a simple principle. You provide a link to your Affiliate program owner on your website. Many major websites offer affiliate programs, including Ebay. These companies will, in turn, provide you with very effective and creative tools to better your web site and keep track of your earnings. This software, expensive when purchased alone, is free to affiliate participants. You do not pay for the programs that will make your website sharper and more inviting. On the contrary, you get paid.
Affiliate programs such as those with Ebay can be the source for entire incomes. People with high traffic websites can bring in entire second incomes from simply providing a link to another website on their page. This method of business continues to make you money all day long. Every
minute your page is up is a minute you could be making money from your affiliate program. Every time a person hits on your affiliate's symbol, you make money. This money is free to you and comes at no overhead cost. Actually, affiliate programs can decrease the overhead costs of running your own business because they provide both software and technical support to help your website be the best it can be.
Affiliate programs can also offer an attraction to your website. When you participate in affiliate marketing, you give your readers another reason to visit your page and continue to return. They will come to associate you with the bigger affiliate names you are working with, increasing your credibility and esteem among people who surf the web. These companies want you to succeed because your success means continued success for them so they will offer you all of the tools and support you need to succeed in the industry. You will benefit from years of experience as they continually refine programs and tools for your use to make them increasingly user friendly and effective. The affiliate marketing program concept is especially effective when you pair it with your own online business. Your affiliate banner or logo will not take much room or detract from your page, and will make you money while your page also appeals to other readers interests. This truly is the way to go to ensure your success in the online industry. Affiliate programs offer quick money and ensure that, even when your page has a slow day and does not make you much money, your site will continue to grow and be effective overall.
Affiliate marketing is a simple principle. You provide a link to your Affiliate program owner on your website. Many major websites offer affiliate programs, including Ebay. These companies will, in turn, provide you with very effective and creative tools to better your web site and keep track of your earnings. This software, expensive when purchased alone, is free to affiliate participants. You do not pay for the programs that will make your website sharper and more inviting. On the contrary, you get paid.
Affiliate programs such as those with Ebay can be the source for entire incomes. People with high traffic websites can bring in entire second incomes from simply providing a link to another website on their page. This method of business continues to make you money all day long. Every
minute your page is up is a minute you could be making money from your affiliate program. Every time a person hits on your affiliate's symbol, you make money. This money is free to you and comes at no overhead cost. Actually, affiliate programs can decrease the overhead costs of running your own business because they provide both software and technical support to help your website be the best it can be.
Affiliate programs can also offer an attraction to your website. When you participate in affiliate marketing, you give your readers another reason to visit your page and continue to return. They will come to associate you with the bigger affiliate names you are working with, increasing your credibility and esteem among people who surf the web. These companies want you to succeed because your success means continued success for them so they will offer you all of the tools and support you need to succeed in the industry. You will benefit from years of experience as they continually refine programs and tools for your use to make them increasingly user friendly and effective. The affiliate marketing program concept is especially effective when you pair it with your own online business. Your affiliate banner or logo will not take much room or detract from your page, and will make you money while your page also appeals to other readers interests. This truly is the way to go to ensure your success in the online industry. Affiliate programs offer quick money and ensure that, even when your page has a slow day and does not make you much money, your site will continue to grow and be effective overall.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Affiliate Marketing – And the Learning Curve
When you put up your first website – you have to admit that you are pretty green to the ways of the Internet World. You think that once your website is up, and you have put your links in place, you will be in the money. I, and I am sure many, would love that to be true. Just think how many Super Affiliates we would have. I will give you a small sampling of what to truly expect.
The Begin of the Begin
You will be excited at first, and you will have a sense of pride in your accomplishment. Granted, it is no small feat to getting a website up and online. But this is just the beginning of your Internet Marketing experience.
Once you have your website up, you should be asking yourself -- where do I begin, or, what do I do now? If you are short of cash, which, in most cases people in the beginning are -- you can begin by:
1. Writing articles
2. Optimizing your site for the search engines
3. Putting Adsense on your site
All this takes time and work. But, when you first begin, you do have time to optimize, to write articles, and to put adsense ads on your site. Why? It has been said that for the next six months or nine months, Google, and possibly, the other search engines, may put you in the Sandbox. Some say the Sandbox exists, some says it does not. Whatever it is called, you will see a degree of dormancy in your site.
My own thinking is that there may be a pre-set time of six months before you see a rise in your unique clicks – I know I did. I feel that there may be several reasons for this:
1. It’s a great way to protect the Internet community against unscrupulous sites – I figure that these sites have a lifespan of six months before people give them the boot. It only takes one person to feel the blunt of a scam, before talk in the online forums begins.
2. Websites go up and go down daily. The search engines are looking at saving themselves time and money. If you are still on line after six months or nine months, you’re paying your dues, and they may figure you are serious about maintaining a business online.
What Do I Do During That Six or Nine Month Period
First, and foremost – since I have supplied you with this information – do not get frustrated and throw in the towel. Granted, at first the only clicks you may see is your own, but that will change.
Second, start positioning yourself, so when your dormancy with the search engines ends, you have the quality content, and the quality products to begin to fly. That means, writing articles, getting your name out to the masses, and learning to utilize Adsense.
And when you have spare change, try your hand at advertising on Adwords.
In the beginning your learning curve is just out of the starting gate – take this time to read, buy appropriate ebooks, experiment and research. All are important to moving your learning curve to the expert level.
To conclude, a website is just a small part, but an important part, of becoming an Affiliate Marketer. The other important elements, is persistence, hard work, and marketing. And finally, if you still have the passion after the initial exhilaration of becoming an online entrepreneur wanes – then you’ll make it.
The Begin of the Begin
You will be excited at first, and you will have a sense of pride in your accomplishment. Granted, it is no small feat to getting a website up and online. But this is just the beginning of your Internet Marketing experience.
Once you have your website up, you should be asking yourself -- where do I begin, or, what do I do now? If you are short of cash, which, in most cases people in the beginning are -- you can begin by:
1. Writing articles
2. Optimizing your site for the search engines
3. Putting Adsense on your site
All this takes time and work. But, when you first begin, you do have time to optimize, to write articles, and to put adsense ads on your site. Why? It has been said that for the next six months or nine months, Google, and possibly, the other search engines, may put you in the Sandbox. Some say the Sandbox exists, some says it does not. Whatever it is called, you will see a degree of dormancy in your site.
My own thinking is that there may be a pre-set time of six months before you see a rise in your unique clicks – I know I did. I feel that there may be several reasons for this:
1. It’s a great way to protect the Internet community against unscrupulous sites – I figure that these sites have a lifespan of six months before people give them the boot. It only takes one person to feel the blunt of a scam, before talk in the online forums begins.
2. Websites go up and go down daily. The search engines are looking at saving themselves time and money. If you are still on line after six months or nine months, you’re paying your dues, and they may figure you are serious about maintaining a business online.
What Do I Do During That Six or Nine Month Period
First, and foremost – since I have supplied you with this information – do not get frustrated and throw in the towel. Granted, at first the only clicks you may see is your own, but that will change.
Second, start positioning yourself, so when your dormancy with the search engines ends, you have the quality content, and the quality products to begin to fly. That means, writing articles, getting your name out to the masses, and learning to utilize Adsense.
And when you have spare change, try your hand at advertising on Adwords.
In the beginning your learning curve is just out of the starting gate – take this time to read, buy appropriate ebooks, experiment and research. All are important to moving your learning curve to the expert level.
To conclude, a website is just a small part, but an important part, of becoming an Affiliate Marketer. The other important elements, is persistence, hard work, and marketing. And finally, if you still have the passion after the initial exhilaration of becoming an online entrepreneur wanes – then you’ll make it.
Adsense – When should you use it?
Well I have several sites, some of them I apply the AdSense to; to make a few extra pennies and some of my websites I wouldn’t even dream of placing Adsense to.
For example, I will not use AdSense on a site that I wish to sell one product on, especially my own products. This can take your potential prospects away from what you want them to buy. Why would you risk losing them to your competition or to another site for a few lousy cents? Or dollars if you got the “higher” end priced AdSense ads on your site.
All sites where I am selling a specific product will not have any out going links for me. I want to keep them on my site for as long as possible.
