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When search engines pay website owners a percentage of the bid cost, you’re just looking for trouble. This is the problem with Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising, especially with smaller named search engines. Many websites request or even pay there visitors to search a specific search engine and click on a result. This just sends advertisers fake leads and causes problems for the advertisers that paid for the keyword listing. Many PPC search engines offer webmasters up to 80% of the bid price. For example, let’s say I pay ‘Example Search Engine’ $1 for the keyword Viagra, they then pay webmasters $.80 per visitor they send that searches and clicks on a bided search term. You can see why PPC can be a problem.

Paid Inclusion offers a safer, less expensive form of search engine advertising. You pay one price to have your site listed in a specific search engine, often under a specific keyword. Your site will also be updated on the search engines data base more often then non paid sites. Paid Inclusion costs and average of $25 a year per URL submitted. Plus the cost goes down the more URL’s you submit at one time. PPC usually starts at $.01 per click being the cheapest bid per keyword, but you’d be lucky to find a keyword that low that would result in any clicks.

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15 Tips To Drive Traffic To Your Blog
 by: David Riewe

There are many factors that make blogs much better than normal WebPages including the speed at which blogs are indexed, ability to submit to blog directories & normal directories, pings and track backs. All these little things can help drive more traffic to blogs. Here are 15 popular techniques you can use:

1.) Create at least four keyword posts per day. Most of the top blogs such as Boing Boing, Daily Kos, and Instapundit (with literally tens of thousands of visitors per day) publish an average of 30 small 100-150 word posts per day according to “Secrets of the A-list Bloggers: Lots of Short Posts” by http://TNL.net

2.) Submit to My Yahoo! When you submit your own RSS to My Yahoo it is indexed by Yahoo.

3.) Submit to Google’s Reader. When you submit your own blog RSS to Google’s Reader the Google Blog Search will index your site.

4.) Add a relevant link directory to your blog and trade links like a demon possessed! Although it may take more time than simply submitting to a search engine one time, this method is perhaps the best way to drive traffic to your site. Use software such as Zeus to speed up the link trading process.

