checking account, not your website. But for those who study and understand website statistics, they understand that "bounce rate" is an important measure of your website's effectiveness. Bounce rate, simply put, is the percentage of people who come to your site, then immediately leave without viewing any of the inside content pages. Think of it like window shopping. Say you browse by a shop and don't really care to enter based on what you saw at first glance through the window. The window in this case is your home page. A bad first impression, or irrelevant content, can chase away a visitor and stop them from freely investigating the full content of your site.
Google Analytics defines bounce rate as:
"The percentage of single-page visits or visits in which the person left your site from the entrance (landing) page. Use this metric to measure visit quality - a high bounce rate generally indicates that site entrance pages aren't relevant to your visitors."
Therefore, a high bounce rate is bad but a low bounce rate is a positive sign that your visitors are engaging and exploring your website. So what constitutes a good rate? This is a very hard question to answer, but if you do some research, most say it needs to be under 50%. It also will depend on the type of site that you have. For example, if you're a blogger, many times a visitor will come to your blog to read the latest updates then leave. Thus more often a blog will have a higher bounce rate than a "normal" site as there is no need for them to go any deeper.
How do you know what your bounce rate is? One free program that makes it easy is "Google Analytics". Register, list your sites and paste some HTML code on your pages and you're ready
to go. You'll clearly see your bounce rate go up and down as you view the in-depth reports.
So, how can you improve your bounce rate? First, you'll need to track the rate over time, and also look at the amount of time your visitors are sticking around. Also, take note of the traffic sources. Where is the majority of the traffic coming from? Search engines, direct links, social networking sites like Stumble Upon or Twitter, etc. The source of the traffic and the quality of that traffic will contribute to the overall bounce rate being higher or lower for the week. Some traffic, depending on the source will naturally convert better than others.
Once you know your statistical rate, you'll need to start making small changes, then run tests to see if it improves over time. It all starts with trying to improve the usability of your site's landing page. Translation: what people see when they come to your home page.
You can make changes to the design, look and feel of your site. Make sure there are other links readily available to peak the visitor's interest so they'll want to dive further into your content. Of course, you always want to make sure your site's navigation is user friendly, and that the site itself is easy to use and well organized. Another trick is to play around with different headlines, even change your website's copy. Another big problem is a heavy load time. Make sure your site loads quickly so the visitor isn't reaching for their back button before it even finishes loading.
Change one thing at a time, and keep your eye on the bounce rate to see if it improves. If you're not doing so already, have Google Analytics email your site reports weekly in PDF format. This will make your homework a little easier.
As you can see, bounce rate is an important statistical measure and says a lot about the "stickiness/effectiveness" of your website. There are also those who believe it plays a role in search engine algorithms and how they rank your site. If this is true or not, I don't know - but if it is true it gives you some extra motivation in working on improving it. For more on this controversial subject see:
http://searchengineland.com/bounce-rate-as-a-ranking-factor-15643
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2008/11/21/is-bounce-rate-a-google-ranking-factor
By studying your site's bounce rate, you really can learn a lot as to what's working and what's not with your website. It really is an important number to know and one you'll want to continually strive to improve upon.
Like costly heated air leaking out a drafty window, you'll want to do what you can to plug those leaks and try to keep visitors at your site a little longer. It's only when they are fully engaged that they'll make a purchase, subscribe to your ezine or do whatever action you consider a conversion. In the end, isn't that what it's all about? If your site's been losing visitors as fast as they enter, it's time to follow the "bounce rate" and make some much needed changes.
Anyone who has a web-based business will tell you that answering emails is one of the most 
time consuming chores they face on a daily basis. After answering your emails for any length of time, you'll soon see that many of the requests you receive are for the same information over and over. Instead of typing the same responses again and again you can streamline this process with the use of autoresponders.
Autoresponders work much in the same way as fax on demand. They're pre-determined email responses that are triggered to go out automatically to specific email inquiries.
There are many ways you can use autoresponders in your online business. Here are my Top Ten:
1) FAQ (Frequently asked questions)- How many times do you get questions on how your site or service works? Take them and answer themall in one text document.
2) Advertising Rates- If you sell ads in your ezine or on your website, set up a document
containing your ad rates and demographic information.
3) Help Responses- For tech support on your site; you can make a list of possible problems
with the solutions along with a note that you'll be in touch soon. This can also be used for tech support with your software or e-books.
4) Copy of your Ezine- If you publish an ezine, make sure you have an issue people can request a copy of by autoresponder. Many times people like to see an issue before they subscribe.Make sure you include subscribe information inside as well.
5) Price Lists- If you sell products on your site, supply a comprehensive list of items with pricing.
6) Services- If you perform multiple services, list them along with a brief description and
pricing and how to order.
7) Vacation- If you're going to be out of touch for a week or two you can set up an autoresponder to answer your incoming mail, with a canned response of when you'll return.
8) Short Courses- Many site owners use autoresponders to teach lessons or set up a tutorial on a subject, with one lesson being sent every day over a period of a week or two.
9) Sample Chapter- If you sell an e-book, you could offer a free sample chapter to arouse interest and encourage purchases.
10) Articles- Writing articles (like this one) and distributing them online is a great way to
promote your website. Setting them up on autoresponders makes it extra easy to offer them
to others for possible inclusion in their ezine or on their sites.
If you're in need of an autoresponder service, check out some of these:
Send Free http://www.sendfree.com/
Get Response http://www.getresponse.com/
Free Autobot http://www.freeautobot.com/
123 Response http://www.123response.com/
These are just some ideas for getting mileage from autoresponders. If you take a look at what information is requested most by your business, you'll come up with many more that will suit your need and help put your web-based business on autopilot.
Have you noticed the latest online craze? No, it's not how to make a million dollars overnight, 
although that idiotic idea is still floating around... It's adding voice to your website. "Ma Bell" meets the Internet, so to speak. If you spend any amount of time online I'm sure you've seen a number of sites employing this technology.