However, I will use AdSense on sites that are more along the lines of “Free Content” websites. Usually these websites I set up, I use directly for making money with AdSense.
What’s interesting with AdSense is that your layout can have a detrimental affect on how much you can earn from using it. Of course testing and re-testing will be your ultimate tool in finding out what works best with your website.
I tend to stay clear of the lay out that looks like Google’s sponsored ads on the main Google website. Everyone identifies these ads as “paid” and not as likely to have as many people to click through them.
Adsense can be a nice little profitable tool if used correctly.
For example, I will not use AdSense on a site that I wish to sell one product on, especially my own products. This can take your potential prospects away from what you want them to buy. Why would you risk losing them to your competition or to another site for a few lousy cents? Or dollars if you got the “higher” end priced AdSense ads on your site.
All sites where I am selling a specific product will not have any out going links for me. I want to keep them on my site for as long as possible.
However, I will use AdSense on sites that are more along the lines of “Free Content” websites. Usually these websites I set up, I use directly for making money with AdSense.
What’s interesting with AdSense is that your layout can have a detrimental affect on how much you can earn from using it. Of course testing and re-testing will be your ultimate tool in finding out what works best with your website.
I tend to stay clear of the lay out that looks like Google’s sponsored ads on the main Google website. Everyone identifies these ads as “paid” and not as likely to have as many people to click through them.
Adsense can be a nice little profitable tool if used correctly.
Adsense – The Powerful Passive Income Generator
Webmasters have a revolutionary new method of collecting income from their websites.
Whereas in the past advertising revenue was reserved for those sites with large a coming and going of visitors, now even teenagers are making a quick buck with their online hobby blogs. People place adsense on their online family photo albums, their blogs and their business sites. The minimum you would get, even with a small amount of traffic, is for adsense to pay for your hosting costs.
Adsense revolutionized the world of paid advertising; banner advertising is based on the number of visitors you attract to your site, so the number of “banner impressions” dictate the revenue you receive. Google Adsense is quite different; it is the number of visitors that actually click on the advertising that determine how much you earn.
There is also a great disparity between payouts; because advertisers bid up the price for certain keywords, some ads pay more than others. As such, a site with few visitors but expensive keywords in their google ads can potentially still pull in a hefty payout.
Google really has taken the web by storm; attracted to passive income, more and more people are seriously capitalizing on their Google adsense advertising. Some of the highest earners manage to attract enough visitors to make a four figure monthly income, just from using adsense alone! This is not one of those get-rich-quick schemes and Google’s adsense success is largely thanks to the fact that Google already enjoyed a fantastic reputation before introducing the program. They are a publicly traded company with physical headquarters. This, and the fact that anyone can apply to use adsense for free, has caused millions of people to sign up. For google it was a smart move, because now they extend their presence to countless websites and generate millions of dollars in advertising revenue. People were never reluctant to sign up, because the program is free. Google benefits by more people using adsense, so offering it for free was the best thing they could do.
One of the driving forced behind the program are its relevance to each and every page on a website; the program picks up keywords appearing in the website copy and automatically displays relevant ads. This increases the chances of people clicking through, and the webmaster collecting more revenue.
People are leveraging their income by operating several websites and attempting to attract as many targeted visitors as possible; in many instances we can observe that people work hard at a site, then once it is established they can largely leave it alone, yet still collect significant checks.
A major concern for entrepreneurs was the danger of a competitors ads showing up on their site; thanks to the adsense feature where it only displays relevant advertising. However this problem was solved by offering webmasters the option of filtering out unwanted ads. They can submit the URL of the competing site in their account, and any ads from the website will be blocked.
Google recently came out with a new feature: small targeted keywords based on the site’s content are displayed; then as people click on those, a page opens showing a variety of pay-per-click ads based on that keyword. This gives webmasters the chance of displaying more advertising in less space.
Adsense also adds creditability to your website; the more focused the content, the better the ads will be and this encourages people to built high quality websites. These make the net a better place and generally provide a free service; site owners can afford to share their expertise or passions because they can receive indirect revenue’s. The visitor does not pay for the information; instead the advertisers do, making the website’s existence possible in the first place.
It is no surprise Google adsense is the most widely used form of advertising; they have created a program that is beneficial to both advertisers and users with their “no click no pay” mechanism, or more popularly called “pay-per-click”. Advertisers do not pay for ads that are not drawing visitors, and website owners are paid more for each click than they would if the system were based on the number of people viewing the ads, instead of clicking on them.
All in all Google adsense has developed itself into a powerful tool, used by large corporations and the kid next door. They have truly revolutionized how the web thinks about advertising and made the process more profitable for site owners, while less costly for advertisers.
Whereas in the past advertising revenue was reserved for those sites with large a coming and going of visitors, now even teenagers are making a quick buck with their online hobby blogs. People place adsense on their online family photo albums, their blogs and their business sites. The minimum you would get, even with a small amount of traffic, is for adsense to pay for your hosting costs.
Adsense revolutionized the world of paid advertising; banner advertising is based on the number of visitors you attract to your site, so the number of “banner impressions” dictate the revenue you receive. Google Adsense is quite different; it is the number of visitors that actually click on the advertising that determine how much you earn.
There is also a great disparity between payouts; because advertisers bid up the price for certain keywords, some ads pay more than others. As such, a site with few visitors but expensive keywords in their google ads can potentially still pull in a hefty payout.
Google really has taken the web by storm; attracted to passive income, more and more people are seriously capitalizing on their Google adsense advertising. Some of the highest earners manage to attract enough visitors to make a four figure monthly income, just from using adsense alone! This is not one of those get-rich-quick schemes and Google’s adsense success is largely thanks to the fact that Google already enjoyed a fantastic reputation before introducing the program. They are a publicly traded company with physical headquarters. This, and the fact that anyone can apply to use adsense for free, has caused millions of people to sign up. For google it was a smart move, because now they extend their presence to countless websites and generate millions of dollars in advertising revenue. People were never reluctant to sign up, because the program is free. Google benefits by more people using adsense, so offering it for free was the best thing they could do.
One of the driving forced behind the program are its relevance to each and every page on a website; the program picks up keywords appearing in the website copy and automatically displays relevant ads. This increases the chances of people clicking through, and the webmaster collecting more revenue.
People are leveraging their income by operating several websites and attempting to attract as many targeted visitors as possible; in many instances we can observe that people work hard at a site, then once it is established they can largely leave it alone, yet still collect significant checks.
A major concern for entrepreneurs was the danger of a competitors ads showing up on their site; thanks to the adsense feature where it only displays relevant advertising. However this problem was solved by offering webmasters the option of filtering out unwanted ads. They can submit the URL of the competing site in their account, and any ads from the website will be blocked.
Google recently came out with a new feature: small targeted keywords based on the site’s content are displayed; then as people click on those, a page opens showing a variety of pay-per-click ads based on that keyword. This gives webmasters the chance of displaying more advertising in less space.
Adsense also adds creditability to your website; the more focused the content, the better the ads will be and this encourages people to built high quality websites. These make the net a better place and generally provide a free service; site owners can afford to share their expertise or passions because they can receive indirect revenue’s. The visitor does not pay for the information; instead the advertisers do, making the website’s existence possible in the first place.
It is no surprise Google adsense is the most widely used form of advertising; they have created a program that is beneficial to both advertisers and users with their “no click no pay” mechanism, or more popularly called “pay-per-click”. Advertisers do not pay for ads that are not drawing visitors, and website owners are paid more for each click than they would if the system were based on the number of people viewing the ads, instead of clicking on them.
All in all Google adsense has developed itself into a powerful tool, used by large corporations and the kid next door. They have truly revolutionized how the web thinks about advertising and made the process more profitable for site owners, while less costly for advertisers.
AdSense is Stupid When....
There are times Google's heralded ad affiliate program isn't in your long term business interest. Oh no I said it!
AdSense isn't the unstoppable revenue engine for every eBusiness. Before I am taken out and flogged by the eCommerce pundits -- please let me explain what I mean in my defense.
I make revenues from AdSense at a very high click-through rate. I experience high click-through rates with AdSense without resorting to questionable tactics like tricking site users with photos (the AdSense trick and tip dujour).
