10k ppc experiment part2

This is a second and final post to my experiment with pay per click engines. This is mostly based on my theories and social engineering. Please make sure you do your own research before jumping into PPC. For a smarter approach to ppc check out graywolfs excellent series called Adsense Arbitrage:

• Automation and Button Pushing
• Keyword Selection

Final Target Acquisition:

So I feel somewhat comfortable with Adwords but I still felt that I could get more bang for my buck… well more buck for my buck to be technical. So I started doing some research more research. What is it that we are selling? Well in order for a Ringtones ad to “convert��? a user has to put in there phone number then they are text messaged a pin code they must enter into a site. This I a very nice 2 step process for a payout unlike some other things. Who is most likely to freely give out there phone number? Ya… your kids.

So we know we can already eliminate Nextel because they cant use any of the Ringtones offers were are doing. Now lets look at some further demographics of our targets. After doing a quick Google search we see that the average age of cellular phone users is 21. Also you can see that Verizon Wireless customers are very choosy and like to shop around. I attribute this to the fact the have the oldest userbase in the industry with an average user age of 25. In my mind this makes them not such a good target. The next highest age on average is Sprint with an average age of its users being 23. Sprint also has the 2nd most corporate clients behind Nextel which makes them (in my opinion) less likely to submit there phone number to a website for some “No Charge��? Ringtones.

So I am going to target Cingular and T-mobile users. Cingular in my opinion is the best demographic to target. They have an average age of 19 years old. T-Mobile is VERY close with an average age of 19.5.

Now I check this data with the data from my previous conversions:

Cingular: 38%
Tmobile: 34%
Sprint: 25%
Verizon 18%

This is just going off of my previous Adwords data this means that for every 10 Cingular people that are clicking on my ad I am converting 1.8 For Tmobile 1.7 and you can guess the rest.

So if the offer pays 15$ and I have an 18% conversion that means I am Grossing 2.70 cents per click. For 38% I am grossing 5.70 cents per click.

So now we have some numbers to work with. Lets move on before my head explodes.

Adwords: I run all offers on only the Google network. I do not run on any content network (ask.com earthlink. etc) I just find that I get a bad return on those. I am sure they work fine for other niches but for me its not doing it. For the most part with Adwords I set my bids and had a max budget of 300$/day. Fire and forget. I stayed strong on my Adwords bids. I have data that shows what I need to spend to convert so there really is no guesswork involved. If the bid goes up then I am not showing ads. If it comes down then my ads are in full effect.

CPM Targeting for the win… Here is a dirty secret. CPM target sites where the only good content is the AdSense ad. Here is the deal… with AdSense lets say it costs you 6$ to be #1 for Verizon Ringtones for search results… but ohh wait, what is this??Why it’s the #1 ORGANIC Google result for the phrase “Verizon Ringtones��? and it only costs me 10$ CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions or roughly 1 cent per impression). Since this ad is really the only relevant content it converts REALLY WELL.

In general site targeting these sites is a really good investment. These guys only build these sites for 1 reason… to get AdSense clicks and the other dirty secret about them is they convert really well because the user gets exactly what they were searching for. The key to finding them is just searching on various search engines. Google for the most part does not feel these sites should get good organic listing but that does not mean that they are not making money off of MSN and Yahoo ranking these sites high. Make sure you search them also for these kinds of sites.

Yahoo Search Marketing:

Yahoo Search Marketing was quite a bit more fire and forget then Adwords. I did not have to write 80 million ads to get my quality score up and this was really pretty simple. I scraped about 15,000 terms up using overture inventory, Google suggest and some other tools around the net for anything related to “Ringtones��?. I went ahead and approved any bid that it said cause I was going to edit them later…. MISTAKE!!! I had stayed up all until 5am to get all these terms in and it said it would take up to 3-5 days to approve them… well crap. I am going to bed. Then I wake up and they were approved and I burned through about 1800$ DOH. Some clicks were as high as 8$!!! I did get some return on my investment but my first day of yahoo was a bummer due to my lack of foresight. I now have set my daily budget to 300$ and also adjusted all my approved bids to 13 cents. Amazingly enough I got a decent amount of traffic from this that was converting. I really like yahoos placement targeting where you can specify where you want to be placed. I choose to be in position 3 and while that made my average cost go up about 600% I also got a TON more exposure.

Over all I was surprised at the lack of features with Yahoo Search Marketing. I mean these guys have been doing this the longest right? (Formally known as overture) That’s what I thought anyway… I hate having to wait DAYS to see if my listings get approved… and also I found the editing of listings to really suck. If I wanted to change something even if it was the website address it almost always got denied… They defiantly have some improving to do.