So who's behind this phenomenon and what's the benefit of adding voice to your website? I'm so glad you asked. In the cold, impersonal world of the Net,your voice adds a touch of warmth and personalization that can increase credibility, thus raising your conversion rate. Sound good? (No pun intended.) Of course it does.
So now that you're considering adding the sweet sound of your voice to your site, where might you want to use it? Depending on your website's content and theme, there are a variety of ways to incorporate your voice into it. For example:
- You might place a welcome message on your front page, summarizing your site's highlights, informing visitors of what they'll find, and thanking them for stopping by.
- If you have an "about us" page on your site, you might want to record a brief message to accompany your background info. This will help people feel as if they're actually meeting you.
- Since testimonials are a great enhancement to any site imagine if you actually added them in your customer's own voice. If you use one of the phone recording services you could give them the number and they could easily record how they feel about your products/services.
- If your site has been featured in an online interview or radio show, imagine including this audio in our site. Just think of it as your very own live press room.
One thing to consider is the quality of your voice. If it's not all that pleasant to listen to, you may want to employ the help of a friend, or you could hire a "professional" voice-over service. Do a search at Google and you'll find plenty of options. One such service is
http://www.jennifervaughn.com/
So now that you're actually thinking of recording something and adding it to your site, how do you do it? There are many different ways, some more expensive then others. Let's examine some of your choices a little more closely.
1) MP3 Sound Stream: http://mp3soundstream.com/
Creates streaming audio from MP3 or Wav files. Produces high quality output for only $39.95.
2) Audio Player Pro: http://www.audioplayerpro.com/
Starting at only $47.00. This produces a code that you can paste onto your website that will enable the viewers' default player.
3) Audio Generator: http://www.audiogenerator.com/
Streaming audio using just your browser. Easy to use, you can phone in your message or use MP3 files. Excellent sound quality. After recording your message paste some code onto your site and a button appears with your audio. $29.95 monthly.
4) SoundNails: http://www.soundnails.com/
This program converts several MP3 files into the popular Flash format. The sounds can then be played in streaming mode without the need of a player like (Windows Media Player or Real Player) in a user-friendly way. 30 day free trial is available, with two versions offered ranging from $10.00 to $65.00.
5) Sonic Memo http://www.sonicmemo.com/
Includes a step-by-step tutorial. You'll have to create your own MP3 files and upload them to your server. If you record WAV files, you'll have to first convert them to MP3 format. This software sells for $97.00.
6) Instant Audio: http://instantaudio.com/
Just record a message by phone and your website or e-mail is instantly audio-enabled. To check their sound quality call the phone number listed on the site, leave a message, then hit the play button on the site to listen. This service will cost you 29.95 a month.
Other Resources of Interest:
Free ebook that shows you how to add audio to your site at absolutely no cost to you. The book is rebrandable if you sign up for the affiliate program.
http://www.novasoft-inc.com/ebook.asp
Internet Audio Guy:
http://internetaudioguy.com/
Some pretty good resources here on adding audio, and if you subscribe to the ezine, you receive a 22-page free report entitled "Web Pages with Sound and Video."
Your site has been sending non-verbal messages for years; now it's time to break free and let it send a message everyone can hear. Adding audio to your website is not only easy to do, it can help you gain the trust of your site's visitors, thus increasing your conversion rate. So stop wasting your time and money, and start getting the sales you may be missing.
A few days ago as I was going about my usual daily routine when I heard the sound of a blaring fire
truck. When I looked out the window I saw a frantic woman in the driveway across the street waving her hands as the local police pulled up in the driveway. An ambulance arrived and took its place next to the police car, as a fire truck parked on the street. Definitely a lot of commotion going on at an elderly woman's home which is usually very quiet.
Almost as if watching a movie I couldn't tear myself away from the window as I watched the woman explaining that she could see the lady who lived in the house clearly through the window but when she rang the doorbell there was no response. The police decided to bust the glass and go in. I saw the emergency squad rush in with the gurney. When they came out less then 5 minutes later with no patient onboard. I just knew she was dead. My boyfriend said he saw the flutter of a white sheet through the front window of her home as they covered her body.
Not long after the fire truck and ambulance left leaving only the cop to stand guard over the body until the men in black came for her. My sister said when there's a death the police will stay until the body is picked up. I found it so strange that the police have to guard someone who is dead. I mean, do they think someone is going to run away with the corpse? Is she going to get up and walk away on her own? I don't think so. I found the whole process very strange.
Hours went by and family members started arriving and hugging each other in the driveway. Most certainly trying to console each other. The cop kept moving his car and pacing back and forth in the driveway as more and more people filled up the home.
The woman who lived there was old. I didn't know her that well, but I would presume her to be in her eighties. My dogs barked at her every day as she walked to her mailbox to pick up her daily correspondence. Now they would bark no more. This quiet woman who seemed to be so independent was now gone. Her whole life came to an end on this Spring like day. Was she sick? or did God just decide her time here was through? I had so many questions about someone I really didn't even know. I mean I saw her pull in and out of her driveway, her family and friends would come to visit, but to say I knew her. No, I did not. Yet, I felt sad that day knowing as everyone rushed about with their daily activities that this woman who had a family of her own, was now dead.
Her whole life came down to waiting for two guys in black suits to take her away. Take her away from where she had lived her entire married life. From the home where she had raised her children, created a life for herself and her husband, where so many memories were made. Now they were taking her away......and I couldn't stop staring out that window as they slowly drove down the street with the body of a woman whom I saw yesterday getting her mail and today was dead. There was just something not right about all of it.
I know we all have to die someday, but to be honest it scares me. None of us know when it will come or how it will all end. I just hope that when my time comes people will say kind things about me and my family and friends will miss me. I hope that I will have done worthy things and leave the world a little better of a place then it was when I entered. What can I do that might live on forever long after I'm gone.