So my perspective is from one who has made decent income from AdSense to fund aspects of his business like advertising seminars -- and outsourcing to his virtual assistants. Yes, AdSense is a legitimate and significant revenue source. However evaluate AdSense with some type of balance.
By now you may have heard about people like Joel Comm's six figure income with AdSense, or Jason Calacanis of Weblogs being on his way to generating 1 million dollars in AdSense revenue. Google's Ad revenue sharing affiliate program for publishers certainly seems to be an eSales Nirvana for many webmasters.
But there are obvious and not so obvious times not to use AdSense ads on your sites. Let's list - examine - and explain them below.
~~~~> 1. On Sales or Mini-sites
This is a no-brainer. If you are trying to sell a particular product that is important to your bottomline, you don't want AdSense ads distracting your customers from either joining your email list, or hindering your site's online sales process.
However I do see hybrid sites that are mini-sites or full scale eCommerce sites, with AdSense at the bottom of their pages. This might not be so bad since only 1% - 15% of your site visitors will either buy from you or fill out a form.
The thinking with this approach is you might as well make money from disinterested parties using up your server's bandwidth.
~~~~~> 2. SEO Business Sites
If your livelihood depends on search engine optimization or marketing for a living you might want to think twice about displaying AdSense Ads on your site. I can tell you this from personal experience. I once was on top of MSN for search engine marketing in my local area. I concentrated on my local area because I found people felt more comfortable hiring an eCommerce consultant locally.
One day my site fails totally out of the MSN index. After intense study I noticed that I obviously had a filter on my site from MSN.
I analyzed all the top ranking sites in MSN and noticed the only difference between me and the other top ranking sites was I had Google AdSense ads on my site. Someone at MSN felt that my AdSense ads, and perhaps to a less extent, my book on SEO, was getting a free ride in the MSN search engine database.
In fact I noticed that there were no sites with AdSense ads for at least the first 3 pages. Plus the sites with AdSense were only using 1 ad unit at the bottom of the home page (there were very few of them in the top 5 pages).
I knew it was strange to not have AdSense ads on the top Internet marketing sites. This prompted me to scan other industries where I noticed the same trend.
Many of the leading SEO gurus have sites that have been banned from the top listings by the search engines. It seems the more visible you become, the more of a target your sites are to the search engine auditors.
Some of my sites are still on the top of MSN with AdSense ads but that doesn't mean they won't also be targets in the future.
Let's face the facts. MSN and Yahoo! have competing ad networks to Google's, and this competitive situation is rife for a potential backlash against SEO sites with AdSense ads.
Many SEOs will point to exceptions to this position. However you have been warned!
Think about it, how long will MSN and Yahoo! sit back and watch SEO driven websites use their search indexes to fund Google? Did you know SEO in MSN and Yahoo(!) --- is much easier to obtain.
Therefore optimized sites are creating an ad sales wealth transfer from MSN and Yahoo into the pockets of Google! It won't be long before Yahoo! and MSN begin to devalue ranking on AdSense sites in their databases -- if not outright ban them.
If you are in the search engine business stay search engine neutral, or create multiple sites for different search engines.
~~~~~> 3. When AdSense Becomes Your Only Business Model
When you become so myopic in your thinking that you build a business solely on AdSense revenue -- think again my friend. Why build a business solely on the largess of Google?
I don't know if your realize it or not, but the sites making the real big AdSense money usually have a following that doesn't depend on the search engines. Internet mavens like Chris Pirillo or Joel Comm have been on the Internet a while and have followings for their websites. Therefore they can consistently make six figures with AdSense.
These content powerhouses are an asset to Google and not the other way around. But do you think Google is going to sit back and watch just anybody make big bucks off of their top rankings?
If you do a search on most keywords you will notice many of the top ranking sites are news sites, .gov sites, or .org sites these days. The only exception is in industries where these sites don't really exist like eCommerce industries (clothing, shopping, etc.).
No doubt in most industries you will notice a conspicuous scarity of AdSense sites in the top rankings. In other words don't bet your future fortunes on AdSense.
An IPO based on projections of AdSense revenue isn't in the future for the average eBusiness. Think of Google AdSense as supplemental income. Building a business solely on AdSense revenue isn't just silly -- it's just plain stupid.
AdSense isn't the unstoppable revenue engine for every eBusiness. Before I am taken out and flogged by the eCommerce pundits -- please let me explain what I mean in my defense.
I make revenues from AdSense at a very high click-through rate. I experience high click-through rates with AdSense without resorting to questionable tactics like tricking site users with photos (the AdSense trick and tip dujour).
So my perspective is from one who has made decent income from AdSense to fund aspects of his business like advertising seminars -- and outsourcing to his virtual assistants. Yes, AdSense is a legitimate and significant revenue source. However evaluate AdSense with some type of balance.
By now you may have heard about people like Joel Comm's six figure income with AdSense, or Jason Calacanis of Weblogs being on his way to generating 1 million dollars in AdSense revenue. Google's Ad revenue sharing affiliate program for publishers certainly seems to be an eSales Nirvana for many webmasters.
But there are obvious and not so obvious times not to use AdSense ads on your sites. Let's list - examine - and explain them below.
~~~~> 1. On Sales or Mini-sites
This is a no-brainer. If you are trying to sell a particular product that is important to your bottomline, you don't want AdSense ads distracting your customers from either joining your email list, or hindering your site's online sales process.
However I do see hybrid sites that are mini-sites or full scale eCommerce sites, with AdSense at the bottom of their pages. This might not be so bad since only 1% - 15% of your site visitors will either buy from you or fill out a form.
The thinking with this approach is you might as well make money from disinterested parties using up your server's bandwidth.
~~~~~> 2. SEO Business Sites
If your livelihood depends on search engine optimization or marketing for a living you might want to think twice about displaying AdSense Ads on your site. I can tell you this from personal experience. I once was on top of MSN for search engine marketing in my local area. I concentrated on my local area because I found people felt more comfortable hiring an eCommerce consultant locally.
One day my site fails totally out of the MSN index. After intense study I noticed that I obviously had a filter on my site from MSN.
I analyzed all the top ranking sites in MSN and noticed the only difference between me and the other top ranking sites was I had Google AdSense ads on my site. Someone at MSN felt that my AdSense ads, and perhaps to a less extent, my book on SEO, was getting a free ride in the MSN search engine database.
In fact I noticed that there were no sites with AdSense ads for at least the first 3 pages. Plus the sites with AdSense were only using 1 ad unit at the bottom of the home page (there were very few of them in the top 5 pages).
I knew it was strange to not have AdSense ads on the top Internet marketing sites. This prompted me to scan other industries where I noticed the same trend.
Many of the leading SEO gurus have sites that have been banned from the top listings by the search engines. It seems the more visible you become, the more of a target your sites are to the search engine auditors.
Some of my sites are still on the top of MSN with AdSense ads but that doesn't mean they won't also be targets in the future.
Let's face the facts. MSN and Yahoo! have competing ad networks to Google's, and this competitive situation is rife for a potential backlash against SEO sites with AdSense ads.
Many SEOs will point to exceptions to this position. However you have been warned!
Think about it, how long will MSN and Yahoo! sit back and watch SEO driven websites use their search indexes to fund Google? Did you know SEO in MSN and Yahoo(!) --- is much easier to obtain.
Therefore optimized sites are creating an ad sales wealth transfer from MSN and Yahoo into the pockets of Google! It won't be long before Yahoo! and MSN begin to devalue ranking on AdSense sites in their databases -- if not outright ban them.
If you are in the search engine business stay search engine neutral, or create multiple sites for different search engines.
~~~~~> 3. When AdSense Becomes Your Only Business Model
When you become so myopic in your thinking that you build a business solely on AdSense revenue -- think again my friend. Why build a business solely on the largess of Google?
I don't know if your realize it or not, but the sites making the real big AdSense money usually have a following that doesn't depend on the search engines. Internet mavens like Chris Pirillo or Joel Comm have been on the Internet a while and have followings for their websites. Therefore they can consistently make six figures with AdSense.