MSN AdCenter:

Ok positives first… MSN is by far the cheapest place to buy clicks. You can get tons of good 5 cent clicks. Also the traffic seems to convert 3-4% better then any other PPC program I tested. Also with MSN I did not have to write assloads of ads. It was pretty much fire and forget.

The downsides to AdCenter:

* There is not much traffic… even for top phrases. I had set my budget on AdCenter to 300$/day and it never got close to that.

* Import/export really sucks… forget trying to mass import large-scale keyword lists. I ended up doing them about 100 at a time and that… sucked….

Adbrite:

Adbrite is really the true diamond in the ruff. You have to search for them a bit but you can find them pretty easy. I never paid more then 8 cents a click and got many clicks for around 2-3cents.

Adbrite is somewhat a different monster then the others. You pay on a time period based level for the most part so you want to encourage users to click on the ads as much as possible. Because it costs you the same. The goal for Adbrite is to get as many clicks as possible.

The Bottom Line:

Over all the 40k experiment turned out to be a really profitable experiment. I have tried not to focus too much on specific numbers because people always get so hung up on figures. In order to comply with the broad TOS seemed to be shared by most of these PPC engines I am not going to specifics. I will say that on the whole Adbrite performed by far the best bang for the buck. I will say that Adbrite performed the best profit wise and CPC wise. Also keep in mind that I only played in the Ringtones arena and my methodologies produce many different results then others.

In March using these 4 networks I budgeted $40,000.00 Of that $40,000.00 I was only able to spend $28,932.75 for a total gross return of $144,329.29 for the month of march from cj.com and azoogleads.com Ringtones affiliates. The last parting words I have is do your homework. Find out what you need to spend to make a profit then stand strong on your bids. I HIGHLY recommend not using any automated bidding software for PPC-> affiliate.

Good Luck!

Source: shoemoney

11 Ways That Google Detects Invalid Clicks

We always hear that Google has a sophisticated system to detect the invalid clicks, and result in termination of the cheaters’ account. But, how can Google do that? In this post, I summarize those ways that Google depends on to detect whether the clicks on your site are invalid or not. Google will not first ban your account immediately. Rather, they will first flag your account and Google will keep a closer eye to your account. In some occasion, they may send you a warning letter to notify your situation; but sometimes not.

1. IP Address

It is the easist and must be recognized by everyone. If those clicks on your ads are originated from the same IP Address as the one used for accessing your AdSense account, your account is flagged.

2. Click Through Rate (CTR)

Normally, Click thru Rate should not excees 10%. Otherwise, Google will flag your account. For your information, normal CTR should ranges from 0.5% – 10%.

3. Physical Location

Google has good tracing software and technology.They can trace traffics origin down to the small town. So, using different computers with different IP address does not secure anything. So, don’t try to click your ads in various internet cafes. That will kill you.

4. Cookies

Most home users do not use static IP Address for Internet connection. In most cases just disconnect and reconnect will give you a new IP Address. But don’t forget, Google has set cookies on your computer. They can trace these cookies and see whether they originate from the same computer.

5. Click Pattern 1

It is also suspicious when people click on their clicks and then run away immediately (hit-and-run). But normally, people will surf for a while inside your pages and then click on the ads they want.

6. Click Pattern 2

why this computer / IP address / person is so trigger-click-happy on this particular website but never click on the ads on other sites?

 

7. Click Pattern 3

And why is it that people accessing these sites direct (type-in URL or from bookmark) tend to be very active ad-clickers compared with those referred from search engine or other sites?

8.Other Google Services

Apart from Google Adsense, Google also provide a series of services to us. Don’t just think that it is safe if you do not log in your adsense account and click on your ads. What other Google services do they provide to us? Here are some: Gmail (most poeple are using it), Google Earth, Google Calendar, Google Search, Google Toolbar, Google Talk, Google Sitemap, Google Desktop, Blogger, or even Youtube (coz Google has just recently acquired it).

9. Search Engine Ranking
Your website is not indexed on any search engine, not linked by any prominent website, but get consistently high traffic? How come people can access your website and click your ads? That will make Google to smell a rat.

10. Webpage design
How about the “Please click a link below” or “donate us by clicking the ads”? These kinds of encouragement is not in line with Google’s TOS. Google can use their winning search engine, or even human eyes to check your sites from time to time.

11. Advertisers conversion rate

Ad click is one thing. But does it bring value to the advertisers? If none of the clicks on your site translate to conversion to the advertiser, you are in trouble. First the Smart-Pricing hits, then your AdSense account disabled.