For those of you who are not familiar with Mambo - it is an easy to use content management system that can be freely downloaded from http://www.mamboserver.com (You have to be familiar with php, ftp, mysql databses and such to be able to use it though!) It has loads of add-ons, modules, and templates that are available free for download. Because of the fact that it basically creates pages on the “fly” also loads very quickly and we all know how important that is! I have used it successfully to build two websites and I cannot begin to tell you how easy it is to use once you are familiar with it. No more battling with web site designs and all sorts of templates, getting them ready and then ftp’ing them to the server! The only problem is that you really have to download some modules, components and add-ons etc. to make your site really fully functional. I had a bit of a problem figuring out a couple of things, and I am sure that there are other Mambo users out there who could benefit from my experience. For those of you who are already running Mambo 4.5.1 sites, ask yourself these questions: 1. Are your URL’s search engine friendly e.g. http://www.yoursite.com/artiles/myarticles.html or do they look like this: index.php?option=com_content&task=section&id=1&Itemid=2 2. Are you able to use Adsense ads inside your content? 3. Are you able to display Adsense ads on your side panels? 4. Are you able to display the latest Adsense Adlinks? If you answered no to any of these questions, then this article is for you! I have found a wonderful resource for free Mambo add -ons, modules, components and templates which can be found here: http://www.mamboportal.com/ - you will have to register first to be able to download. Step 1 First of all, if your mambo site does not display search engine friendly URLs, that would be the first thing you have to change. So once you are in the download area at the above site (look for the link that says: Downloads), then select the link on the right that read: Mambo 4.5.1 downloads. Click on that link, and on the next page select: 4.5.1 Components. I would recommend that you make a special folder on your computer for the downloads, or that you download it into your original mambo program files (components). Once you are on the components download page, you should download the 404SEF.zip file to your computer. While you are at the download site: Also go to the modules download section, and download the SW Googleads zip file: Go to Mambots, Content Bots, and download the Adsense Mambot zip file. I can’t quite remember where to find the other file that you will need so I have uploaded it to my sever for you, you can download it from here: http://www.set-4-success.com/tools/mod_adsense.zip Step 2 Now log on to your mambo admin section, and go to Components, Install/Uninstall. You will see several components already installed with the original installation. At the bottom of your screen you will see: Upload new component. To upload the 404SEF file from your computer, click on the browse button, go to the folder where you saved the 404SEF file, and click on Upload File & Install. This will install your new component. Next you will have to change your Global configuration to use your new search engine friendly URLs. To do this, click on Site, Global configuration, then click on SEO, and select the Yes option for Search Engine Friendly URL’s. Now, with your original Mambo installation, there is included a file called htaccess.txt. Log on to your server with your ftp program, and change this file to .htaccess . Just a word of caution here - I had the problem that my SEO friendly URL’s did not work and I was pulling my hair out trying to figure out why - turns out, instead of using the htaccess.txt file that was supplied with Mambo, I just used my old one! Pretty dumb, huh? The htaccess.txt file supplied with Mambo contains certain configurations that the 404SEF component needs, and of course my old .htaccess file had none of that in it! Next, you will have to configure your 404SEF component, so click on Components again, select: 404SEF, Configuration. Click on Yes to enable it, and change the other settings to whatever you want it to be. You should now have SEO friendly URLs and the search engines will just love your site! Step 3 Now we will go on to install all the Adsense goodies you need. So once again, log on to your mambo admin section, and go to Modules, Install/Uninstall. As with the 404SEF component, you will just upload it from the bottom of the page where it says Upload Module. Select the SW Googleads file on your computer, then upload it by clicking on the Upload & Install button. Do the same with the mod_adsense.zip file. Step 4 Go to Mambots, Install/Uninstall, and once again via the bottom of the pages, this time upload the Adsense Mambot file, and just follow the instructions on the screen. Step 5 Now we will have to configure your Adsense modules and the mambot to reflect your own details. a) Go to Modules, Site Modules and click on the SW Adsense link. On the next page, you can select whether you want your Adsense ads to display at the right, left, top, etc. You can also select which pages you want it displayed on. Once you have made your selections, click on the Parameters link. Here you will change whatever is in there to reflect your own details. You will probably also want to change the title to Google or something instead of leaving it as SW Adsense. Where you see Client ID - copy and paste your own Adsense ID into this space. Do not leave it as it is, otherwise you will not earn any money from your ads! You can now decide what format you want to display your Adsense in : skyscraper, rectangle, square etc. Enter your channel information, what colors you want to use etc. Once you have made all your changes, click on Save at the top of your screen to save your changes. Play around with it on various positions at your site, left, right etc to see where it will display the best. b) Next, select the other Adsense Module - this one you can use to display your Adsense Adlinks. Once again, enter all the needed information, and save it when you are done. c) Go to Mambots, select the Google Adsense Mambot, once again, change all the details to reflect your own. You can select to have the ads show up on the left, the right, or in the center. I generally change mine around a bit just to add a bit of variety and to prevent ad blindness. Now, the mambot differs a bit to the modules in that it does not automatically display ads on a page without you using a bit of simple code. This mambot Adsense is what you will use to display Adsense ads in your content by simply inserting the code : {mosgoogle} just like that {mosgoogle} wherever you want it to display on a page. So next time you are ready to post content to your site, once you are in the display box where your content goes, just add {mosgoogle} at the top of the page, in the middle of the page or wherever you want it and it will display your ads. If the ads do not show up for some or other reason try this code instead:
{mosgoogle}
and it will surely show up. Well, that’s it. Now you too can make more money with your Mambo site!
About the Author

Internet fraudsters have taken aim at the Federal Trade Commission, an agency that’s waged campaigns to help people avoid e-mail scams.

Yesterday, the FTC issued a warning about a bogus e-mail that appears to come from the commission’s fraud department.

The e-mail’s says it’s from “frauddep@ftc.gov,” and includes an attachment, when downloaded, and links, when clicked on, will unleash a software virus.

The virus, the FTC says, apparently installs a keystroke logger program, which could enable a scammer to obtain an unsuspecting person’s passwords and account numbers.

David Torok of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection told Reuters the e-mail was delivered to an undetermined number of people. “We’ve received hundreds if not thousands of calls and complaints,” he said.

Government agencies have been taking other measures to certify and securegovernment messages, including an initiative announced in July.

Eric Kintz of HP Labs reports a study of 1 million Digg users to explore the dynamic between “novelty” and “popularity” of stories posted to Digg.

In their full report “Novelty and Collective Attention” by Fang Wu and Bernardo A. Huberman, Information Dynamics Laboratory, HP Labs (pdf) I found some interesting data on the kinds of stories that really “kick” at Digg.

“The subject of collective attention is central to an information age where millions of people are inundated with daily messages. It is thus of interest to understand how attention to novel items propagates and eventually fades among large populations.”   -”Novelty and Collective Attention” Fang Wu and Bernardo A. Huberman, Information Dynamics Laboratory, HP Labs

Why Care About Collective Attention Dynamics?

“Collective attention” is something every blog marketer should be keenly interested in.  By default, we are working in the social medium of the web to bring attention to our content, products and services (or simply our advertisers).  But ask your average blogger what they know about the social scene as it pertains to “collective attention dynamics” and viral marketing and you are likely to be met with a blank stare.