These content powerhouses are an asset to Google and not the other way around. But do you think Google is going to sit back and watch just anybody make big bucks off of their top rankings?
If you do a search on most keywords you will notice many of the top ranking sites are news sites, .gov sites, or .org sites these days. The only exception is in industries where these sites don't really exist like eCommerce industries (clothing, shopping, etc.).
No doubt in most industries you will notice a conspicuous scarity of AdSense sites in the top rankings. In other words don't bet your future fortunes on AdSense.
An IPO based on projections of AdSense revenue isn't in the future for the average eBusiness. Think of Google AdSense as supplemental income. Building a business solely on AdSense revenue isn't just silly -- it's just plain stupid.
Adsense - 7 keys to empire
There's a lot of buzz around about how you can make a quick and easy fortune using this AdSense course or that tool or this book.
And they show you their incomes from AdSense too (though not necessarily THIS month). Now, is it just me or is something a little odd in all this?
Say, I'm making $5000 - no make that $15,276 a month from AdSense on my sites. And now I'm going to sell all my secrets on how to do that for $67 or $97 or whatever.
So what happened, did I get all bored with my filthy riches and decide to become a philanthropist and sell stuff that makes me 15K a month for a pittance? Or is it something else?
Am I saying it's impossible? Certainly not. I know people who make that more.
But a little reality. Those people don't have 5 or 6 or 50 sites. They have maybe 500 or 3000 or more. Few sites make 20 or more a day. Very few. Average income is probably less than a dollar a day. So with 500 sites at a dollar a day, you've got your 15K a month.
Now the domain names cost you maybe $3500 to $4500. Then you need hosting and somehow you've got to build the sites and get traffic to them. There are excellent tools but the ones that will let you do this kind of thing in a reasonably short time are also very (very) expensive.
And you are continually dealing with sites that don't get indexed or get de-indexed or even get banned. Traffic today, gone tomorrow. Plus, if you're not real careful with those tools you may get an unpleasant letter from Google about a DMCA copyright infringement which could cost you your AdSense account.
You can make money, you can build an empire. But it isn't easy or quick no matter what you hear. And it really isn't a business. It's not a long run proposition, it's not stable. You need to keep creating more sites as older ones fail - or you need to be smart and use those AdSense revenues to build an enduring business.
You put up with this down to here, so here are the real 7 "secret" keys to AdSense.
1. The best performing AdSense type is the large rectangle. This has been tested over and over.
2. The best colors are blue for the link - surfers know that blue means click me. And darkish almost black and grey for the text and url. No borders. The same background as your page. Will it merge into your content? No, that's bogus. There are maybe 4 surfers in this galaxy who can't tell a Google ad when they see one. They are not going to believe it's part of the text. Wake up, OK?
3. Another format which is being reported to more or less work is the full wide banner type layout with text ads and images directly above the links. Try it and see if it works for you. Maybe it's a fad.
4. Keywords and related content are critical if you want targeted ads. If you want high paying clicks you need to target the costly keywords AND have content that supports the keywords.
5. You need traffic interested in the ads. Which means your traffic generation techniques have to be targeted not scattershot. You might hear that 1% or 1.5% clickthrough rate is OK and 3% is good. Nonsense. Really successful people get CTRs that are often well above 30%. Even with modest efforts you should be getting an average 6 to 15% CTR (per ad impression, not pages).
6. You have to track what you're doing and you have to test variations in ad layout, placement, color and related content to optimize your income. No one can tell you how to do it except the traffic coming to your site. If you don't test and track, you're flying blind.
7. You need to keep building new sites.
You are now a member of the AdSense Illuminati. Quite possibly you already knew all that. So why are you looking for something else? Really. This is all you need to start doing it.
Probably any course or book can help you if that's what it takes to get you moving and doing. Ultimately, no one can really show you exactly how to do it. You're going to have to learn the ropes and put in the time.
Like everything in life - the greatest traffic generator, the ultimate course or the super MLM opportunity, if it sounds too good to be true, then it is. There's no magic bullet, no ultimate secret to buy. There's no easy, painless, work free, certain road to riches (except, maybe, inheriting it and that can be very hard on the heirs).
Whatever you do on the net, do it wide awake and with your brain actually functioning. The final un-numbered key is that a technique, a shortcut, an idea that will make what you do easier, faster, or more profitable - one single tiny thing - is worth more than any book or course costs. One useable idea and you've gotten a great deal. If you learned something you didn't know or had forgotten, then it's worth much more than you paid. There may not be any magic solution out there, but there are useful concepts, techniques and ideas. You just have to see them for what they are, and then get busy and really use them.
And they show you their incomes from AdSense too (though not necessarily THIS month). Now, is it just me or is something a little odd in all this?
Say, I'm making $5000 - no make that $15,276 a month from AdSense on my sites. And now I'm going to sell all my secrets on how to do that for $67 or $97 or whatever.
So what happened, did I get all bored with my filthy riches and decide to become a philanthropist and sell stuff that makes me 15K a month for a pittance? Or is it something else?
Am I saying it's impossible? Certainly not. I know people who make that more.
But a little reality. Those people don't have 5 or 6 or 50 sites. They have maybe 500 or 3000 or more. Few sites make 20 or more a day. Very few. Average income is probably less than a dollar a day. So with 500 sites at a dollar a day, you've got your 15K a month.
Now the domain names cost you maybe $3500 to $4500. Then you need hosting and somehow you've got to build the sites and get traffic to them. There are excellent tools but the ones that will let you do this kind of thing in a reasonably short time are also very (very) expensive.
And you are continually dealing with sites that don't get indexed or get de-indexed or even get banned. Traffic today, gone tomorrow. Plus, if you're not real careful with those tools you may get an unpleasant letter from Google about a DMCA copyright infringement which could cost you your AdSense account.
You can make money, you can build an empire. But it isn't easy or quick no matter what you hear. And it really isn't a business. It's not a long run proposition, it's not stable. You need to keep creating more sites as older ones fail - or you need to be smart and use those AdSense revenues to build an enduring business.
You put up with this down to here, so here are the real 7 "secret" keys to AdSense.
1. The best performing AdSense type is the large rectangle. This has been tested over and over.
2. The best colors are blue for the link - surfers know that blue means click me. And darkish almost black and grey for the text and url. No borders. The same background as your page. Will it merge into your content? No, that's bogus. There are maybe 4 surfers in this galaxy who can't tell a Google ad when they see one. They are not going to believe it's part of the text. Wake up, OK?
3. Another format which is being reported to more or less work is the full wide banner type layout with text ads and images directly above the links. Try it and see if it works for you. Maybe it's a fad.
4. Keywords and related content are critical if you want targeted ads. If you want high paying clicks you need to target the costly keywords AND have content that supports the keywords.
5. You need traffic interested in the ads. Which means your traffic generation techniques have to be targeted not scattershot. You might hear that 1% or 1.5% clickthrough rate is OK and 3% is good. Nonsense. Really successful people get CTRs that are often well above 30%. Even with modest efforts you should be getting an average 6 to 15% CTR (per ad impression, not pages).
6. You have to track what you're doing and you have to test variations in ad layout, placement, color and related content to optimize your income. No one can tell you how to do it except the traffic coming to your site. If you don't test and track, you're flying blind.
7. You need to keep building new sites.
You are now a member of the AdSense Illuminati. Quite possibly you already knew all that. So why are you looking for something else? Really. This is all you need to start doing it.
Probably any course or book can help you if that's what it takes to get you moving and doing. Ultimately, no one can really show you exactly how to do it. You're going to have to learn the ropes and put in the time.
Like everything in life - the greatest traffic generator, the ultimate course or the super MLM opportunity, if it sounds too good to be true, then it is. There's no magic bullet, no ultimate secret to buy. There's no easy, painless, work free, certain road to riches (except, maybe, inheriting it and that can be very hard on the heirs).
Whatever you do on the net, do it wide awake and with your brain actually functioning. The final un-numbered key is that a technique, a shortcut, an idea that will make what you do easier, faster, or more profitable - one single tiny thing - is worth more than any book or course costs. One useable idea and you've gotten a great deal. If you learned something you didn't know or had forgotten, then it's worth much more than you paid. There may not be any magic solution out there, but there are useful concepts, techniques and ideas. You just have to see them for what they are, and then get busy and really use them.
