Archives: Traffic
Gaining Traffic Through PPC Marketing
At the surface, Pay-Per-Click advertising (PPC) appears fairly simple, consisting of buying a few keywords to display an ad on search engines such as Google or Yahoo and other services. The keywords are used to provide the appropriate advertising to search engines ‘natural’ search results.
Adwords appear on the right side and top of Google’s natural search results
Yahoo PPC ads appear on the right side and top of natural search results
If you’re not familiar with PPC Advertising….
If you place the highest bid for a specific keyword or phrase, you will rank #1 in paid listings. If someone clicks on your PPC ad/listing, you will be charged the amount you setup. So if you bid $.10 cents per click and you’re the highest bidder, you’ll show up first in line and if 100 people click on your listing, you will be charged $10.00. Competition for keywords can drastically be different depending on the niche market.
As example in Adwords:
As of 9/10/2007:
Blog Help = $.62 - $.87 CPC
Diets = $1.49 - $2.09 CPC
Make Money = $1.94 - $2.68 CPC
Mortgage = $10.95 - $16.33 CPC
PPC can cost a fortune for a new user as bidding wars can erupt quickly over a popular key phrase and can get expensive in a big hurry and sometimes cause your ROI (Return On Investment) to get out of control if visitors leave your site to never return.
PPC Can Be Risk Free
PPC can prove to be beneficial and work to your advancement especially if you find a low bid keyword niche. It can even be a no lose situation to utilize many of the PPC programs out there that are giving out free paid clicks for new account holders, ranging anywhere from $10-$50 in free credit. In this case, PPC can generate traffic to your site at no cost. Just remember to turn off/pause the PPC campaign when the free money runs too low for comfort.
There are a few programs I’ve personally tried and have netted some good results. It didn’t cost me any money, so ROI wasn’t an issue for me or my pocketbook.
Some of those I found giving out free clicks are:
- Bidvertiser is giving out $20 worth of Free Clicks
- Yahoo is giving out $25 worth of Free Credit (If you sign-up with Blue Host you can sign-up to Yahoo’s Search Program for $50 worth of Free Credit)
- Ad Marketplace is giving away $25 in Free Clicks
- Microsoft Ad’s Center is giving a small amount, but Free $5 to start
- Search123 gives you $25 in Free Clicks after initial deposit of $50.
- Miva is giving away $25 in Free Clicks after initial deposit of $50.
The overall rule of thumb at succeeding at PPC marketing?
Focus and Research. Pay-per-click advertising should be handled with short term goals in mind to start and should be handled with great care, with quantifiable goals. Using free clicks from services gives some beginners practice in distinguishing the value in conversions vs getting clicks and help you fine tune your campaigns to bring in the traffic you want. It also relieves any curiosity to the world of PPC marketing….
They say that curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back
Posted in The Net, Tools, Traffic | 11 Comments »
DealDotCom Plans To Launch Tomorrow
Heard of DealDotCom? Doors are planned to open tomorrow for this new discounted shopping network on September 18th geared towards Internet Marketers, using a one product a day, concept.
DealDotCom claims to consider everything under the umbrella related to “Internet Marketing” to be featured on the site at a extremely discounted price, such as products related to:
- Building an online business
- Marketing products or services
- Ways to increase traffic and monetize a site
- Web design and SEO Marketing
- Ebay and ecommerce marketing
- Social and web2.0
- ebooks and videos
- Investing and financial information
- Blogging
Although that I feel that most information on e-marketing can be found on the internet for free from blogs, research or networking, I’m curious about this site. Joining early could promise a good opportunity to spread the word before the greater internet community gets wind of it.
DealDotCom does a smart thing creating an urgency to buy the product by only holding a limited inventory (first come first serve) of products till midnight.
Membership is free and offers a lifetime two-tier commission structure. When someone is referred, there is a 35% commission rate for the 1st tier. 2nd tiers will earn 15% commission.
If the DealDotCom turns out to be successful, signing up affiliate referrals early will be beneficial. I’ve already signed up for a free account. Hey might as well join early and spread the word, before everyone else jumps on board.
Posted in Affiliates, The Net, Traffic | No Comments »
Re-energize Your Blogging Spirit
Many bloggers experience time-to-time some discouragement that may make them want to stop blogging. Either because it requires more time than expected, they have nothing more to say, there is too much pressure to maintain a blog or they’ve received some negative comments.
But probably one of the most detrimental to a bloggers spirit are negative comments because even in the blogosphere, negative comments can still be hurtful enough to break a writers spirit. Comments could potentially stay around forever for others to read…only worsening the the pit in a bloggers stomach. Of course, those comments could be deleted, but many feel confused as the correct course of action.
Dealing With Negative Comments
As the administrator of your site, you have the authority to edit or delete hurtful or negative comments if you wish. If the comment brings your spirit down, it probably doesn’t belong on your blog.
But as a protective measure, it’s good to think about having a Comment Policy to guide both you and your readers on what is or isn’t permissible on your blog.
From what I’ve read from Lorelle VanFossen, John Pozadzides of One Man’s Blog has been pushing bloggers to consider enforcing rules on their blog, through a “Terms Of Use” or “Comments Policy” so that everyone is on the same “page” and understands commenting rules, if any are in place. If you are having problems with comments, this might be the route to go…
Discouragements?