We all wonder "what's the point?" What happens to us when we die? where do we go? Do our souls really leave our bodies and travel on? Until we each experience death for ourselves we'll never really know the answer to these questions. All I knew as I stared out the window that day was that death had come calling right across the street. I felt a sign of relief that it wasn't one of my family members or someone I deeply loved, but yet it was someone who mattered to someone else.
I slowly closed the blinds feeling safer already from deaths outstretched hand,and went back to my mundane daily existence but I couldn't shake the sad feelings I had as my day was interrupted by "death through a window".
I’ve been using Twitter a lot more lately and discovering more ways to take advantage of this 
push type of marketing. I’m sure everyone has their own reasons for using it and specific types of “tweets” they like to get. Me, I like interesting sites and articles. Things I can learn from to help me with my online marketing. Not so much interested in what you had for dinner last night or what you’re watching on TV. Sorry. I know it makes you human, but not so much what I want to know. TMI…..
If you use Twitter you know how important it is to get others to “retweet” your tweets. If you don’t know that means they take what you sent out and send it out to their followers. This is called “retweeting”.
Here’s a really slick service called RTLinks that shortens your link and at the same time makes it simple for others to retweet your message. When you shorten a link the page that comes up when someone clicks on that link has a frame at the top which includes a link to easily “retweet”, a link to your profile. Simple to use and free. Check it out at http://rtlinks.com/
Remember back when Al Gore allegedly said he "invented the Internet?" Well, he didn't, it was Google. Alright, I'm kidding, but sometimes it does appear that way. Google has consistently launched one killer application after another, and they weren't playing around when they entered into the pay-per-click arena with their "Adwords" program. Adwords is one of the largest online advertising networks, reaching more than 80% of all Internet users.
So how does it work? You choose keywords/phrases that are related to your products/services, write the text ads that will be shown when someone performs a search for your keywords, set a daily budget and the cost you want to pay every time someone clicks on your ad (C.P.C), and you're ready to run. There is no activation fee and no minimum monthly spend amount.
Ads are called "sponsored links", and appear along with search results on Google, as well as other affiliated search engines and "content sites" in the Google Network. This type of keyword based advertising will help you to reach a highly targeted audience quickly and easily. Not only can you run text ads, but also image/animated ads - even video. If you're a beginner at pay-per-click marketing, I would suggest you start out with text ads. You'll need to "learn to walk" before you run.
So what does a text ad look like? It consists of a 25 character headline, a description that is 2 lines of no more than 35 characters, and what's called a "display url". This url can reflect any domain you like because when it is clicked upon, the browser will take them to your "destination url". This is set up behind the scenes and does not appear in the ad itself.
A 3 line text ad might sound like a lot of room, but it's not. You've got a small area to make a huge impact on the searcher and make them want to click. Don't underestimate the power of a well written ad. If you don't know a lot about how to write "good copy", I suggest you study up. You'll want to include what's referred to as a "call to action" somewhere in the description. You'll also want to include your keywords if possible in your title and ad copy so they will appear in a bold font when your ad is displayed. For help see: http://www.google.com/adwords/learningcenter/text/18779.html
You also need to send them to the page that's most relevant to your ad copy. This page is called a "landing page", and you'll want to make sure it converts. A conversion happens when the visitor performs the action you intended. For example, signs up for your newsletter, buys your product, etc. With Adwords conversion tracking you'll be given a snippet of code to paste on your web page wherever any conversion takes place. For example, your thank you page. This allows you to track how well your pages are converting. You can also use Google Analytics. For more see: http://www.google.com/analytics/
Now that landing page load time is being factored into "quality score", you'll also want to pay attention to your page's load time. Quicker is better. For more information on this topic see....http://tinyurl.com/4bsyaq
Now, let's talk about keywords. The biggest mistake most people make is choosing single keywords. You're much better off with two and three word combinations. For example if you sell dog food, instead of targeting a generic term like "dogs", you'd be better off selecting "dog food". Remember, these keywords will be responsible for triggering your ads to appear, so do your homework and choose wisely. Targeting the wrong keywords can be a very expensive lesson. For help in choosing keywords use Google's tool located at- https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
When setting up your keywords, you'll also need to choose what's called a "match type". Here are your options:
1) Broad Match: The default setting. Searchers can
enter your keywords in any order and your ads
appear. Not the best option for targeted traffic.
2) Phrase Match: Your keywords must appear in
the exact order for your ads to appear. This is
more targeted than Broad Match.
3) Exact Match: This is the most targeted option.
The searcher must type in your key-phrase
exactly for your ads to appear.
4) Negative Match: You choose words you don't
want your ads to appear for when searched upon. For
example, typing in the word “-free” would stop your ads
from appearing if someone typed that word before
your key-phrase.
So who decides which ads will appear at the top? This is called "ad rank". Ads with the highest ad rank will appear at the top. Here's the formula, at least at this time as it's always open to change. Ad Rank=C.P.C. (cost per click) X Quality Score To understand this formula you'll need to know what factors go into "quality score".
Quality Score is determined by :
1) How relevant the keywords and ad copy are to the search query.
2) "The historical Click-through rate of the ad, and of the matched keyword on Google".
3) It also includes your account history, which looks at the click through rate of your keywords and ads.
4) Landing page load time.
And, according to Google "other relevant factors". One tip to increase your ad rank is to increase your cost per click, and improve your ad copy and keywords in order to increase your quality score. Ad ranking is determined slightly differently for the search network compared to the content network.
For the content network it looks like this:
Ad Rank= Content Bid X Quality Score
What is the difference between the Content Network and Search Network? Good question. I thought you'd never ask. This is another option you'll have to decide upon when setting up your account. If you choose "search sites", your ads are displayed on search results pages only. Google's search network consists of: AOL, Netscape, Earthlink, Compuserve, AT&T, Worldnet, Ask.com, Shopping.com, Froogle and of course Google itself.