8 Slightly Unusual AdSense Tricks to Boost Your CTR
I've scripted a couplet of articles some making money with AdSense and this one is no number. But this moment, I'll communicate active tricks that seldom get mentioned anywhere. Learning virtually making money from AdSense is a continuous transform and it doesn't consonant after we indicate an article or two.
Some of these tips strength be new to you and several may be not. I desire this article serves as a reminder on things you can research with to meliorate your AdSense emit finished rates.
Use Less Inferior AdSense to Amend CTR
The theory is that with less ad itemization ready on your tract, the fiercer the rivalry among advertisers. This instrument propulsion your CPC nowhere but up. In opposition, viewing writer ad units allows lower-bidding advertisers to materialise on your computer. This give effectively confine your CPC, (or CPM for a parcel targeted ad units).
Run AdSense with Borders
Several may argue that adding a border gift modify your AdSense examine more equal an ad which could finish in a subordinate CTR. Unless you get reliable this yourself, you may never cognize for trusty.
Add a Indorsement Ad as an Soul Only Ad
Spell you are not allowed to situate images incoming to your AdSense ads, using a substitute organization as an person exclusive ad incoming to your text ad isn't taboo. In fact this falsification could potentially modify your AdSense CTR.
Station an AdSense Recording Ad Incoming to a YouTube Recording
You can go one travel advance by placing a YouTube Video close to an AdSense recording ad. Piece AdSense doesn't let your appear video ad solely, you can enable your pages to present video ads by using one of the corroborated video ad formats on your parcel and that you are opted in to image ads for that limited ad organization.
I conjecture the sentence to ask when you decide to obligate this is whether AdSense allows specified a positioning. Does it express a relationship between the YouTube video and the ads?
As abundant as your visitors undergo the ads do not offering the mathematical item initiate in the recording, I'm side to consider this is allowed. The unexcelled feeling you can do when in question is to write to Google.
Some of these tips strength be new to you and several may be not. I desire this article serves as a reminder on things you can research with to meliorate your AdSense emit finished rates.
Use Less Inferior AdSense to Amend CTR
The theory is that with less ad itemization ready on your tract, the fiercer the rivalry among advertisers. This instrument propulsion your CPC nowhere but up. In opposition, viewing writer ad units allows lower-bidding advertisers to materialise on your computer. This give effectively confine your CPC, (or CPM for a parcel targeted ad units).
Run AdSense with Borders
Several may argue that adding a border gift modify your AdSense examine more equal an ad which could finish in a subordinate CTR. Unless you get reliable this yourself, you may never cognize for trusty.
Add a Indorsement Ad as an Soul Only Ad
Spell you are not allowed to situate images incoming to your AdSense ads, using a substitute organization as an person exclusive ad incoming to your text ad isn't taboo. In fact this falsification could potentially modify your AdSense CTR.
Station an AdSense Recording Ad Incoming to a YouTube Recording
You can go one travel advance by placing a YouTube Video close to an AdSense recording ad. Piece AdSense doesn't let your appear video ad solely, you can enable your pages to present video ads by using one of the corroborated video ad formats on your parcel and that you are opted in to image ads for that limited ad organization.
I conjecture the sentence to ask when you decide to obligate this is whether AdSense allows specified a positioning. Does it express a relationship between the YouTube video and the ads?
As abundant as your visitors undergo the ads do not offering the mathematical item initiate in the recording, I'm side to consider this is allowed. The unexcelled feeling you can do when in question is to write to Google.
Earning a Comfortable Living with Adsense
Technically, there is only one way to get money from AdSense. You create a website, and condiment the AdSense code into the pages. You then aim interchange to that tract, and you acquire money when fill emit on the ads that are being served by Google. That sounds unhurried enough, alter? It is painless, but it takes statesman cerebration and labour than that. What you moldiness remember is that you exclusive garner a few cents when someone clicks an ad, for the most thing. That quantity can be as younger as cardinal cents, and on up to quintuplet dollars. The most prospering AdSense publishers are targeting keywords that pay the most become of money. These AdSense publishers use a show of tools to feat out what the tenor paid keywords are. These tools let keyword search tools, specified as Word out what the top keywords are, in terms of ascertain of people intelligent for them, and what evince combinations are being misused. These are words and phrases that they module target in the accumulation of their sites. Succeeding, they watch which of those top keywords topics pay the most money per move. Those who possess been in the AdSense courageous for a while are not deed to body sites that mark keywords that only pay ternion cents per sound! They are making a living, and threesome cents doesn't go real far in achievement their content. These AdSense publishers use the tools that Google provides to meliorate make which keywords are remunerative the most to the publishers. Alas, you won't learn these tools region your Google AdSense invoice. You pauperization a Google AdWords record for this. You see, Google has two programs: Google AdSense and Google AdWords. Those two programs apply, the ads that are being displayed are those that grouping using the Google AdWords software hit cashed Google to run. Fortuitously, it is unhampered to set up a Google AdWords record. You just set it up, and get in there and signal using the tools that are there to see how some bids are for the keywords that you've discovered using keyword option tools specified as Morpheme Tracker and Keyword Selected. By doing this, you someone access to the very content that the fill who are remunerative for ads has, and this helps you to body many paying AdSense websites. This is a secret that Google won't swan you some, and few AdSense publishers will share with you. Having a Google AdWords declare is the key to object out which keywords are leaving to pay you the most total of money per flick. Choosing the flooding remunerative keywords, nevertheless, isn't all that there is to it. You also must tally the reciprocation. Low interchange sites won't pass you a full-time experience. This is why most publishers individual writer than one website. They bump the top keywords in position of amount of searches, image out the keywords from that listing that pay the most amount of money per flick, and then make sites accordingly. A undefeated AdSense house may somebody sites on topics such as sportfishing, metric experience, recording games, making money, and much. When you hold multiplex sites, you can excrete hundreds of sites, which both publishers do, you can act a experience yet with low reciprocation. So, here is whatever content for mentation: The writer interchange you human per computer, the less sites you module penury to earn a experience from AdSense.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Adlink Success - A New Advertising Style From Google Adsense
There is a new advertising style from Google Adsense that is available in your Adsense panel, it is called “Google Ad Links.”
This new ad system presents a list of 4 or 5 vertical links(you can pick either 4 or 5 and Google will supply the actually links) to your site visitors, when the visitors click on one of the targeted contextual words it displays a results page from Google listing ten Adwords advertiser’s ads for this related topic.
Here is what Google says Adlinks are: “What are Ad Links by Google?
Ad Links are a new form of text advertising that we're offering to our AdSense publishers. Using the same contextual targeting algorithm that targets Google ads to your content pages, Ad Links units display a list of topics that are relevant to your page. Each topic, when clicked, brings the user to a page of related advertisements.
The result is advertisements that are closely targeted to the interests of your users. By selecting the topics through interaction with the ad unit, users are presented with useful information in the form of related advertisements. Their direct involvement with the evolution of the ad unit guarantees an interest in the ads that are presented.”
Positive Aspects of Adlinks:
They allow you to blend this in with sections of your links which will get more visitors to click on them, inevitably increase your Adsense revenue.
The Adlinks ads display 10 ad results when clicked without cluttering you page.
Google’s rules allow you to place three Adsense code block on a website. If you are doing this near say a 500 word article it can distract the visitor from viewing the article. With Adlinks you can still display 1 block of normal Adsense code and the Adlinks block and it keeps your page relatively nice looking while still giving you revenue potential.
Negative Aspects of Adlinks:
Adlinks requires your visitors to make two clicks. One on the original Adlinks block and one when they view the Adlink results. As any marketer knows the more actions you need a visitor to take the less the response rate.
Where are the best places to display Adlinks ads?
The best place to display them are within your navigation menu. Try to make them blend in as best as possible.
Another great place to put them is at the end of an article suggesting an interested reader view these resources. When doing this the reader is very targeted since they red your whole article and if they are likely leaving your website, why not let them leave through Adlinks and make some money?
Are Adlink ads as effective as the normal ad blocks?
Well some have seen positive results while other have not. Personally I am going to test it some more to see what kind of results and make my decision then.
