CPanel is an easy user-interface site that lets you control your host account environment. The main peculiarity of this operating system is that it so simple to use that your below average computer user can�t mess it up. It�s got great features embedded into its panel and some of the features are listed below.
Site Tools
There are such tools available for your use, which are Web Protect (.htaccess editor), Custom error pages, Redirects, Ability to edit MIME types, Ability to edit Apache handlers, Install/Uninstall FrontPage Extensions, Search engine tool submitting and File Manager.
Email
The email program provides you with the possibility to add, remove, and change passwords while managing email accounts. CPanel is also provided by Webmail for the accounts, Auto responders, Forwarders, Mailing Lists, Spam filtering and some more.
Backup
Backup allows you to create copies of account files and databases. The backup menu also allows you to download any automatic backups that were downloaded by your CPanel administrator.
Stats
Here are different tools to survey your site popularity and efficiency. Those are Webalizer web stats, Webalizer FTP stats, Analog stats, AWStats, View latest visitors, View bandwidth usage and View error log modules.
FTP
There is a module that controls FTP accounts (add, remove, change password for its access), Anonymous FTP controls; Ability to change FTP login message and Ability to kill FTP sessions.
Advanced Stuff
You have an ability to add or remove subdomains, Subdomain Redirects and its Stats.
Advanced Tools
You are provided with tools of SSH access tools, Manage GPG keys and Cron jobs.
There are also Pre-Installed CGI Scripts. Those are Interchange Cart, Agora Cart, Bulletin Board, Java Chat, HTML Chat, phpMyChat, CGI Wrapper (for non-suexec installs), Random HTML generator, Advanced Guestbook, Counter Generator, Java Clock Generator, Java Countdown Generator, Secure FormMail clone, CGIEmail, Entropy Search, Entropy Banner. Network Tools are DNS Lookup and Traceroute. Database Management tools includes Managing MySQL databases and phpMyAdmin access.
For beginners, CPanel has a lot of options that are easy to use. CPanel works with most of browsers, such as IE, Opera, Firefox and others.
Ashok Arora is CEO of http://www.ewebguru.com/ leading reseller web hosting company of India and providing windows hosting services.
Monday, November 24, 2008
cPanel Primer For The New Webmaster
If you are about to purchase web hosting, it is very likely that you will be using cPanel to manage your hosting. To get the most from your web hosting, you need to learn the workings of cPanel.
What Can Be Done with cPanel?
If your web hosting doesn't offer shell access, cPanel will be the only way to manage your web hosting, cPanel is a web based server control software that allows you to do the following operations and a whole lot more. Common operations such as adding FTP users, creating databases, creating mail accounts and a multitude of other hosting operations can all be performed with cPanel.
Creating Mail Addresses
If you have the domain xyz.com and you would like to create a mail address called info@xyz.com, you can perform the following. Firstly click on the Mail tab from the front page. There you will see options to create, modify or delete mail accounts. If you to forward mail to an existing account here you can set an addres to forward to the account of your choosing. To read emails access the Webmail tab from the front page
Managing your domains
You may want more than a single address directed towards one web site, for example if you owned xyz.com and xyz.net, this can be achieved by using the Parked Domains tab, here you can type any address that you own to point to one of your web sites. If you hosting provider allows you to have more than one web site on your account, you can add domains via the Addon Domains tab. If you hosting provider supports the creation of sub domains you can create these via the Sub Domain tab.
FTP Options
You can create additional FTP users, set their access levels and other FTP related tasks using the FTP tab.
Database Tasks
To create a new database, or modify existing databases use the Database tab. Here you can perform all allowed database tasks, to perform more advanced database operations you will need to use phpMyAdmin, this can also be accessed from the Database tab.
Analyze The Logs
When running a web site you need to know what your visitors like, where they are coming from, which search engines are bringing the most visitors and all other data about them. Normally you will have access to the raw log files, but these are hard to analyze, to see data that is formatted about your visitors in an easy to read way go to Web/FTP Stats, here you will have the option to review your sites statistics using a variety of software such as Webalizer or AWStats.
Fantastico
Most if not all cPanel installations these days come with Fantastico which is an auto installer for many php based scripts. Fantastico can be used to install popular php scripts such as Wordpress, Mambo, phpbb and many other php products. Using Fantastico is the easiest way to setup these php based scripts and will save you having to manually upload the scripts, and more often than not Fantastico will do all the configuration of the script for you which is a real time saver.
Final Words
cPanel is a very advanced application for configuring your hosting and learning all the tricks can take some time, but hopefully with this guide you will have the basics down and you can progress from here as your experience with web hosting increases.