If you choose for your ads to appear in the "content network", this includes community websites, online publications and other information based sites that choose to display Adwords ads. Partners in the content network include sites such as: Google's Gmail, About, Lycos, NY Times.com, Infospace, Reed Business, HowStuffWorks, Business.com, Food Network, HGTV, MarthaStewart.com and many other content based websites. Ads are targeted to the content of the individual pages.
You'll also have some control over where your ads appear and don't appear with what's called "placement targeting". You can actually pick and choose from websites you'd like your ads to appear on, or not to appear on. For more on placement targeting see http://tinyurl.com/5zwfy9
You can opt in to both search and content networks, or just one.
At this point you're probably thinking this is a lot to learn. And you're right - it is, but there are plenty of online resources to help you such as:
Adwords Help Center
http://www.adwords.google.com/support/
Adwords blog
http://adwords.blogspot.com/
Google is a powerful Internet giant and makes for a mighty advertising partner. Make sure you harness some of that muscle, and you too can become an Internet force to be reckoned with.
I just finished watching "The Girls Next Door" and I gotta tell ya I'm a bit choked up. Yea, yea, go ahead and have your fun, but I really loved that show. Those damn twins had to come in and ruin everything. The kicker is Holly is the one who discovered them and brought them home in the first place. Then they turn around and take over the mansion. See what happens when you're nice.
Anyway, I wanted to fill you in on this cool little netbook I recently purchased. They call em e-machines or netbooks as they're way smaller then your traditional notebook and their sole purpose really is to surf the web and email. From the first time I say one in Cosco I had to have one. Now I have my trusty IBM workhorse so I really didn't need one, but I love gadgets and for a little over 300.00 how could I resist.
The one I bought is by ASUS and you can get a look at it here:
http://www.buy.com/prod/asus-eee-pc-904ha-8-9-netbook-intel-atom-n270-1-6ghz-1gb-160gb-hd/q/loc/101/209708382.html
The look of it is very sleek. It's shiny ebony case is very designer looking but it does have a drawback of holding onto my fingerprints. The FBI would love this thing (LOL). It has a high-resolution screen at 1024X600 but if you don't mind scrolling you can set it higher if you like. Wireless is built in so cyber cafe here I come. It also has 160 GB of storage, 1.3 Megapixel WebCamera. It has an Intel Atom N270 1.6GH processor inside with an 8.9" LCD display. There's also a nice multimedia memory slot in the front for your camera or phone card which makes it easy to upload your pictures.
I've always been an XP fan and this comes pre-loaded with Win XP home edition and Microsoft Works for your document creation. The keyboard is not that much smaller but it does take some getting use to and the touch mouse is new for me. I'd also like to see the mouse selection controls to be a little easier on the fingers. Besides that this thing is really tough. I know you're jealous, aren't ya.
So there you have it. Merle has a new toy and now I'm off to play.
I just wanted to let you know.. 100 Percent Giveaway is set to launch soon! Like the name says, this giveaway offers 100% commission on all upgrades made by contributors and members that you invite.
Some of the biggest names in the business are going to be promoting this event, directing tons of members and new leads to your gift.
All you have to do is sign up, submit a gift, and promote the event to start earning 100% commissions while building your list! The event opens its doors on March 20th.
Hurry up and get in on this while you can! The sooner you start promoting the better!
http://100percentgiveaway.com/go/159/jv
YouTube - GoogleWebmasterHelp's Channel: Just launched Google's new YouTube Webmaster Channel is loaded with resources for webmasters. The information presented will help you with your website crawling and indexing questions, increasing your traffic and enhancing your site. Subscribe, or for more information go to http://www.google.com/webmasters/"
TwitThis- Ok, so I'm out surfing the Net today while I should be working out and I stumble across something on a web page that says "TwitThis"...Wow, I think to myself never seen this before. Being the curious little monkey that I am I quickly go to my good friend Google and search for it. And lo and behold in all of its glory there it is "TwitThis".
If you use Twitter you know how cool it is and there are hundreds of apps springing up every day to extend it's functionality but this is so very needed. I'm often on web pages and want to send it to my followers so I have to jump over to Twitter, this allows your site guest to easily click on the button and send out your link to his followers. Viral marketing in a flash. Sort of a 2009 twist on a "refer a friend" script, but much safer and cooler. Did I say cool again? Anyway, if you'd like to add this to your blog posts or website there are instructions on the site to spell it out for you. If you use Blogger like I do they point you to a site http://cranialsoup.blogspot.com/2009/01/add-twitthis-button-to-your-blogger.html that walks you step-by-step how to copy and paste the code. Even a fourth grader can do this. No charge to use TwitThis so don't be a boring tweeter get TwitThis now. Now, where are my weights.
Odinn Sorensen's "Daddys Birthday Giveaway - 40 Years" has Officially launched. And it's not the usual type of giveaway to say the least ... See for yourself: http://daddysbirthday.com/giveaway/users/signup/member/293
And we're talking 100's & 100's of quality gifts, literature and software here.
Well I have to get back to downloading now, But I just had to let you know about this one for sure. Enjoy all your new products,
P.S. Remember don't wait on this, It's only happening for a short while.
By Merle http://www.PayPerClickResearch.com
Google Adwords is one of the reigning champions when it comes to pay-per-click advertising with the search engines. Believe it or not, they launched their program about 8 years ago and it’s been added to and improved upon ever since. 
Google is not one to lay dormant. They're constantly adding on enhancements and expanding their services to fit the needs of today's online entrepreneurs.
When Google first launched Adwords, you only had the option of running ads in text format. Well, you know that saying, "You've come a long way baby". It really applies here. Along with text ads, you can also choose from image and video ads.