This new ad system presents a list of 4 or 5 vertical links(you can pick either 4 or 5 and Google will supply the actually links) to your site visitors, when the visitors click on one of the targeted contextual words it displays a results page from Google listing ten Adwords advertiser’s ads for this related topic.
Here is what Google says Adlinks are: “What are Ad Links by Google?
Ad Links are a new form of text advertising that we're offering to our AdSense publishers. Using the same contextual targeting algorithm that targets Google ads to your content pages, Ad Links units display a list of topics that are relevant to your page. Each topic, when clicked, brings the user to a page of related advertisements.
The result is advertisements that are closely targeted to the interests of your users. By selecting the topics through interaction with the ad unit, users are presented with useful information in the form of related advertisements. Their direct involvement with the evolution of the ad unit guarantees an interest in the ads that are presented.”
Positive Aspects of Adlinks:
They allow you to blend this in with sections of your links which will get more visitors to click on them, inevitably increase your Adsense revenue.
The Adlinks ads display 10 ad results when clicked without cluttering you page.
Google’s rules allow you to place three Adsense code block on a website. If you are doing this near say a 500 word article it can distract the visitor from viewing the article. With Adlinks you can still display 1 block of normal Adsense code and the Adlinks block and it keeps your page relatively nice looking while still giving you revenue potential.
Negative Aspects of Adlinks:
Adlinks requires your visitors to make two clicks. One on the original Adlinks block and one when they view the Adlink results. As any marketer knows the more actions you need a visitor to take the less the response rate.
Where are the best places to display Adlinks ads?
The best place to display them are within your navigation menu. Try to make them blend in as best as possible.
Another great place to put them is at the end of an article suggesting an interested reader view these resources. When doing this the reader is very targeted since they red your whole article and if they are likely leaving your website, why not let them leave through Adlinks and make some money?
Are Adlink ads as effective as the normal ad blocks?
Well some have seen positive results while other have not. Personally I am going to test it some more to see what kind of results and make my decision then.
26 Tips on How to be Safe in Your eBay Selling and Buying
The irony of eBay is that as it grows to be ever more successful, it draws the unsavoury element of the internet towards it. I'm talking about people who make it their business to attempt to defraud you and I in our eBay and PayPal transactions.
Of course, not all dodgy dealings on eBay are fraudulent. Some are just mischievous. Others are by chancers, who perhaps reckon their victims won't be bothered to pursue them.
Whoever causes it, it's left to the targeted buyer or seller to try and sort out the problem. All that we as users can do is to be extremely vigilant and cautious in all our eBay and PayPal activities.
Here is a list of practical steps, in no particular order, which buyers and sellers can take to help avoid becoming the next victim.
Hopefully you are already aware of some of these. It doesn't necessarily follow that if one of these applies the auction or person is fraudulent. But if you use your head, and build up a view of the overall transaction based based upon a number of these factors, you will reduce your chances of getting conned.
a) Stock photos and descriptions
Because they don't have the item they are "selling", some fraudsters use a stock photograph of the item. And they will probably use the manufacturer's product description too. So, stock photos and no original description might be a sign. Search for other auctions by the same seller, and see if they are brazen enough to advertise the same item more than once.
b) A price too good to be true often isn't true
A fraudster wants your money quickly, so you may find they offer to close their auction early with you as the "winner" having bid a price which you know to be somewhat of a bargain. Why would anyone close their auction early if the price hadn't reached market levels? I'll give you one guess.
c) High value or high volume, newly registered sellers
Although the vast majority of new sellers are genuine and honest, be cautious of buying from people selling high value items in bulk, very early on in their eBay career. This pattern isn't quite normal. Think back to your own first sales. You would have been tentative, and probably have tried single, low value items initially. So, a new seller fitting this profile may be someone who has perhaps been previously suspended and has registered another ID.
d) 1 day listings
Although 1 day listing are used by genuine sellers who have more than one item or who want a quick sale, unfortunately this duration is attractive to fraudsters too. They sometimes use a 1 day auction duration to gain a quick sale before their actions can be reported and acted upon. So, be extra wary on auctions with 1 day listing.
e) Invitations to trade off-eBay
This is a classic ploy of fraudsters. Having made some kind of contact with you, or you with them, they will invite you to purchase or to sell off eBay i.e. without using eBay's auction services. The attraction here to the fraudster is that they can drive the transaction along the lines they prefer, whether that be escrow, PayPal etc. Another reason why trading off eBay is not a good idea is that you have to keep your own formal records of the transaction, and you forfeit any cover from eBay buyer protection and PayPal buyer protection. Plus, and this might be a minor point, but you will not be able to leave feedback to let others know your experience with this seller/buyer.
f) Payment methods with no recourse
Fraudsters prefer to chose payment methods in which the buyer has no protection, like wire transfers where the buyer has no way of tracing where the money is going. Western Union Money Transfers and BidPay are favourites and should be totally avoided. Postal orders are similar although they are a popular payment method among the genuine sellers as they require no clearance time. Bank transfers and cheques can only provide the possibility of your bank investigating the details of the account the money was transferred into. For the best protection use Paypal and fund with a Credit Card. Note there are limits on eBay and PayPal protection, and you should make yourself aware of what these are.
g) Unusual sales pattern
If your seller's feedback indicates that they normally deal in collectables, DVDs or other specific items, be suspicious that they are suddenly listing laptops, plasma TVs or other high value items. The change may indicate that this seller's account has been hijacked.
h) Bad english gives you a pointer
Some fraudsters operate from abroad but pretend to be in UK or USA. As they aren't particularly adept at the english language they might use a translation tool like Babelfish to create their emails to you. So, watch out for emails that are not good english. In itself, it doesn't prove anything, there are plenty of genuine eBay sellers for whom english is not their first language. But it might add to further evidence you have.
i) Location Location Location
In the case of lazy fraudsters you might find their locations don't match up. By that I mean the auction says the goods are in the UK, but the seller's ID details show their location to be, say, Ukraine. This is not a good sign. Often in these cases if you contact these sellers you will receive an excuse as to why the item is not in the UK, and therefore can't be collected in person. In short, if an auction says the item is in the UK and the seller says that it is not, I would avoid the auction. And don't forget to cross check with their PayPal account, and see in which country this resides.
j) Ask questions
Always, always ask your seller a question. Any question. Their response, if you receive one, will help you judge how genuine the seller is. Beware auctions that carry a message asking you to contact the seller via a given email address as opposed to via the 'Ask seller a question' link. This could be an account hijacker trying to prevent buyers from 'Asking the seller a question'. They want to stop this from happening because such questions could be routed to the real account owner.
k) "eBay can vouch for me" email
A warning about a relatively new tactic used by fraudsters. If you are proving hard to land as a buyer/seller, they may claim they can get eBay to email you proof of their validity so that you can trust them. eBay, of course, will NEVER do this. The email sent out, however authentic looking, is fake and is designed to get you to part with your money or your goods. This applies equally to Square Trade and PayPal. They will never email you certifying the genuineness of anyone.
l)A PayPal warning
There are fraudsters who use stolen PayPal accounts to accept payments. To lower the possibility of this, check your seller's location as shown in eBay, and then see if it is one of PayPal's permitted countries by clicking here: http://www.workwinners.com/nlr701.htm. If PayPal don't offer their service in the country that the seller resides, be very wary.
m) Passwords
Never have the same password on your eBay and PayPal accounts. Or indeed on any other financial or personal site. Change your passwords every 30-60 days on both eBay and PayPal.
n) Escrow
If your seller asks you to use escrow, and proposes an escrow company they've used before, this is a clear indication they are fraudulent. There are many fake escrow sites which will take your money fraudulently. The only escrow site recommended by eBay is http://www.escrow.com. An alternative in the UK is http://www.auctionpix.co.uk Please don't be tempted to use any other escrow company, however professional looking their websites might be. It is a fact that 99% of escrow companies on the internet are fraudulent. They are set up solely to defraud money out of unsuspecting buyers, and to get goods without paying for them from unsuspecting sellers.
