Google Adsense Secret: Google’s Referral Programs

I'm always looking for more information for better utilization of Google Adsense, and I'm providing a link to one that looks good.  If you have some time I would recommend checking it out.

Regards,
Mark

Affiliate Marketing – Simply what is it?

I’m sure you’ve heard this term over and over. It’s linked into just about every site that has anything to do with making money online or monetizing your blog or website. Simply put, Affiliate Marketing is when you take a service or product found on the internet and then promote it to someone else using a special link.

When a visitor reads your website, article, or blog and clicks on your special link or advertisement, they are taken to a page on the internet where they can purchase the service or product you recommended.

When someone uses your link to purchase a product or service you receive a certain percentage of that sale.  The adverisements will pay based several different options.  There is CPM (Cost per thousand) which is the amount the advertiser will pay to show their ad 1,000 times.  These could be unique or repeats depending on the program.  CPC (Cost per click) is the amount that will be paid per click of the ad or banner.  CPA (Cost per action) can be simply clicking on an ad or link, filling out a form or survey, and possibly making a purchase.  CTR (Click thru rate) is the percentage rate at which people click thru your banner.

And there are people out there that have this as their full time job. I still work a 60 hour week at a corporate office, but I could definitely dream about doing this full time.

The real problem is that there are a whole lot of different programs out there, so what are they and which ones should you use? Well there are sites that compare the different programs, and list them by popularity, product category, and by overall rating.

One Site is Top Affiliate. Now, I would definitely recommend doing further research before signing up with anyone, and a great source come from other blogs that you follow, that have their blog set up the way you would like, but their a few years ahead.

For some of this information, I go to Problogger to get information and insight. Thru that site I learned about the partnering of Amazon and Google to create the Amazon Associates Program. You can learn more about it from Amazon Associates Amazon Associates.

Again, this is just one option that is available, and there are a number of them out there. I will definitely be following up with more posts about this subject matter and the different programs that are out there. But for now, this is it.

Take care,
Mark

Graphics are just a click away....

The best way to communicate any idea in the world of web design is a good and a subtle straight-forward design. It helps to showcase, when a website is launched with a creative and unique layouts. It does not stop at having a great content, the entire layout and how it has been structured, decides its readability and influence on the reader. Content is always important, but the first impression means a great deal to whether the reader will take a personal stake in contributing to the success of the website or blog.


More and more effort is being put to take inspiration from the print world, which is accompanied by headlines, quotations, multi-column text, highlighted quotations, indented text, supporting imagery, side notes and footnotes. Greater emphasis is being placed on the eye-catching properties of the message or advertisement.

Graphics and the different software used to produce and manipulate images allows for greater flexibility and more creative options. One free available tool out there is GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program). GIMP is a popular open-source image editor originally developed for Unix/Linux. it does have an interface and features similar to Photoshop, but with a steep learning curve to match. Because it's volunteer-developed beta software, stability and frequency of updates could be an issue; however, many happy users report using GIMP for Windows without significant problems.

Other free applications available are:

1. Paint.net

2. Photo Pos Pro

3. Photoscape

4. IrfanView
5. Adobe Photoshop Extended (free Trial)

6. FastStone Image Viewer

Please take a moment at some point to check out the incredible resources that are available at no charge, that can bring life and invigorate old blogs, and help create facinating new ones.
 
Regards,
Mark

Mashable

Anyone that hasen't heard of Mashable should definitly check it out.  It is an internet news blog started by Pete Cashmore in July 2005.  With a reported  7.0M + page views, it ranks as one of the largest blogs on the internet.  Regular articles are featured regarding YouTube, Facebook, Google, Twitter, MySpace, Apple and startups.  It regularly reports on current events that are shaping the social dynamics of the World and can definitly give insight to trends in the blogging community that are growing and helping to inprove online networks.

Top social networking websites and the list of the fastest growing websites are just some of the items you will find on their site.

I am always looking for new and relavent sources of information, both in the fields of online marketing and social networking. 

Please feel free to add any recomendations for other good sources, and I will definitly check them out.

Regards,
Mark

Back Links, What are they and how do I use them

Backlinks are nothing new, and many blogs are already utilizing them, but they are quite helpful in building traffic for your own blog. They enable you to keep track of other pages on the web that link to your posts.
Lets say that one person (Jim) writes a blog entry that another person (Ron) finds interesting. Ron might then write a post about Jim's post and actually link to it. Jim's post will reflect the link and possibly a small snippet of text. This helps to relate discussions that occur on different sites.

The backlinks setting can be found under the Settings Comments tab, and consists of a single, simple option to turn it on or off:

If you click the link, you will then be taken to the actual post page.
Hope this is helpful,

Regards,
Mark