Let's review your options:
1) Text Ads: The first and still the most popular
of all advertising options. Total lines allowed
are four which include your url. Nothing fancy
here, so make sure your ad copy is powerful
and includes a strong call to action.
2) Image Ads: Utilize your logo or other images for
your ad copy. Can be static or animated. Ads don't
appear on search sites, but are distributed through
out the content network. Make sure you've opted into
the content network in order for your ads to be
displayed.
Ad formats can be .jpg, gif, or .png. Animated ads
can also be in flash format. Sizes available include:
250X250 square, 468X60 banner, 728X90 leaderboard,
300 X250 inline rectangle, 36X280 large rectangle,
120X600 skyscraper or 60X600 wide skyscraper.
2) Video Ads: How about advertising with short
videos? These ads also appear in Google's Content
Network. The videos appear as a static image and
the viewer must click on the video to actually play
it. If while the video is playing, the viewer clicks
on the url at the bottom of the ad, or clicks on the
video while it's playing, they are instantly taken
to the advertisers website. This type of ad can be
purchased on a CPC, (when they click and go to your
site) or on a CPM basis, (when the video is played).
As a side note, you can also reach cell phone users with "Mobile Ads". If a cell phone user searchesGoogle, ads are displayed. Only 2 lines of text with your url being the third line. Advertisers can choose from pay per click, (when someone visits your mobile site), or "pay per call", when they click on the call button. Image ads are also available here.
So there you have it. In case you thought Google only offered text ads, now you know all of your available options. No matter if you choose text, image, video or mobile ads, Google Adwords is definitely an innovator when it comes to pay-per-click advertising. Make sure
to include this leader in your next online advertising campaign.
So tomorrow is the biggest romantic day of the year. Well, that’s what they tell me. I guess it depends on who you live with and the status of your relationship. But even if your relationship is in the toilet there’s nothing like a box of gourmet chocolates to brighten your day. And if you don’t have someone who cares enough about you to buy you a box, go and treat yourself. One thing I have learned over the years is the best presents are the ones we give to ourselves. Hey, you’re worth it!
If you want to have a little picture fun and maybe create a little card or photo greeting for someone you love, check out the fun I had at Jpeg Fun.
Bill Mcrea and Davion Wong have teamed up for the first time to present the biggest Giveaway event to you - the Webmaster Giveaway!
http://www.webmastergiveaway.com/members.php?id=1409
Within this giveaway, you will find tons of high quality gifts meant to help you build your business.
If you own a website or a blog or create squeeze pages and just about any web page, then you will find many useful reports, scripts, graphics, software and even unique content to download!
Hurry, go ahead and download your gifts now.
Are you frustrated with Clickbank? For years now they have been the "reigning champion" when it comes to payment processing with a built in affiliate network. Clickbank makes it easy to sell your digital products and take advantage of their affiliate army, numbering over 100,000. It's simple really - you let others sell your products and they earn commission.
Recently a new competitor has hit the scene, Click2Sell.eu. They're a company based out of Europe who have put together a service that includes many of the features that others are lacking.
No matter if you're just a merchant (seller), or you're a "super affiliate" making a living online, Click2Sell incorporates some wonderful features and benefits. Let's take a closer look:
Merchants can sell digital or material products, even subscription based services. Your products can be sold in U.S. dollars, EUR or GBP. Payments are received instantly to your Paypal, Worldpay, Authorize.net, Google Checkout or Moneybookers account.
Once registered, you can be up and selling right away. There's no "waiting period" for approval of thank you or sales pages. You set your own pricing, no maximum price points, and it's easy to add new products.
Your digital products are uploaded to Click2Sell's server and protected from unauthorized access. The thank you pages shown to buyers are encrypted so they never know the actual download location. All download links expire within 72 hours of purchase, which eliminates the problemof them being shared with others.
The built in affiliate program allows you to easily pay any affiliate commission with a few clicks, using either Paypal or Moneybookers. You set the commission rate you're willing to pay, up to 95%. Affiliates can be automatically accepted or you can choose to manually approve them. This feature allows you to ban those you don't want promoting your products.
Merchants are also given a choice to show affiliates the conversion rates of your products in the marketplace, or not. And, of course they've built in powerful statistics and tracking which reports on the number of active affiliates, and their performance. Also, it tracks product conversion rates for different keywords, a product's rank and history of changes in the marketplace and much more.
Hang on to your seat because the benefits and features offered to affiliates are just as exciting. When searching for products you wish to promote, you can search through the marketplace using various criteria such as category, rank, amount earned per sale, conversion rate, popularity and more. This is a great way to find just the products that meet your needs.
The built in advanced tracking reports allow you to see how many people clicked on your affiliate link, and the number that actually purchased. See how much you've earned in "real time". Very nice. Even if they don't purchase right away, if someone clicks on your affiliate
link and goes back to purchase within six months, you'll still earn your commission.
Any monies earned in a month are paid out in full the following month. No money is held back in a reserve account.
So, how much is all of this going to cost you? Don't faint, but it's totally free to set up an account, no matter if you're a merchant or just an affiliate. Merchants are charged 1.00 to 3.00 USD on each sale.
Do yourself a favor and check out their website for further information.
Do you use Facebook? Fast on the heels of Myspace this social network is used by millions of people to connect and network with people all over the world. Want to add some really cool tools to your Facebook page? Here's a list of over 30 Facebook applications that will help you to network and get more done with Facebook. It's an excellent article and the resources are outstanding.
http://mashable.com/2009/01/22/business-facebook-apps/
If you’ve been waiting for the next generation of Internet Explorer it’s your lucky day. You can download the latest version, 8.0 now at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/beta/
Microsoft boosts a faster interface, more security and privacy. Fast is good, wish they would have taken that into consideration when putting together Vista <grin> It does look good so why not download now and take her for a spin. They also have included some “how to” videos you can watch to find out what all of the new features are and exactly how to use ‘em’. They can be found here http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/beta/videos.aspx
If you download it let me know what you think by leaving your comments. Enjoy!