Some weeks are better than others. It’s the not-so-great-days that can lead to despair, which are usually because of the following:
- Unhappy with Blog Stats
- Negative Comments
- Low Comments
- Low Subscribers
- Not Enough Time To Blog
Many bloggers are addicted to checking stats. They’ll check Google Analytics, MyBlogLog, Google Adsense Report, Stat Counter, Comments Section and RSS Subscribers Counts continuously over the course of a day. The funny thing is that time spent checking these sources is time away from working and if you find low numbers they probably won’t inspire you to work harder. Blog stats are important but you can’t control the real-time reports. The more time spent towards writing content, the more your stats may improve. Funny how that works out.
As far as low comments, I’ve seen many big sites that have a PR of 7 or 8 with little or no comments at times. It all depends on the topic and if it warrants a response. If you want more comments, maybe re-wording your posts could generate comments. Leave some room for conversation if that is your goal.
Negative posts can bring negative energy to your blog. I’m not kidding. The negative comment that coldly welcomes you each morning will be to blame for your lack of enthusiasm for future posts and most likely, spread to other potential readers/commenter’s unconsciously.
Be kind to others as you would like to be treated - this applies to the real world and to blogging. Keep things nice or at the very least, borderline neutral. Make the comment constructive instead of hurtful.
If time limitations are holding you back, it is with good reason. To many newbies, find blogging surprisingly to take a lot of time, as it requires: research, time to write post, proofread, the ok to publish and time to monitor comments. If you haven’t prepared backup content, being sick or having unexpected surprise pop up can leave you in a scrabble to finish an article. The blog is then written with less enthusiasm and unfortunately can and will be seen by readers and may scare you about your stats. You end up feeling drained… Either find reasons why you can’t blog and fix them or decide to stop blogging.
So…How Do I Keep Energized About Blogging?
Sometimes it’s nice to take a step away from your blog and rethink your initial purpose for creating it. Sure, you may have known it a few months back but now in the thick of keeping up with the daily posts, stats and marketing you can easily get lost.
1. Remember Your Blogs Purpose
It’s very easy to get lost and forget your goals or purpose for creating a blog. Or maybe you don’t have one? Every team or company needs a focus on short term goals to attain bigger goals. That type of thinking should be applied to your personal work ethic.
Sit down and write down your blog’s purpose. Writing it on a post-it note is even better for you to stick onto a wall or your computer monitor to remind you daily. Stick to that focused purpose as it will help you determine the best topics to place on your site. If you find that a topic is off-subject, don’t include it on your site. The daily reminder will help you stay on course and help you get back if you stray.
2. Network
There are numerous ways to connect with bloggers like yourself within your niche. Interact and learn about what they are doing. Ask questions, comment frequently and get to know each other better to generate energy on the blog.
3. Take A Break!
Step away from the computer to either do some exercise, spend time with the family, take a walk or even better take a vacation. A breath of fresh air can be injected into a blog if you stop obsessing over the computer. It’s amazing how a few stretches can do the body good AND the mind.
Quite frequently, I take breaks to either do a few situps or take a walk, to help me feel re-inspired. Try listening to some music, go shopping or learn how to cook a new recipe.
If you decide to take a vacation, why not take a week vacation once and awhile? With future blog posting, you have the option to walk away for a little while.
4. Do Something Different
It can be exciting but also scary to have a guest blogger, if that means less control over your blog. Although, it can be a good risk to take as it may be fun for your readers and create more energy on the site. You’ll always have the final say and control over the blog.
There are many blog contests or challenges to participate in, including carnivals or writing assignments. Why not try a few? They can get your creative juices flowing, by trying something different and bringing even more readers to your site. Which, could just kick up your spirit to keep on tapping away at the keyboard!
Posted in Blogging, Traffic | 22 Comments »
August Stats
I debated whether posting a monthly statistical report on the performance of the site. After some thinking, I decided it could be good for the site as many other fellow bloggers share performance stats. There really isn’t much room in marketing for ’shyness’, I guess :)
August
It was a pretty good month. The site received 8,640 visits and 16,653 pageviews. It seems that I was Stumbled quite a few times, which brought in the most traffic to the site. Next was MyBlogLog and as a proof that being active on other sites is a great way to network and bring in traffic, Shaun Low and Smashing Magazine rounded up next. Digg and Google also brought in a good amount of traffic.
Earnings
Google Adsense: $90.05
Blogsvertise: $16
PayPerPost: $15
Affiliate: $50.45
Text-Link-Ads: $8
And…let’s not forget about the 4-Hour Work Week Book I won this month from Cash For Comments and getting included as the 1st winner of the contest, which has earned me a priceless spot in Blogging The Movie. If you haven’t gotten around to participating, don’t forget the 2nd contest has just begun and could also earn you a spot in the movie.
Overall
It hasn’t been a bad start as the site is only 2 months old. I’m definitely looking forward to September since I’ve started off with a good bang. In one day, I received 6,395 page views which is almost a third of what I received the total month of August. For September, I hope to zoom in on the benefits that the site offers and capitalize on the best parts of the site, while maintaining a fun, relax and close-knit site. I love humor and a good laugh, so I’ll always be looking for something funny to add to the posts.
Also, for convenience of reading the site, I’ve change the ‘Featured Article‘ to be just that, a featured article. New posts will be posted below it so that if you are a regular visitor to the site you don’t have to click on the Featured Article post to read the new post for today. All new posts will be placed under “Recent Articles“, with the FULL article displayed. The less clicking to read a post, the better for you guys!
Posted in The Net, Traffic | 13 Comments »