David J. Smith has recently written a Bluehost Review, Bluehost use cPanel for hosting management to allow new webmasters and veterans alike to easily configure their hosting.
What Can Be Done with cPanel?
If your web hosting doesn't offer shell access, cPanel will be the only way to manage your web hosting, cPanel is a web based server control software that allows you to do the following operations and a whole lot more. Common operations such as adding FTP users, creating databases, creating mail accounts and a multitude of other hosting operations can all be performed with cPanel.
Creating Mail Addresses
If you have the domain xyz.com and you would like to create a mail address called info@xyz.com, you can perform the following. Firstly click on the Mail tab from the front page. There you will see options to create, modify or delete mail accounts. If you to forward mail to an existing account here you can set an addres to forward to the account of your choosing. To read emails access the Webmail tab from the front page
Managing your domains
You may want more than a single address directed towards one web site, for example if you owned xyz.com and xyz.net, this can be achieved by using the Parked Domains tab, here you can type any address that you own to point to one of your web sites. If you hosting provider allows you to have more than one web site on your account, you can add domains via the Addon Domains tab. If you hosting provider supports the creation of sub domains you can create these via the Sub Domain tab.
FTP Options
You can create additional FTP users, set their access levels and other FTP related tasks using the FTP tab.
Database Tasks
To create a new database, or modify existing databases use the Database tab. Here you can perform all allowed database tasks, to perform more advanced database operations you will need to use phpMyAdmin, this can also be accessed from the Database tab.
Analyze The Logs
When running a web site you need to know what your visitors like, where they are coming from, which search engines are bringing the most visitors and all other data about them. Normally you will have access to the raw log files, but these are hard to analyze, to see data that is formatted about your visitors in an easy to read way go to Web/FTP Stats, here you will have the option to review your sites statistics using a variety of software such as Webalizer or AWStats.
Fantastico
Most if not all cPanel installations these days come with Fantastico which is an auto installer for many php based scripts. Fantastico can be used to install popular php scripts such as Wordpress, Mambo, phpbb and many other php products. Using Fantastico is the easiest way to setup these php based scripts and will save you having to manually upload the scripts, and more often than not Fantastico will do all the configuration of the script for you which is a real time saver.
Final Words
cPanel is a very advanced application for configuring your hosting and learning all the tricks can take some time, but hopefully with this guide you will have the basics down and you can progress from here as your experience with web hosting increases.
David J. Smith has recently written a Bluehost Review, Bluehost use cPanel for hosting management to allow new webmasters and veterans alike to easily configure their hosting.
36 Questions to ask your Web Host before you buy
Getting a website is essential for business. Making a mistake could cost you money as well as lost reputation. We have put together 36 questions across 10 areas that you should as any hosting company before you purchase a website. How they answer these questions will determine if this is the right website solution for you.
Technical Support:
Technical support should be readily available. Your average hold time should not exceed a couple of minutes. If the hold time for support is long, this means that there are a lot of problems with the product or there support is understaffed.
1. How strong is their technical support division?
2. What do they provide?
3. When are they available?
4. Does tech support cost extra?
Security:
The website hosting servers should be hosted at a remote location with multiple backup across multiple locations. The servers should also be dual firewall protected. If the websites are hosted in this type of an environment, it means that you are protected against any power failure, natural disaster, or people trying to steal your information. You can check how many servers a company is hosting by asking them for the address of one of the companies they host. Then go to http://whois.sc, and look up that name. Whois will tell you how many sites they are hosting. Use a company that is hosting several thousand websites.
5. How secure is the site?
6. What type of protection do they offer?
7. How can they insure that unauthorized users will not compromise the integrity of your Web site?
Storage:
The amount of storage your website hosting offers is related to how large your website can become. You want to make sure that you have enough space to not only to build your current website, but to expand in the future.
8. How much storage do they offer?
9. A typical Web site uses between 20-30 MB.
10. Do they offer enough extra megabytes to for your business to grow into? 100MB is a good starting point.
Domains:
Getting a Domain name for your business is one of the most important things you could do. To find out more about domains, read our article …
11. Will the hosting company register your Domain name?
12. How long will it take?
13. Is there any extra cost to you?
Design:
There are 3 basic website design options. 1) Hire a web developer to design the entire website. 2) A template solution that is inexpensive, but modifications are limited. 3) A table based solution where the initial content is provided by the hosting company but everything including the entire layout can be changed. Make sure which type you are purchasing and if this is the correct solution for you.