On your marks, get set… “Merchants have less than a 30 day window from now, until roughly the end of November, to get some of those last-minute structural changes in place,” said Brian Klais, VP of search at Madison, Netconcepts, a Madison, WI-based search engine marketing firm. He’s referring to search engine optimization, and getting Web sites running smoothly and cataloged by the search engines. At the top of the list are cleaning up structural changes in URLs, fixing any 301 redirect issues, and reviewing on-page content.

“What retailers can do now with very little spare time is to think about merchandising strategies. If free shipping is featured in the merchandising mix, then retailers can maximize the offer by keeping an eye on those dates for searchers,” Klais advised. He went on with a few tips: Make sure the title tags and the content on the pages have an offer within. Include the words free shipping in the title tag. “It might be enough to convert searcher activity into a click and then into a sale,” he said.

Link building is going through some changes.  Here’s the latest news from the streets…

• “What’s a nice girl like you doing with links like that?” - Debra O. Mastaler writes some insightful link building tips in light of the recent Google pagerank updates and the obvious slapdowns of some very big, popular sites.  She writes about some social marketing stuff we have already discussed here as early as last summer, but her ideas on alternative traffic and linking sources are something to pay attention to in your marketing for sure.
• Aaron Wall’s latest in WebProNews - “Using Google Date Based Filters to Detect Link Building…”
• WebmasterWorld forum members discuss link building and the new rules of SEO.
• Link Analysis Beyond Search Rank - Eric Ward’s article helps with link analysis and valuing links beyond search engine optimization.

Building with Trackbacks

A link building tactic that is often overlooked is using PRWeb.com press release trackback feature.   I wrote a piece on this technique and it is worth a read if you are not periodically scanning PRWeb for trackback-worthy content.

After testing the new Hulu video site from NewsCorp and NBC Universal, launched in beta today, we’ve experienced some smooth streaming, and some video that sputters at best.

As for the ads, there’s a variety of formats already running from advertisers like Cisco, Esurance and Crest. For instance, 5 quickie spots from Esurance appeared intermittently throughout an episode of NBC’s “Heroes.” Most of the serial-style ads were about 5 seconds each, while the second was about 20 seconds. The same types of spots ran during another Heroes episode for Cisco.

A more standard video ad format was seen when viewing a clip from NBC’s “Journeyman” on MSN, one of Hulu’s many distribution partners. Before that clip played, a pre-roll spot for Crest Whitestrips was served alongside a banner for the same advertiser.

Expect to see lots of different formats in Hulu video, from overlays during short-form content that play only when users initiate them to sponsored banners, interstitials and end plates displaying advertiser logos after content plays. Viewers watching longer-form full-length episodes and movies from MGM will see more ads. However, while shows on TV feature 8 minutes of ads along with 22 minutes of programming, Hulu video of the same shows will feature 2 minutes of ads. The video will maintain the natural ad breaks of the TV shows.

Want to make an impact with your online business in front of thousands of people just by talking? Stop dreaming about Oprah… and start doing radio.

Did you know that American radio stations need more than 10,000 guests per day to fill their shows? Plus there are thousands internet radio shows on the Net. And, the internet’s next big thing: podcasting, is now becoming a great way to talk about your products or services. The sky’s the limit with opportunties for any online business.

Radio producers are constantly looking for compelling guests. And the key to getting their attention is to make sure that whatever you’re going to talk about is:

1) Controversial. Producers LOVE anything that gets their phone lines going. And nothing does the trick like a good argument.

2) Entertaining. If you can make people laugh and tell them fascinating stories, you’ll always be in demand as a radio guest.

3) Informative. Give people useful, timely information. Give them stuff that makes them say, ‘Wow! That’s amazing! I didn’t know that!’ Or a combination of the three.

Measuring and improving the performance of a website
 by: Fernando Macia

The return on investment (ROI) for the implementation of a website is directly related to the level by which the website is able to achieve its objectives. Even though this concept may sound trivial to the majority of business owners, establishing a series of objectives for a website and putting in place a methodology for measuring how well these goals are being met typically become more challenging tasks.

Traditional business managers and economic strategists have always had at their disposal a variety of methods for measuring and evaluating the degree of success of business objectives. For example, an increase in productivity, cost reduction initiatives, meeting certain sales goals, or the impact of an advertising campaign are all objectives that can be methodically measured and directly linked to a quantifiable level of success within a specific timeframe. Then, as businesses successfully accomplish their short-term goals, they are able to establish and pursue mid or longer term initiatives.