Source : Adsense Decoder

Google Adsense Banning Users For SEO?

Google Adsense Banning Users For SEO?
I got some emails and these could not wait for mailbag monday…

Hi Shoe-
Yesterday I noticed Google Adsense changed many things. One is this:

“Sites displaying Google ads may not include: Deceptive or manipulative content or construction to improve your site’s search engine ranking, e.g., your site’s PageRank”

So does this mean I will get banned from Adsense for optimizing my site for search engines now?

Thanks,

Ray

Ray – Interesting view on that. I am 100% sure it is not Googles goal to ban SEO’s from Adsense. I think Google is just trying to be as broad as possible with there terms of service (as any company is). When was the last time you actually read a terms of service? I think you will find many of them try to give the company a “its not our fault you violated TOS”.

I think you are probably safe to proceed to SEO your site with what adhears to the Google Webmaster Guidelines.

Basically you cant cloak or do what Google considers “blackhat stuff”… Well unless you are a major news paper. (sorry had to do it)

Source: shoemoney

Adsense Slaps Foreign Webmasters in the Face

Google today announced they are changing their referal payout system and some big publishers really feel its a slap in the face.

Here are the 2 key points:

If you’re in North America, Latin America, or Japan, the pricing structure for AdSense referrals is changing.

What does it mean? Basically that you are going to make less money… a lot less money. Ill sumerize it for you. The current payment structure you get $5 who makes $5 (in 180 days). You get $250 for referring someone who makes $100 (in 180 days) and if you refer 25 people who make $100 within 180 days you get a BONUS PAYMENT of $2000 WOOT.

What is it going to? Well its going back to the old you only get $100 if you refer $100.

So why does this suck? Well I am guessing 80% or more of the people refered make less then $100 in 180 days. This means you get BUTKUS:

OK so I hear you foreigners… This doesnt effect you right… Well technically right this rule does not apply to you. Ohh but Adsense has something for you.

If you’re outside of North America, Latin America, and Japan, AdSense referrals will be retired.

They are terminating your referral program completely…. thats right… If you are not in the Americas, or Japan… your done.

From Australian based Darren Rowse AKA Problogger:

Yes you hear me right, its about the location of you as a publisher that excludes you from participating in the AdSense referral system. It’s got nothing to do with your audience’s location, the topic you write about, the quality of your blog or any other factor – it’s about where you blog from.

I’m not privy to the reasoning for this – they simply say ‘We’ve found that this referral product has not performed as well as we had hoped in these regions’ – but in my mind this is stupidity to the ultimate degree.

Source: shoemoney

Bagaimana Membuat Website yang Baik dan Benar

Disini saya akan berusaha memaparkan bagaimana membangun sebuah website/blog yang baik dalam segi design, script dan struktur yang memenuhi persyaratan SEO (Search Engine Optimization), sehingga akan mendapatkan kekuatan yang cukup handal dalam merebut posisi di Search Engine dan menghasilkan trafik/jumlah pengunjung yang baik.

Persiapan
Sebelum kita membuat suatu website maupun blog, ada beberapa tahap/langkah persiapan yang tidak boleh kita abaikan begitu saja (selain non teknis seperti disiplin dan kesabaran), karena hal ini akan mempengaruhi berkembang tidaknya website/blog kita. Langkah-langkah tersebut diantaranya :

 

1. Pencarian dan pemilihan “Niche” ataupun bidang yang akan kita kelola. Hal yang patut dipertimbangkan dalam menentukan niche ini diantaranya : popularitas bidang dan pemahaman kita akan bidang tersebut. Saya sarankan Anda memilih bidang yang Anda ketahui (kuasai), agar Anda tidak mengalami kesulitan dalam hal penulisan materi site/blog yang akan Anda buat, Kecuali kalau Anda memang benar-benar seorang penulis yang handal dan atau mengetahui banyak sumber materi yang bisa Anda andalkan. Khusus bagi Anda yang mengejar “penghasilan tinggi” dalam waktu cepat, maka Anda harus memasukkan unsur High Paying Keywords (HPK) disini. Hati-hati jangan terjebak data-data HPK yang tidak akurat, yang sesuai dengan logika saja deh
2. Optional, hal yang tidak mutlak harus dilaksanakan : pemilihan nama domain, yang harus disesuaikan dengan keyword utama dari niche yang telah kita tentukan. Tidak mutlak karena Anda bisa menggantinya dengan menambahkan subdomain dari domain yang telah Anda miliki sebelumnya (jika ada dan bisa). Jika memang belum punya, maka disarankan untuk membelinya. Jika kocek Anda tipis, belilah sebuah nama domain yang “bisa pas” digunakan banyak bidang, sehingga nantinya jika Anda akan melebarkan bidang ke bidang yang lain, maka Anda tinggal menambahkan subdomain (hati-hati : beli paket hosting yang membolehkan Anda membuat banyak subdomain/domain). Ingat juga saran kami : Hosting domain sendiri lebih baik dibanding gratisan.