14. Do they have a builder that you can manage easily?
15. What type of computer background do you need to design your site?
16. Do you have internal control over content and updates?
Email:
There are 2 types of email. The first is POP 3. This email type is attached to the domain name, and the email can be viewed from a web mail Internet browser window, or downloaded to a program such as Outlook or Eudora. The second email type is a forwarding address or email alias, where you have an email address that is @YourDomain, but it forwards to a different email address. POP 3 is usually more desirable because you can view your email from a variety of applications, and it strengthens your company image.
17. How many email aliases comes with your package?
18. Will they have your domain name in them for a more professional appearance?
19. What is the cost to add extra emails?
20. Are there any additional costs?
Search Engine Optimization:
You should submit your website to the search engines, such as Google, about once a month. This will help to rank you higher in the search rankings
21. Are search engine submissions included in your package?
22. How does it work?
23. Do you have internal control over content and updates?
Cost:
Make sure there are no hidden costs. Some companies will give you a low price knowing that they can charge you for additional services latter on.
24. What are the costs involved?
25. What are the initial setup fees and what do you get exactly?
26. What are the monthly maintenance fees are what do they cover?
27. Are there any additional charges?
28. If so, what are they and why?
Contract:
29. Am I locked into a contract?
31. May I cancel at anytime?
32. Are there any penalty fees for switching or closing my account?
33. What happens to my content?
Value:
34. What makes them better than their competition?
35. Do they offer extra features, storage space, better technical support?
36. What exactly sets them apart?
For help or questions about Web Hosting, contact G2Apex at contact@G2Apex.com or call 408-454-6543
For more articles like this, go to [url]http://www.G2Apex.com/articles.html[7url]
Technical Support:
Technical support should be readily available. Your average hold time should not exceed a couple of minutes. If the hold time for support is long, this means that there are a lot of problems with the product or there support is understaffed.
1. How strong is their technical support division?
2. What do they provide?
3. When are they available?
4. Does tech support cost extra?
Security:
The website hosting servers should be hosted at a remote location with multiple backup across multiple locations. The servers should also be dual firewall protected. If the websites are hosted in this type of an environment, it means that you are protected against any power failure, natural disaster, or people trying to steal your information. You can check how many servers a company is hosting by asking them for the address of one of the companies they host. Then go to http://whois.sc, and look up that name. Whois will tell you how many sites they are hosting. Use a company that is hosting several thousand websites.
5. How secure is the site?
6. What type of protection do they offer?
7. How can they insure that unauthorized users will not compromise the integrity of your Web site?
Storage:
The amount of storage your website hosting offers is related to how large your website can become. You want to make sure that you have enough space to not only to build your current website, but to expand in the future.
8. How much storage do they offer?
9. A typical Web site uses between 20-30 MB.
10. Do they offer enough extra megabytes to for your business to grow into? 100MB is a good starting point.
Domains:
Getting a Domain name for your business is one of the most important things you could do. To find out more about domains, read our article …
11. Will the hosting company register your Domain name?
12. How long will it take?
13. Is there any extra cost to you?
Design:
There are 3 basic website design options. 1) Hire a web developer to design the entire website. 2) A template solution that is inexpensive, but modifications are limited. 3) A table based solution where the initial content is provided by the hosting company but everything including the entire layout can be changed. Make sure which type you are purchasing and if this is the correct solution for you.
14. Do they have a builder that you can manage easily?
15. What type of computer background do you need to design your site?
16. Do you have internal control over content and updates?
Email:
There are 2 types of email. The first is POP 3. This email type is attached to the domain name, and the email can be viewed from a web mail Internet browser window, or downloaded to a program such as Outlook or Eudora. The second email type is a forwarding address or email alias, where you have an email address that is @YourDomain, but it forwards to a different email address. POP 3 is usually more desirable because you can view your email from a variety of applications, and it strengthens your company image.
17. How many email aliases comes with your package?
18. Will they have your domain name in them for a more professional appearance?
19. What is the cost to add extra emails?
20. Are there any additional costs?
Search Engine Optimization:
You should submit your website to the search engines, such as Google, about once a month. This will help to rank you higher in the search rankings
21. Are search engine submissions included in your package?
22. How does it work?
23. Do you have internal control over content and updates?
Cost:
Make sure there are no hidden costs. Some companies will give you a low price knowing that they can charge you for additional services latter on.