If you’ve been a subscriber of mine for a long time, or you’d like to be I’m in the process of moving everything over to Yahoo Groups. Long story, my ezines were hosted on my old server, but my “hoster”died……….it’s an ugly story. I looked around for something free or low cost and Yahoo was about the best thing I could find. So if you’d like to subscribe and hear about the latest and greatest websites here’s your chance.
Connect and Share! A micro-blogging service similar to Twitter but with a twist. SPNBabble is for webmasters and website owners to connect and share their tips, and expertise on any topic related to webmasters. At this time still in Beta. Everything from SitePoint is cool so I'm sure this will be awesome.
I joined so make sure to follow me:
http://microblog.sitepronews.com/tw/message/264
Daily Mugshot A free service which allows you to take a daily photo of yourself, or as often as you like, and post have it automatically updated on your Blog or website. Sign up, shoot the shot, then add the widget code to your page. Then whenever you feel like updating the photo, take a new picture and it's instantly updated on your page. How cool is that?
Just think you can track the aging process daily, weekly or monthly and find out just how bad father time is being to your face.
This is really pretty slick. You go to the site put in your Twitter user ID and make sure you’re camera ready, as you’ll then be taken to a page to record your few seconds of fame. Then you’re given a new Twitter link where you can send all of your friends. When they get there they can see you’re smiling stupid looking face and hear you speak. Like I said it’s free won’t cost you anything and you’re friends will think you’re slicker then shi….The only thing I wished was that you could add the code directly to your twitter page so you didn’t have to have a totally separate link, but hey, beggars can’t be choosy.
To create your own Bubble Tweet go to: http://www.bubbletweet.com/
If you’d like to poke fun at my creation check it out here:
http://www.bubbletweet.com/id/ttm8x
Be nice with the comments, I’m very sensitive. <grin>
TwitPwr Do you use Twitter? If you do check out this new free service that allows you to create short url's (think tinyurl.com) but with a twist. This service is for sending out tweets only. They track the number of clicks that you receive from your "followers' and then gives your account a power rating. Your "power rating" is a combination of the traffic your links generate and also how many others you refer to TwitPwr's service and how much traffic they generate.
If you use Twitter this is one you'll want to add to your Twitter toolbox.
This free ebook “Unleash the Power of Ebook Rebranding” by Harvey Segal if for every online marketer. No matter if you own your own product or you don’t, you’ll learn the best way to get traffic to your site, or make money using the ebook itself. Check it out at
Harvey’s one of the “good guys” on the Net. No sign up required to download.
Free ebook by John Jantsch "Social Media for Small Businesses". If you have an online business and don't understand social networking you need this ebook.
Using social websites like Facebook, Myspace and even blogging is a great way to create buzz and drive traffic to your website. If you haven't been using it because you didn't know where to start, you'll get a free education here.
John is an excellent author and is considered an online marketing expert.
http://smallbusiness.officelive.com/socialmedia/ebook
Drop Your Goals Drop Your Goals (And Manage Your Life) by Michel Fortin is a book he wrote almost a decade ago that is now posted on his blog. Which I might add is a very good read. With all of the crap online today Michel is the "real deal". You can't download it, rather you'll need to view the individual chapters online, but it's pretty good. The book will show you how to stop setting goals and to start looking at your priorities and values instead.
Think your website is up to par from a marketing perspective? Think again. With Website Grader you type in your url and this free SEO tool will measure how effective your website’s marketing IQ really is.
The site looks at things like your social popularity, website traffic, Google page rank score and much more. It also offers suggestions and hints to help you improve your grade and your marketability.
One of my sites tested on a “high school” level for readability so I’ll take that as a good thing. I was also told where my site needed to be listed to improve my marketing score.
If you have a blog one site where you want to list it is:
<a href="http://technorati.com/claim/cq3fsikk2y" rel="me">Technorati Profile</a>
For more on Website Grader and test your websites go to: http://website.grader.com/
When I saw this I had to check it out being a photo buff myself. It’s 2008 as seen through the eyes of a camera lens. There are 3 sections to look at and the pictures are just breathtaking. I don’t know if it’s possible to get the experience of a full year in a few photos,but this is a tremendously great attempt.
Go to:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/12/the_year_2008_in_photographs_p.html
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/12/2008_in_photographs_part_2_of.html
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/12/2008_the_year_in_photographs_p.html
Hi Gang,
I hope everyone had a good holiday. I’ve been on vacation for the last ten days but tomorrow it’s back to the old grindstone. It went so fast but with all of the visiting and shopping I guess that’s why. I might need a vacation to recover from my vacation <LOL>
2009 is right around the corner so in case I don’t write soon I’ll talk to you next year!
Well, tomorrow is Christmas Eve already. Can you believe it? It seemed so far away now it’s barreling upon us at full speed. I remember when I was a kid the excitement of the holidays and waking up on Christmas morning at 6am just to see what Santa had brought me. Somehow over the years that special feeling I had has escaped me. Yes, it’s still a special magical time but with my “to do” list now as an adult it tends to take the fun out of it. As a kid you just sit back and bask in the holiday lights, decorating of the tree and Mom’s Christmas cookies. But when you’re grown up everyone looks to you to do all of those things your Mom automatically took care of for you. Still, I miss that feeling and feel sad that it has left me.
We all tend to get so caught up in buying presents, wrapping them, and running off to parties and work that we hardly can slow down long enough to feel anything.
So, my Christmas wish for you is to stop what you’re doing right now, close your eyes and think back to a Christmas morning when you were a kid and feel that feeling again. If you can hold onto it, and put some of your “daily duties” behind you and try to enjoy the holidays again just like you were a kid. Maybe we can’t be kids again, but mentally we can always go back in time and lay down in the snow and make a beautiful snow angel anytime we want. Heck, run outside right now and make one, your neighbors might think you’re a bit strange but I can guarantee you’ll feel like you’re 10 all over again. Just don’t expect your Mom to have hot chocolate waiting for you when you return inside. This grown up stuff sucks!