o) Pointers in feedback
Try to read the positive feedback as well as the negative. Read the way your seller responds to negative feedback as this will often give you an idea of how the seller will react if something goes badly wrong. If the seller is offering high value goods, be wary if their feedback has been built up quickly from low value purchases. Also, if the overall rating is good, but there are a disproportionate number of negatives in recent days/weeks, this might indicate the account has been taken over. Finally, be aware that feedback is not the guarantee it once was. Feedback can easily be manufactured. Also, if the user ID has been hijacked, you'll be reading the feedback of the original account owner, not the person with whom you're currently dealing!
p) Credit Card payment
For high value items, or for amounts of money you can't afford to lose, make sure you pay by credit card which has online fraud protection. This will give you some recourse if the seller is fraudulent. In this context, paying via PayPal is not the same. PayPal do have a buyer protection scheme, but there are criteria which the eBay auction has to satisfy in order to qualify. Even if the transaction qualifies, PayPal's standard protection currently has a maximum value of $1,000. Note that payment by debit card provides zero protection.
q) Address and Telephone check
Use the Ask the seller a question link, and request they email you with their address and telephone number. Any reputable seller will give you their address and telephone number. When you get the number, call it, and see if you get through to the genuine seller.
r) Keystroke capturing virus
This is a computer virus which you inadvertently download onto your PC. It's task is to capture the keystrokes you make, and to send them to the virus placer. The fraudster then uses pattern recognition software to identify and extract personal information, like username, password, credit card numbers etc. To avoid this happening to you, it is wise to have good, up-to-date virus, firewall and spyware checking software on your PC. Here is where you can get free software for each of these functions:
Virus protection - http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/
Firewall - http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/comparison.jsp?lid=ho_za
Spyware checking - http://www.lavasoft.com/support/download/
s) Shill bidding
Shill bidding is where people work in cahoots to inflate the bidding on an item. A seller has a "partner" who makes bids on the seller's items with a view to bumping up the bid price. They have no intention of buying the item. Fortunately, shill bidders and their associated seller can be stupid. The shill bidder will usually makes bids on other items from the same seller. Here's how to check to see if shill bidding is a feature of a particular seller. First, look at the seller's closed auctions over the last 30 days. If most of the closed auctions have no bids, it is unlikely the seller has shill bidders working with them. If all of the closed auctions have bids, take a look at the bid history. See if the same bidder appears in the list of bidders, usually with aggressive bidding and normally at the start of the auction. If so, you may have uncovered a shill operation, so avoid that seller's auctions.
t) Keep your transaction information
Keep your own record of the transaction when you're buying. Don't just rely on eBay. You want a record of the seller's identification, the item description, emails sent and received, plus the time, date and price of your bid.
u) "I noticed your bid...."
Never deal with anyone who contacts you after seeing your bid on another auction. They will say something like, "I saw you bidding on that digital camera. I have the same model available for sale. I don't have time to list it on eBay. It has more accessories than the one you lost out on. You can have it for xyz." If you bite, they'll probably take you down the fake escrow route. Also, if you entertain this proposition, you're operating outside of eBay and therefore have no auction protection whatsoever.
v) Changed eBay ID
Never deal with anyone who has a changed ID icon next to their name. This icon menas they've changed their ID in the last 30 days. Few legitimate people change their eBay ID. When was the last time you changed yours? There's a 1% chance that an ID change is genuine, but 99% that it is fraudulent. Why take the risk?
w) Changed email address mid-stream
If a seller or buyer changes their email address on you in the middle of a transaction, stop dealing with them. It is likely their previous email account was closed down due to some irregularity - such as a previous victim reported them. If you think about it, why would any genuine buyer or seller change their email address whilst corresponding on a transaction they wish to conclude expeditiously?
x) Complications
Never get involved in any transaction where the seller/buyer tries to introduce a third person into the financial arrangements. They might ask you to pay xyz, who will then pay the seller, and you will receive a discount or commission for your co-operation. Such proposals are always fraudulent. They prey on greed. Don't be tempted.
y) Time is of the essence
This is a scam which is has more potential for success than traditional phishing attacks, as it is time sensitive. The fraudster searches for high value auctions that have just ended. The bid history for an auction contains hyperlinks to each bidder. The fraudster checks to see if the winning bidder is selling any items of their own. If so, they go to that auction and embed a request for payment from the first auction within a question for seller. This works because winning bidders are expecting request for payment shortly after an auction ends. A variation of this is to offer a bidder a "second chance". This time the "Ask the seller a question" email pretends that the real winner has backed out, and offers the item at a lower price. The buyer, believing the story, is lured into paying to whom they believe is a genuine seller. Many eBayers have heard of the second chance system, but have no experience of it. This unfamiliarity coupled with the fact that a few weeks might have passed, makes this an effective method for fraudsters. The moral of this story is never get involved in any transaction which arrives in your inbox via the Ask the Seller a Question feature.
z) eBay IDs
Never us your email address as your eBay ID, or part of your eBay ID. Fraudsters have software which monitors internet traffic looking for information such as this. If your eBay ID and email address are the same, it is simple for a fraudster to plausibly communicate with other eBay members in your name.
That's all in my list. If you have any further ideas on how to prevent fraudulent transactions on eBay, please let me know and I will promote these through future newsletters.
In the meantime, be aware, and be safe in your eBay buying and eBay selling.
Of course, not all dodgy dealings on eBay are fraudulent. Some are just mischievous. Others are by chancers, who perhaps reckon their victims won't be bothered to pursue them.
Whoever causes it, it's left to the targeted buyer or seller to try and sort out the problem. All that we as users can do is to be extremely vigilant and cautious in all our eBay and PayPal activities.
Here is a list of practical steps, in no particular order, which buyers and sellers can take to help avoid becoming the next victim.
Hopefully you are already aware of some of these. It doesn't necessarily follow that if one of these applies the auction or person is fraudulent. But if you use your head, and build up a view of the overall transaction based based upon a number of these factors, you will reduce your chances of getting conned.
a) Stock photos and descriptions
Because they don't have the item they are "selling", some fraudsters use a stock photograph of the item. And they will probably use the manufacturer's product description too. So, stock photos and no original description might be a sign. Search for other auctions by the same seller, and see if they are brazen enough to advertise the same item more than once.
b) A price too good to be true often isn't true
A fraudster wants your money quickly, so you may find they offer to close their auction early with you as the "winner" having bid a price which you know to be somewhat of a bargain. Why would anyone close their auction early if the price hadn't reached market levels? I'll give you one guess.
c) High value or high volume, newly registered sellers
Although the vast majority of new sellers are genuine and honest, be cautious of buying from people selling high value items in bulk, very early on in their eBay career. This pattern isn't quite normal. Think back to your own first sales. You would have been tentative, and probably have tried single, low value items initially. So, a new seller fitting this profile may be someone who has perhaps been previously suspended and has registered another ID.
d) 1 day listings
Although 1 day listing are used by genuine sellers who have more than one item or who want a quick sale, unfortunately this duration is attractive to fraudsters too. They sometimes use a 1 day auction duration to gain a quick sale before their actions can be reported and acted upon. So, be extra wary on auctions with 1 day listing.
e) Invitations to trade off-eBay
This is a classic ploy of fraudsters. Having made some kind of contact with you, or you with them, they will invite you to purchase or to sell off eBay i.e. without using eBay's auction services. The attraction here to the fraudster is that they can drive the transaction along the lines they prefer, whether that be escrow, PayPal etc. Another reason why trading off eBay is not a good idea is that you have to keep your own formal records of the transaction, and you forfeit any cover from eBay buyer protection and PayPal buyer protection. Plus, and this might be a minor point, but you will not be able to leave feedback to let others know your experience with this seller/buyer.
f) Payment methods with no recourse
Fraudsters prefer to chose payment methods in which the buyer has no protection, like wire transfers where the buyer has no way of tracing where the money is going. Western Union Money Transfers and BidPay are favourites and should be totally avoided. Postal orders are similar although they are a popular payment method among the genuine sellers as they require no clearance time. Bank transfers and cheques can only provide the possibility of your bank investigating the details of the account the money was transferred into. For the best protection use Paypal and fund with a Credit Card. Note there are limits on eBay and PayPal protection, and you should make yourself aware of what these are.