24. What are the costs involved?
25. What are the initial setup fees and what do you get exactly?
26. What are the monthly maintenance fees are what do they cover?
27. Are there any additional charges?
28. If so, what are they and why?
Contract:
29. Am I locked into a contract?
31. May I cancel at anytime?
32. Are there any penalty fees for switching or closing my account?
33. What happens to my content?
Value:
34. What makes them better than their competition?
35. Do they offer extra features, storage space, better technical support?
36. What exactly sets them apart?
For help or questions about Web Hosting, contact G2Apex at contact@G2Apex.com or call 408-454-6543
For more articles like this, go to [url]http://www.G2Apex.com/articles.html[7url]
Free Website Hosting Vs. Paid Website Hosting Basics
Web site hosting service companies on the Internet permit the user to make their web site accessible through the World Wide Web. There are huge numbers of companies that offer web space on their server for their customers and also offer Internet connectivity in general in a data center. There can be various types of web site hosting companies. The main classification is the free web site hosting and the paid web site hosting service companies.
In case of free web site hosting, the user has the right to upload his or her web site content on the server space that is provided by the web site hosting company without any cost. This type of web site hosting service is great for people who are new to to internet and plan to get familiar with web site creation and functionality of web servers. On the other hand, to get your web site uploaded on a web space that is provided by a paid web site hosting company, you need to pay the company periodic fees. The fee amount may vary from company to company. The paid web site hosting companies are best suited for professional web site owners. People who need large web space to upload their web sites and who expect a certain amount of web site visitors which is restricted on free hosting accounts to a minimum.
The revenue that the paid web hosting service companies get is through the fee that is paid to the company by the web site owners. In case of free web site hosting companies, the main source of income are the ads and banners that can be placed on their clients web pages.
The main advantage of using a free web site hosting service is that they are free of cost and hence make a perfect choice for people who are new into the business and are just looking to start out. They are perfect for people who just want to display a minimum content on the World Wide Web in small amount of web space. The other advantage of using the free web site hosting service is that most of these companies provide integrated, easy tools to upload the pages on to the hosting account. They do this realizing the fact that the free web site hosting services are generally utilized by the newbies.
There are also certain disadvantages of using the free web site hosting services. When using the free web site hosting service, you are forced to place the ads and banners by the web site hosting company on your web pages. Also the revenue that is obtained by the ads goes to the web site company. In case of paid web site hosting service, ads and banners placed on your web site are according to your will and the revenue of the banners and ads placed on your web site goes in your pocket. Also in some case of free web site hosting, the domain name of your web site starts with the web site hosting company name followed by your web site name. This is not the case of paid web site hosting service. You get a unique web site domain. The web space provided by free web site hosting service is limited whereas in case of paid web site hosting service you can buy the web space according to your requirements.
About The Author:
Roger McLean is marketing executive of http://www.mojoscripts.com. Copyright 2007 by Tela IT Inc. The article may be reproduced in newsletters or on websites provided that the complete article text is included, unchanged, and that neither the copyright declaration nor this license are removed.
In case of free web site hosting, the user has the right to upload his or her web site content on the server space that is provided by the web site hosting company without any cost. This type of web site hosting service is great for people who are new to to internet and plan to get familiar with web site creation and functionality of web servers. On the other hand, to get your web site uploaded on a web space that is provided by a paid web site hosting company, you need to pay the company periodic fees. The fee amount may vary from company to company. The paid web site hosting companies are best suited for professional web site owners. People who need large web space to upload their web sites and who expect a certain amount of web site visitors which is restricted on free hosting accounts to a minimum.
The revenue that the paid web hosting service companies get is through the fee that is paid to the company by the web site owners. In case of free web site hosting companies, the main source of income are the ads and banners that can be placed on their clients web pages.
The main advantage of using a free web site hosting service is that they are free of cost and hence make a perfect choice for people who are new into the business and are just looking to start out. They are perfect for people who just want to display a minimum content on the World Wide Web in small amount of web space. The other advantage of using the free web site hosting service is that most of these companies provide integrated, easy tools to upload the pages on to the hosting account. They do this realizing the fact that the free web site hosting services are generally utilized by the newbies.
There are also certain disadvantages of using the free web site hosting services. When using the free web site hosting service, you are forced to place the ads and banners by the web site hosting company on your web pages. Also the revenue that is obtained by the ads goes to the web site company. In case of paid web site hosting service, ads and banners placed on your web site are according to your will and the revenue of the banners and ads placed on your web site goes in your pocket. Also in some case of free web site hosting, the domain name of your web site starts with the web site hosting company name followed by your web site name. This is not the case of paid web site hosting service. You get a unique web site domain. The web space provided by free web site hosting service is limited whereas in case of paid web site hosting service you can buy the web space according to your requirements.