“Merry Christmas and Happy New Year”
MP3 Downloads In the mood for Christmas yet? If not, maybe you need a little holiday music to perk up your spirits. Say no more. Amazon is having a 25 days of music free MP3 download event over at their site so hop on over there and grab yourself some free tunes. Consider it an early Christmas gift. You know what they say, you might as well buy yourself something because no one else will!
AdSense Help Center Have a bunch of domain names laying around doing nothing? Well, why not use Google Adsense to make some money with them.
This option should appear in your Adsense account by Dec 18th. From Google themselves "With AdSense for domains, users can find relevant information rather than see empty pages or "page not found" errors."
I think it's a great idea and I've got a few domains myself that can take advantage of this new program. What do you think? Any thoughts? All comments are welcome.
I saw this on the news the other night and at first couldn't believe my eyes. A camera installed on this highway catches footage of one dog being hit by a car and how another dog comes and drags him to safety. Simply amazing!
What really irritates me about the video is all of the idiots that are just driving by and no one does anything to help. Hello. There's an injured animal laying in the middle of the highway and you do nothing?? Stuff like this really infuriates me. I'd like to think that the majority of people on this planet would do something.
Anyway, next time you think dogs don't think or dogs don't have feelings you need to watch this video and think again. This dog definitely knew what he was doing and sprung right into action to help his friend. As humans this video is a sad testimony to what goes in in this world every day.
Google's SEO Starter Guide When it comes to optimizing your website for the search engines who knows it better then Google. Well, they've decided to compile this secret information into a PDF ebook and share it with the rest of us. How nice of them. It won't cost you a dime and after reviewing it can tell you it's loaded with helpful tips that if followed will help your rankings.
Go and download your copy before they change their mind and start charging for it. All hail Google!
ElfYourself by OfficeMax - Powered by JibJab- I love this! Now I'm really going to get into the holiday spirit knowing I can "Elf Myself" and my boyfriend and my dogs.....the possibilities are endless. Come on, have some fun and show off your dork side by making your own little video and then send it to all your friends. They'll be so impressed with your talent.........they'll want to try it too. Forget work, take some time just for you and become an Elf today. You know you want to
SitePoint You've got about 12 days left to grab this free 208 page ebook. "The Art and Science of CSS" can be yours at no charge by going to this page and signing up to follow Sitepoint on Twitter. How cool is that?
Webpage removal request tool- Usually the question is "How do I get my web pages listed with Google?". But sometimes there may be a page that you need removed. Well, there's a place at Google for that too. Just fill out the form and Google will take your request into consideration. Bookmark this one as you may not need it now, but someday you might.
OK, so it's Tuesday and you're bored or maybe a little depressed that things aren't going your way. Before reaching for that bottle of "Jack" reach for your mouse button and watch this very touching motivational movie. If you've ever doubted your ability to do or be something this will have you thinking "why not me?".......you'll be inspired. So Click here to watch it now.
David Canham and Bill McRea have teamed up to bring this years best Giveaway. Make sure to join “The Thanksgiving Giveaway 2008” and JV with the top names in Giveaway marketing.
Join now and get in on this huge opportunity to grow your list and generate sales!
This is an unbelievable chance to test your offers, build a list a make some real money. You can also download some great free ebooks while there.
If you use Google Adwords for your pay-per-click advertising, you'll want to sit up and pay attention. Google has introduced a new tool for their users called "Display Ad Builder". It's purpose is to help you make professional graphical ads with no design experience.
If you're already an Adwords user, you can access the "AdBuilder" from within the Adwords interface. Inside you'll find over 40 professionally designed templates to choose from. You can customize the colors, fonts, images and text of each template to your exact specifications. You can also upload your own images, logos and videos to use in the creative process and add your own text. If you're all thumbs when it comes to design, this is really going to be of great assistance to you.
The ads created with Google's Ad Builder will be run on Google's content network which has over one million website partners to date. Only those who choose to run image or video ads can display these graphical ads on their site, so if you're an Adsense user and haven't opted in for image and video ads, and would like to run these ads on your site, make sure that you do.
Google's new tool is available to all advertisers in the U.S. and Canada. For more information see:
http://www.google.com/adwords/displayadbuilder/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bu1oaWkXSHM
If you've been holding back on running image based ads in your pay-per-click advertising, here's your opportunity to look like a pro, no design school needed.
Write to the President Elect of the USA- I don' t know about you but one of the reasons I'm glad the president election is over is that the commercials have stopped. All the mud slinging frankly gives me a headache. It's like little kids on the school playground, he did this and she did that. Too much negativity which is no good for anyone.
No matter if you wanted Obama to win or not, he's the new President of the U.S. - If you have something on your mind that you'd like to say to him stop over at this site and write him a letter. The address to send it to is included.
Amazon.com's Holiday Toy List This is so cool! Shop by child's age or price range. You'll find an array of really cool videos that demonstrates what each toy can do. I'm not a kid anymore but watching these videos makes me wish I was again. They have the coolest toys for kids these days. If you're going to be doing any Christmas shopping this year for kids, put this on your hit list.
The first Android powered phone and it's powered by Google software. They call it the G1 and it's now available. On the downside it looks like it's only available thru T-Mobile which is not my carrier. I wonder if others will be able to offer it soon. It looks way cool and since I love Google I'd love to have one of these "bad boys" for myself. Oh, a girl can dream can't she (LOL) Similar to an I-Phone and costing a little under 200.00 with a 2 year contract.