g) Unusual sales pattern
If your seller's feedback indicates that they normally deal in collectables, DVDs or other specific items, be suspicious that they are suddenly listing laptops, plasma TVs or other high value items. The change may indicate that this seller's account has been hijacked.
h) Bad english gives you a pointer
Some fraudsters operate from abroad but pretend to be in UK or USA. As they aren't particularly adept at the english language they might use a translation tool like Babelfish to create their emails to you. So, watch out for emails that are not good english. In itself, it doesn't prove anything, there are plenty of genuine eBay sellers for whom english is not their first language. But it might add to further evidence you have.
i) Location Location Location
In the case of lazy fraudsters you might find their locations don't match up. By that I mean the auction says the goods are in the UK, but the seller's ID details show their location to be, say, Ukraine. This is not a good sign. Often in these cases if you contact these sellers you will receive an excuse as to why the item is not in the UK, and therefore can't be collected in person. In short, if an auction says the item is in the UK and the seller says that it is not, I would avoid the auction. And don't forget to cross check with their PayPal account, and see in which country this resides.
j) Ask questions
Always, always ask your seller a question. Any question. Their response, if you receive one, will help you judge how genuine the seller is. Beware auctions that carry a message asking you to contact the seller via a given email address as opposed to via the 'Ask seller a question' link. This could be an account hijacker trying to prevent buyers from 'Asking the seller a question'. They want to stop this from happening because such questions could be routed to the real account owner.
k) "eBay can vouch for me" email
A warning about a relatively new tactic used by fraudsters. If you are proving hard to land as a buyer/seller, they may claim they can get eBay to email you proof of their validity so that you can trust them. eBay, of course, will NEVER do this. The email sent out, however authentic looking, is fake and is designed to get you to part with your money or your goods. This applies equally to Square Trade and PayPal. They will never email you certifying the genuineness of anyone.
l)A PayPal warning
There are fraudsters who use stolen PayPal accounts to accept payments. To lower the possibility of this, check your seller's location as shown in eBay, and then see if it is one of PayPal's permitted countries by clicking here: http://www.workwinners.com/nlr701.htm. If PayPal don't offer their service in the country that the seller resides, be very wary.
m) Passwords
Never have the same password on your eBay and PayPal accounts. Or indeed on any other financial or personal site. Change your passwords every 30-60 days on both eBay and PayPal.
n) Escrow
If your seller asks you to use escrow, and proposes an escrow company they've used before, this is a clear indication they are fraudulent. There are many fake escrow sites which will take your money fraudulently. The only escrow site recommended by eBay is http://www.escrow.com. An alternative in the UK is http://www.auctionpix.co.uk Please don't be tempted to use any other escrow company, however professional looking their websites might be. It is a fact that 99% of escrow companies on the internet are fraudulent. They are set up solely to defraud money out of unsuspecting buyers, and to get goods without paying for them from unsuspecting sellers.
o) Pointers in feedback
Try to read the positive feedback as well as the negative. Read the way your seller responds to negative feedback as this will often give you an idea of how the seller will react if something goes badly wrong. If the seller is offering high value goods, be wary if their feedback has been built up quickly from low value purchases. Also, if the overall rating is good, but there are a disproportionate number of negatives in recent days/weeks, this might indicate the account has been taken over. Finally, be aware that feedback is not the guarantee it once was. Feedback can easily be manufactured. Also, if the user ID has been hijacked, you'll be reading the feedback of the original account owner, not the person with whom you're currently dealing!
p) Credit Card payment
For high value items, or for amounts of money you can't afford to lose, make sure you pay by credit card which has online fraud protection. This will give you some recourse if the seller is fraudulent. In this context, paying via PayPal is not the same. PayPal do have a buyer protection scheme, but there are criteria which the eBay auction has to satisfy in order to qualify. Even if the transaction qualifies, PayPal's standard protection currently has a maximum value of $1,000. Note that payment by debit card provides zero protection.
q) Address and Telephone check
Use the Ask the seller a question link, and request they email you with their address and telephone number. Any reputable seller will give you their address and telephone number. When you get the number, call it, and see if you get through to the genuine seller.
r) Keystroke capturing virus
This is a computer virus which you inadvertently download onto your PC. It's task is to capture the keystrokes you make, and to send them to the virus placer. The fraudster then uses pattern recognition software to identify and extract personal information, like username, password, credit card numbers etc. To avoid this happening to you, it is wise to have good, up-to-date virus, firewall and spyware checking software on your PC. Here is where you can get free software for each of these functions:
Virus protection - http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/
Firewall - http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/comparison.jsp?lid=ho_za
Spyware checking - http://www.lavasoft.com/support/download/
s) Shill bidding
Shill bidding is where people work in cahoots to inflate the bidding on an item. A seller has a "partner" who makes bids on the seller's items with a view to bumping up the bid price. They have no intention of buying the item. Fortunately, shill bidders and their associated seller can be stupid. The shill bidder will usually makes bids on other items from the same seller. Here's how to check to see if shill bidding is a feature of a particular seller. First, look at the seller's closed auctions over the last 30 days. If most of the closed auctions have no bids, it is unlikely the seller has shill bidders working with them. If all of the closed auctions have bids, take a look at the bid history. See if the same bidder appears in the list of bidders, usually with aggressive bidding and normally at the start of the auction. If so, you may have uncovered a shill operation, so avoid that seller's auctions.
t) Keep your transaction information
Keep your own record of the transaction when you're buying. Don't just rely on eBay. You want a record of the seller's identification, the item description, emails sent and received, plus the time, date and price of your bid.
u) "I noticed your bid...."
Never deal with anyone who contacts you after seeing your bid on another auction. They will say something like, "I saw you bidding on that digital camera. I have the same model available for sale. I don't have time to list it on eBay. It has more accessories than the one you lost out on. You can have it for xyz." If you bite, they'll probably take you down the fake escrow route. Also, if you entertain this proposition, you're operating outside of eBay and therefore have no auction protection whatsoever.
v) Changed eBay ID
Never deal with anyone who has a changed ID icon next to their name. This icon menas they've changed their ID in the last 30 days. Few legitimate people change their eBay ID. When was the last time you changed yours? There's a 1% chance that an ID change is genuine, but 99% that it is fraudulent. Why take the risk?
w) Changed email address mid-stream
If a seller or buyer changes their email address on you in the middle of a transaction, stop dealing with them. It is likely their previous email account was closed down due to some irregularity - such as a previous victim reported them. If you think about it, why would any genuine buyer or seller change their email address whilst corresponding on a transaction they wish to conclude expeditiously?
x) Complications
Never get involved in any transaction where the seller/buyer tries to introduce a third person into the financial arrangements. They might ask you to pay xyz, who will then pay the seller, and you will receive a discount or commission for your co-operation. Such proposals are always fraudulent. They prey on greed. Don't be tempted.
y) Time is of the essence
This is a scam which is has more potential for success than traditional phishing attacks, as it is time sensitive. The fraudster searches for high value auctions that have just ended. The bid history for an auction contains hyperlinks to each bidder. The fraudster checks to see if the winning bidder is selling any items of their own. If so, they go to that auction and embed a request for payment from the first auction within a question for seller. This works because winning bidders are expecting request for payment shortly after an auction ends. A variation of this is to offer a bidder a "second chance". This time the "Ask the seller a question" email pretends that the real winner has backed out, and offers the item at a lower price. The buyer, believing the story, is lured into paying to whom they believe is a genuine seller. Many eBayers have heard of the second chance system, but have no experience of it. This unfamiliarity coupled with the fact that a few weeks might have passed, makes this an effective method for fraudsters. The moral of this story is never get involved in any transaction which arrives in your inbox via the Ask the Seller a Question feature.
z) eBay IDs
Never us your email address as your eBay ID, or part of your eBay ID. Fraudsters have software which monitors internet traffic looking for information such as this. If your eBay ID and email address are the same, it is simple for a fraudster to plausibly communicate with other eBay members in your name.
That's all in my list. If you have any further ideas on how to prevent fraudulent transactions on eBay, please let me know and I will promote these through future newsletters.
In the meantime, be aware, and be safe in your eBay buying and eBay selling.
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