About The Author:
Roger McLean is marketing executive of http://www.mojoscripts.com. Copyright 2007 by Tela IT Inc. The article may be reproduced in newsletters or on websites provided that the complete article text is included, unchanged, and that neither the copyright declaration nor this license are removed.
Why Top Level Domain Names Mean Better Search Engine Rankings
With the recent explosion in the availability of website domain name extensions (i.e. .com, .net, .ws, and others) it's never been easier to register a domain name that is highly descriptive of your website's subject matter.
For example, if you want to create a website about search engine optimization, it would make sense to use a domain name including the phrase "SEO" or "search optimization" or something similar. However, you can bet that many other people have had the same idea, so "seo.com" is no longer available, nor is "seo.net", .org, .biz, or any other simple domain name with a top level extension.
Additionally, it's a fact that most people who are searching on the internet are going to give top priority to websites with top level domain names like .com or .net.
This is simply a matter of these being original suffixes, and the average web surfer believes that they have more credibility and authority.
This is especially important if your website is selling or promoting your business or products, as these factors translate into how trustworthy your website may or may not be in the mind of the web surfer.
To put it simply, A top level domain name extension is one of your strongest sales tools.
Many people believe that the search engines will give more weight to your domain when considering your site for search engine rankings. Keep in mind that there should be a clear relationship between your domain name and website theme to increase your chances of ranking well in search engines.
Here are a couple of tips that may help you to bag that all important top level domain name for your site.
First, try a plural version of your key phrase. So, in the example above, you might check out the availability of top level names using "search-engine-optimizers", rather than "search-engine-optimizer".
However, when used on its own, this tactic may be a bit too obvious, and more often than not, when the singular version of a phrase is taken, so is the plural.
This second little trick is far more effective and well worth trying if you are looking for a top level name for your site. The trick is - Numbers.
Not numbers at the beginning of the domain name - that's already been done to death and you only have to look at a list of expired domains to see how many owners of such addresses just allow them to die. Why? Because they don't work very well with search engines or with real people - and something like "0000seo.com" just looks wierd.
So that's not likely to be of much benefit to your site. But numbers in the "body" of the domain name itself, especially the numbers 2 and 4, very possibly will be.
Why?
The number 2 is a simple substitute for the word "to" or "two" and 4 can be read as "for" or "four".
Now combine that with one other little substitution trick. Take the word "You" and substitute the letter "U", and finding a good top level domain name that still relates very closely to the site subject matter becomes relatively easier.
Let's take our SEO example to demonstrate how effective a strategy like this can be. Using all three of the highlighted tricks, try searching for "seo4u.com" or "searchoptimizers4u.com". Still available? If not, how about "seo4us.com" or "searchoptimizers4me.com"?
Even if all of these are now taken, all you need is a bit of imagination to create a ".com" domain name that relates directly to your subject matter. An easy but effective method of grabbing good a top level domains for your websites.
For More Highly Effective Internet Marketing Tactics Visit The Internet Marketing Website. Get Free Internet Marketing Tips, Tools and Techniques: http://www.TheInternetMarketingWebsite.com
For example, if you want to create a website about search engine optimization, it would make sense to use a domain name including the phrase "SEO" or "search optimization" or something similar. However, you can bet that many other people have had the same idea, so "seo.com" is no longer available, nor is "seo.net", .org, .biz, or any other simple domain name with a top level extension.
Additionally, it's a fact that most people who are searching on the internet are going to give top priority to websites with top level domain names like .com or .net.
This is simply a matter of these being original suffixes, and the average web surfer believes that they have more credibility and authority.
This is especially important if your website is selling or promoting your business or products, as these factors translate into how trustworthy your website may or may not be in the mind of the web surfer.
To put it simply, A top level domain name extension is one of your strongest sales tools.
Many people believe that the search engines will give more weight to your domain when considering your site for search engine rankings. Keep in mind that there should be a clear relationship between your domain name and website theme to increase your chances of ranking well in search engines.
Here are a couple of tips that may help you to bag that all important top level domain name for your site.
First, try a plural version of your key phrase. So, in the example above, you might check out the availability of top level names using "search-engine-optimizers", rather than "search-engine-optimizer".
However, when used on its own, this tactic may be a bit too obvious, and more often than not, when the singular version of a phrase is taken, so is the plural.
This second little trick is far more effective and well worth trying if you are looking for a top level name for your site. The trick is - Numbers.
Not numbers at the beginning of the domain name - that's already been done to death and you only have to look at a list of expired domains to see how many owners of such addresses just allow them to die. Why? Because they don't work very well with search engines or with real people - and something like "0000seo.com" just looks wierd.