Setelah niche kita tentukan, barulah kita bangun website atau blog dengan memperhatikan hal-hal berikut (Catatan : saya bicara tentang bagaimana membuat website yang baik dan benar secara SEO, bukan bagaimana membuat website yang cepat meraup dollar)

Web Design
Sebuah website/blog dengan design yang sedap dipandang mata, isi yang mudah dibaca dan tidak cepat membuat lelah mata serta website yang tidak banyak memakan waktu ketika dikunjungi adalah syarat yang mutlak dimiliki oleh sebuah website/blog jika Anda tidak ingin kehilangan audience/pengunjung website Anda. Dengan demikian Anda harus mendesign sebuah website ataupun blog yang memenuhi syarat tersebut.

Web Script
Script yang baik dan lugas dalam menangani error page, redirect, script yang dapat menghindari asumsi penggandaan isi oleh search engine, script yang mudah beradaptasi terhadap perubahan, script yang dapat menginformasikan setiap perubahan website/blog dengan cepat, script yang membuat website/blog mudah untuk berbagi, dll. harus diperhatikan untuk menciptakan sebuah website/blog dengan kualitas baik.

Web Struktur
Struktur website/blog juga tidak dapat kita abaikan dalam membuat sebuah website yang baik dan benar, karena hal ini akan mempengaruhi posisi website/blog kita di search engine, mempengaruhi mudah tidaknya website kita ditemukan orang dan membuahkan traffic yang baik. Berikut adalah hal-hal yang harus diperhatikan :

1. Judul Website dan Tag Judul (Title Tag)
2. Meta Keyword and Meta Description
3. Link dan atributnya (Title Tag)
4. Gambar dan atributnya (ALT Tags)
5. Site Navigation
6. Sitemap dan sistem arsip
7. Format URL setiap artikel/halaman (permalink)

Cukup sekian dulu, masih jauh dari cukup untuk menjelaskan bagaimana membuat website ataupun blog yang baik dan benar. Mudah-mudahan dapat saya teruskan dan saya perjelas dilain waktu dan dilain goresan.

Goresan ini merupakan bagian dari Rahasia Memperoleh Trafik . Bagian “pemanasan” dari Bagaimana Membuat Website yang Baik dan Benar. Wedew……masih panjang ternyata perjalanan kita, belum membahas bagaimana memilih niche, bagaimana memilih keywords, bagaimana memilih dan menentukan domain, bagaimana mendesign website atau blog, bagaimana memilih script yang baik dan benar, bagaimana menulis file .htaccess yang baik dan benar, bagaimana membuat file robot.txt yang baik dan benar, bagaimana memilih plugin yang bagus untuk mendukung SEO, Masuk kebagian struktur website : bagaimana struktur permalink yang benar, judul dan atribut-atribut yang lainnya juga bagaimana ?. Blog ini sendiri bukanlah contoh dari aplikasi SEO yang benar ( Tadinya hanya dipersiapkan untuk sebuah komunitas Indonesian Bloggers, dan mempermudah dokumentasi atas sebuah thread diskusi yang telah kami buka).

Selesai menyiapkan website atau blog yang baik dan benar, muncul masalah berikutnya: bagaimana menyediakan isi/konten yang menarik, bermanfaat, banyak dicari, lagi hot dll.

Selanjutnya : Bagaimana memberi kabar pada dunia tentang keberadaan website atau blog kita. Weleh, kapan dapet duitnya….huahahahahaha……

Sekian dulu, dari saya. Ditunggu koreksi, cacian, masukan, komentar dan pertanyaan-pertanyaan lainnya. Kepada rekan-rekan yang mau membantu mempercepat selesainya bahasan ini, yang ingin membantu mewujudkan sebuah website yang merupakan jawaban dan wujud atas pertanyaan 1 juta dollar dalam dunia SEO dan Search Engine saya tunggu. Silakan bergabung dengan Indobloggers dan masukan artikel Anda.

Mari kita berantas korupsi, kolusi, nepotisme…eh ngga nyambung. Mari kita berantas kebodohan dan penimbunan pengetahuan dan informasi !

Merdeka !!!!……

Source: Indobloggers.com