For more see:
http://www.fastcompany.com/big-idea/android-google-s-new-phone-will-force-apple-unlock-its-iphone-within-6-months
If you're doing any kind of pay-per-click advertising, you need to know what's working and what isn't when it comes to your advertising campaigns. Testing and tracking needs to be your middle name. So what are we testing? Your landing pages of course. A landing page is the page someone is sent to when they click on your ad. If your landing page isn't "converting" you'll be throwing good money after bad.
A conversion is what happens when someone visits your landing page and performs a wanted action. When you test your landing pages and find out what's working, you can use that information to increase your conversions.
The problem with testing is that the software you need is generally very expensive. Well, how would you like a top notch testing solution that won't cost you a dime? Google offers a free service called "Website Optimizer" http://www.google.com/websiteoptimizer . It runs from within your own web browser so there's nothing to download or install.
The first step is to decide what you want to test. You can test different headlines, graphics, layouts, calls to action, long copy versus short copy - all contained on the same page, or you can create two different pages to test against each other.
If you already use Google Adwords, you can access Optimizer from within the Adwords interface. It can be found under the "myclient center".
You can choose from two types of tests:
1) A/B Testing- Also known as split testing, and the easiest type of test to run. In this type of test you set up two different versions of your landing page and traffic is then split between the two to find out which one has a higher conversion.
2) MultiVariable Test- A bit more complicated, this type of test allows you to test different elements all on the same pages. For example, you could test different headlines, graphics, blocks of copy, etc.
Your landing page, (aka test page), must include some call to action. In other words, it must ask them to do something -subscribe to your ezine, buy your product or service, or download something.
Google calls each test an "experiment". There are only four steps when it comes to setting up an experiment. You'll be given some code to copy and paste onto your test page, and your conversion pages. A conversion page is where the viewer goes after performing the wanted action on your landing (test) page.
Make sure you set everything up correctly from the get-Go. If not, and you need to make a change to something, you'll have to go back and re-paste the code on all of your pages. Once the code is in place, Google's validation tool will tell you if something was not done correctly in your setup.
You can decide to test all or only a percentage of your website traffic. Keep in mind if you go with only a certain percentage of your visitors, the test will take longer to complete. Experiments can also be stopped or paused at anytime.
After your experiment starts, you'll be shown the estimated duration and number of impressions and conversions tracked. Google's graphical reports are simple and easy to read and understand. So even if you're not a math guru, you'll understand what you're looking at when viewing the test results.
Some other helpful resources to help you are:
Google's Optimizer Blog
http://www.websiteoptimizer.blogspot.com/
Website Optimizer 101- A Quick Start Guide
http://www.tinyurl.com/yxwman
Google Analytics Blog
http://www.analytics.blogspot.com
There is no doubt that testing and tracking your landing pages will increase your conversions. If you've been sitting on the sidelines, here's your chance to become a "landing page detective" - and the best part is, it won't cost you a dime.
Stop throwing money away and know once and for all what's working with your landing pages. Google's Website Optimizer makes it simple and easy for you to start testing. So what are you waiting for? Get out that white lab coat and wipe off those beakers -it's testing time.
OK, OK, I think Gia is the cutest dog ever, but maybe I'm partial. Here she is wearing my glasses. I caught her in bed with one of my books. Such a smart dog!
Do we have Christmas yet or why are these marketers
giving away all their products for free?
Yes, it's true... I've just had a look inside the
Halloween Giveaway and there are hundreds of products
waiting for you to be downloaded.
Check it out: http://www.halloweengiveaway.com/members.php?id=2172
Did you know that many internet marketers give-away
their best PLR and Resale Rights products at the Top
Giveaway Events?
Yes, and you can just grab these products and sell them
to others. People are still paying a good amount of
money to get their hands on the exact same products
that you can get for free at the Halloween Giveaway.
This site will only be open for a few of days so
don't miss this chance and signup now... it's F.R.E.E.
==> http://www.halloweengiveaway.com/members.php?id=2172
See you inside!
Pet Photo I entered my dogs in the cutest pet contest at Progressive. Please stop by and cast your vote for Baxter here http://www.progressive.com/petphotos/pet-image.aspx?id=1540
Vote for Gia here http://www.progressive.com/petphotos/pet-image.aspx?id=1543
Vote for Dakota herehttp://www.progressive.com/petphotos/pet-image.aspx?id=1544
Thanks for your help. I already know they're the cutest just need your help in proving that to everyone else
Cheap Domains Need to register a few new domains? GoDaddy is offering up certain extensions at only 1.99 for the first year. Limited time offer so check it out today and get those domains registered now.
I love to shop online, but sometimes when I fill my basket and I'm ready to check out the shipping charges have me reaching for my back button.
If you're tired of paying too much for shipping check out FreeShipping.org - Plenty of stores who won't charge you a dime for shipping. Sign up for their newsletter to be notified of ongoing specials.
Also, check out http://www.freeshippingon.com/free-shipping they also list plenty of online stores with a "no shipping charge" policy. Now get out your credit card and go shopping. At least the shipping is free.
Need some website help? Maybe a whole new re-design? Don't sweat it. This site has free templates done with Photoshop. Just browse through and download the one that's just right for you. http://www.templateyes.com/photoshop-templates.htm
Very professional looking and you won't have to pay that fancy pancy website designer after all.
At the risk of sounding like my mother, things were different when I was a kid. We actually went outside and played and didn't hang out on computers and play video games all day. We actually used our imaginations and invented our own fun. We didn't need someone to come along and entertain us. If you remember those days fondly watch this movie....."memories like the corners of my mind, misty water color memories of the way we were".........sing along now.....
http://www.therememberwhenmovie.com/
Hey there,
Ever want to be a super hero? Maybe you feel you are one in your everyday life. Now your dreams can become a reality.
Check me out as a super hero.
Visit http://www.makemesuper.com/r.php?i=4_93844-091010-f-Girl
It's fun and easy to make your own Super Hero video at http://www.makemesuper.com. You won't save the world but you can definitely share a few laughs.