So that's not likely to be of much benefit to your site. But numbers in the "body" of the domain name itself, especially the numbers 2 and 4, very possibly will be.
Why?
The number 2 is a simple substitute for the word "to" or "two" and 4 can be read as "for" or "four".
Now combine that with one other little substitution trick. Take the word "You" and substitute the letter "U", and finding a good top level domain name that still relates very closely to the site subject matter becomes relatively easier.
Let's take our SEO example to demonstrate how effective a strategy like this can be. Using all three of the highlighted tricks, try searching for "seo4u.com" or "searchoptimizers4u.com". Still available? If not, how about "seo4us.com" or "searchoptimizers4me.com"?
Even if all of these are now taken, all you need is a bit of imagination to create a ".com" domain name that relates directly to your subject matter. An easy but effective method of grabbing good a top level domains for your websites.
For More Highly Effective Internet Marketing Tactics Visit The Internet Marketing Website. Get Free Internet Marketing Tips, Tools and Techniques: http://www.TheInternetMarketingWebsite.com
Your Domain Can be Stolen
Believe it or not, even thieves are already high-tech these days. Browsing the net and reading through online forums, I came across a startling story about how thieves have found their way to infiltrate the world wide web. I read about a lady who was planning to put up a web page of her own. As the normal process dictates, she first thought of a domain name for her website. She chose her own name and had it checked in CNet Domain Search page for domain registrations and found out that it is very much available. A couple of days later, she checked it again and was shocked to discover that her name is already taken. She found out that her name is already a domain name registered to a firm with the name Chesterton Holdings.
The helpless lady brought the matter to the attention of Larry Seltzer, a columnist of eweek.com and a staunch critic of cyber crimes. Larry Seltzer investigated the matter himself. He checked the website whose domain name is that of the lady's. He immediately came to a conclusion that firm who "owns" the website and its domain name is a domain squatter, one among many domain squatters scattered all over cyberspace. Seltzer saw that the website is full of advertisements all domain squatters are associated with. He even claimed that the advertisements were syndicated through information.com. In Seltzer's column in eweek.com, he followed the next events regarding the theft of the lady's domain name. He reported that after a number of days, Chesterton, the bogus owner, has already let go of the stolen domain. He said this could have been prompted by the low hits or very few visits the site had. Apparently, silly domain squatters do not stay long in a domain, which is not lucrative for them. Squatters are somehow wise, at least in that sense.
The question that was immediately formed in my mind that Mr. Seltzer also posted, is how in the world was Chesterton able to register someone else's name to be its domain name? Moreover, why was the squatter allowed or given the permission to have ownership of a domain that is obviously not theirs? Anyway, I think my questions are unanswerable as of the moment. Even big companies and other established domain owners cannot exactly explain how domain theft is being successfully done. I bet you have also heard of the stealing of panex.com's domain. Well, if you have not, the bottom line is that even the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), whose mandate is to police the world wide web, failed to fully account the culprit behind the theft.
Curious about how rampant domain theft is, I made a little cyber investigation and probed on my own. I logged on to search.com, a property of CNet domain, and searched for the availability of my own name. I guess you've already guessed the result. Yes, my own name is already a registered domain name. With whom is it registered? Bingo! It is with Chesterton Holdings. My possible domain is already stolen. But I am confident the squatter will leave sooner than I think. My name is unpopular nor does it sound good to generate thousands of hits and visits. There is no way that notorious domain thief can make profit out of my unpopular name.
Though my stolen (domain) name is not much of a big fuss for me or for others, domain theft is an issue of great concern for other web owners. It is alarming that theft incidence can happen so easily and victims cannot do anything to account for the theft done.
Who is behind this syndicated theft? I do not think we can answer right now. Who is to be blamed for the proliferation of cyber thieves? We can go on pointing fingers but still not quell domain theft. I guess the only question we can answer as of now is who is already registered in a particular domain and who is not -- thanks to whois, a *querying database*. Whois is a transmission control protocol(TCP)-based query or a response protocol. It is utilized to identify the owner of a domain name, an IP address, or an autonomous system number on the internet. But then, it is also very probable that domain squatters are using whois to know which domain, in the form of people's real names, can they squat in.
Domain theft and squatting is really a complex and alarming matter. This issue is a concern for current domain owners but more so to those planning to put up a website. This issue is most especially pertinent to those who are planning to put up an online business and use a website for marketing. I guess the best that people can do is to seek only the services of trusted web servers and hosts for domain registrations to ensure the security of their domain.
For more valuable information on domain registration, affiliate program(s), please visit http://www.businessanalyst.com
The helpless lady brought the matter to the attention of Larry Seltzer, a columnist of eweek.com and a staunch critic of cyber crimes. Larry Seltzer investigated the matter himself. He checked the website whose domain name is that of the lady's. He immediately came to a conclusion that firm who "owns" the website and its domain name is a domain squatter, one among many domain squatters scattered all over cyberspace. Seltzer saw that the website is full of advertisements all domain squatters are associated with. He even claimed that the advertisements were syndicated through information.com. In Seltzer's column in eweek.com, he followed the next events regarding the theft of the lady's domain name. He reported that after a number of days, Chesterton, the bogus owner, has already let go of the stolen domain. He said this could have been prompted by the low hits or very few visits the site had. Apparently, silly domain squatters do not stay long in a domain, which is not lucrative for them. Squatters are somehow wise, at least in that sense.
The question that was immediately formed in my mind that Mr. Seltzer also posted, is how in the world was Chesterton able to register someone else's name to be its domain name? Moreover, why was the squatter allowed or given the permission to have ownership of a domain that is obviously not theirs? Anyway, I think my questions are unanswerable as of the moment. Even big companies and other established domain owners cannot exactly explain how domain theft is being successfully done. I bet you have also heard of the stealing of panex.com's domain. Well, if you have not, the bottom line is that even the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), whose mandate is to police the world wide web, failed to fully account the culprit behind the theft.
Curious about how rampant domain theft is, I made a little cyber investigation and probed on my own. I logged on to search.com, a property of CNet domain, and searched for the availability of my own name. I guess you've already guessed the result. Yes, my own name is already a registered domain name. With whom is it registered? Bingo! It is with Chesterton Holdings. My possible domain is already stolen. But I am confident the squatter will leave sooner than I think. My name is unpopular nor does it sound good to generate thousands of hits and visits. There is no way that notorious domain thief can make profit out of my unpopular name.
Though my stolen (domain) name is not much of a big fuss for me or for others, domain theft is an issue of great concern for other web owners. It is alarming that theft incidence can happen so easily and victims cannot do anything to account for the theft done.
Who is behind this syndicated theft? I do not think we can answer right now. Who is to be blamed for the proliferation of cyber thieves? We can go on pointing fingers but still not quell domain theft. I guess the only question we can answer as of now is who is already registered in a particular domain and who is not -- thanks to whois, a *querying database*. Whois is a transmission control protocol(TCP)-based query or a response protocol. It is utilized to identify the owner of a domain name, an IP address, or an autonomous system number on the internet. But then, it is also very probable that domain squatters are using whois to know which domain, in the form of people's real names, can they squat in.
Domain theft and squatting is really a complex and alarming matter. This issue is a concern for current domain owners but more so to those planning to put up a website. This issue is most especially pertinent to those who are planning to put up an online business and use a website for marketing. I guess the best that people can do is to seek only the services of trusted web servers and hosts for domain registrations to ensure the security of their domain.
For more valuable information on domain registration, affiliate program(s), please visit http://www.businessanalyst.com
The Top 10 List of the Best Affiliate Networks
First, if you're new to affiliate marketing, some preliminary explanations may prove helpful in your quest for becoming a part-time or full-time affiliate marketer.
preliminary explanations may prove helpful in your quest for becoming a part-time or full-time affiliate marketer.
What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is quite simple to explain: you promote and market a product or company in return for a commission if a sale or lead is made from your marketing efforts. With online affiliate marketing you simply place your affiliate ID embedded links on your web pages and if a customer clicks
your link and proceeds to that designated company's site and makes a purchase or signs up for a service, you earn a commission.
Affiliate marketing, if done right, can prove to be a very lucrative venture. Commissions can run anywhere from a few pennies to thousands of dollars for just one click or sale. Professional marketers develop affiliate relationships with hundreds of companies and build sites to promote these companies and products.
Needless to say, the advent of the Internet has been a golden opportunity for affiliate marketers to really expand their promotions and marketing. As more as more customers choose to buy online, advertising and purchases keep increasing at a maddening pace.
To accommodate all this online ecommerce we have seen the birth of large affiliate networks, operated by large corporations. Make no mistake, affiliate marketing is big business, accounting for billions in sales and commissions.
What is an Affiliate Network?
An affiliate network is a third party facilitator which brings affiliates and companies together. It connects Advertisers (companies with products or services to sell) together with Publishers (those who display and promote these products or services) so they can do business. The affiliate network does all the tracking, accounting and payment of commissions.
The following Top 10 list of the best Affiliate Networks is compiled by an actual full-time affiliate marketer who has worked these programs for over five years. This list is subjective and based on first-hand experience. It should be seen in this light and every marketer probably will have a different list or have these in a different picking order depending on the type and nature of their marketing.
But this list of the 10 Best Affiliate Networks will give you a general rundown on these affiliate networks and how they operate.
1. Commission Junction (www.cj.com)
Now owned by ValueClick, Commission Junction was one of the first affiliate networks. It is also one of the most important with many of the Top Fortune 500 companies listed here.
CJ is an international network with excellent stats and tracking (some of the best you will find), along with regular monthly payments makes this the obvious first choice for anyone wishing to try affiliate marketing.
For those new or old at affiliate marketing, CJ also holds regular seminars and training sessions.
Most merchants offer pay-per-lead or pay-per-sale, one of the best features is the performance bonuses and incentives. As most experienced marketers will know, selling 50k to 100k each month for merchants will bring in the big incentives or bonuses.
Commissions run as high as 50% but most are in 3% to 15% range. You have the option of direct deposit for your payments. One major plus, CJ will tell you which merchants
and ads are earning the most revenue for affiliates so you can easily choose which merchants are worth promoting.
2. ClickBank (www.clickbank.com)
ClickBank is another professional affiliate network with
excellent stats and tracking. Easy to use and pays every two weeks.
ClickBank is slightly different from the other networks in that it deals mainly with digital download products. The commissions from ClickBank are usually much higher than the other networks, around 40% to 50% or more.
ClickBank has over 10,000 products but keep in mind, info-marketing products will have stiff competition from all the savvy and well established Internet marketers promoting these same products. Consider youself warned!
The most successful marketing tactic here is to first dominate your targeted niche with your blogs and sites, then find affiliate products to match your content or niche subject matter, whether it be gardening equipment, gaming laptops or Mediterranean cruises!.
3. LinkShare (www.linkshare.com)
LinkShare is another excellent affiliate network. It is one of the oldest affiliate networks on the web. LinkShare was recently acquired by the Japanese Portal Rakuten, with a price tag of $425 million.
Very good stats and reporting with their Synergy Analytics system. Many Top Fortune 500 companies are presented here so you will no trouble finding products and services to romote.
LinkShare pays commissions as they receive them from merchants - monthly checks.
4. Affiliate Window (www.affiliatewindow.com)
Affiliate Window is an UK based affiliate network which offers top brand companies and good commission rates. Pays once a month and has excellent stats.
Savvy affiliate marketers know promoting in other countries can be much easier than promoting in the American market place. Mainly because these other countries haven't become saturated with online marketers, little competition means more sales.
5. Amazon (www.amazon.com)
Amazon is another excellent affiliate network to join if you want to sell products from your site or blog. Amazon has excellent stats and the links are very easy to create and place on your web pages.
You also have the option of creating your own store with Amazon aStores. Amazon also now has context link ads and Widgets!
Commission rates are somewhat lower than the other networks but making sales thru Amazon is much, much easier. You will make more sales mainly because Amazon is a well known and trusted online company. Amazon now pays monthly.
6. Shareasale (www.shareasale.com)
Shareasale is yet another easy system to work with good stats and simple to create links. With 1,700+ merchants to choose from, Shareasale is another good affiliate network to promote.
The control panel is easy to use and the reporting is very good. Usually pays the month following your sales.
7. Google (www.google.com/adsense/)
Many won't think of Google as an Affiliate network but it does run affiliate products thru its Adsense program. Very few products but like everything from Google it is professionally run and top caliber all the way.
Please note, top marketers know affiliate links/products on their content pages will return 10 times what Google Adsense will give them. However, these marketers will also know using Google Adsense on less targeted pages throughout your sites or blogs will give you a healthy return.
Besides receiving that monthly check from a multi-billion dollar company like Google will put a smile on your face every time.
8. LinkConnector (www.linkconnector.com)
LinkConnector is a relatively new affiliate network which launched in 2004. It has Pay Per Click, Pay Per Sale and Pay Per Lead. Good stats and reporting. Worth checking out for their different types of new affiliate technology such as Direct Linking which passes pagerank along to the merchant's site.
9. CPA Empire (www.cpaempire.com)
Great CPA (Cost Per Action) network especially if you do a lot of email marketing and promotions. Geared towards acquiring leads and sign-ups but does offer other merchants as well. Good stats and reporting.
10. Independents
Individual affiliate deals with different companies which may or may not be listed with the major networks above. Your independent affiliate deals will be some of your most lucrative since you can sometimes work out separate private commission rates and bonuses. Aim for residual income here. Don't ignore this aspect of affiliate marketing as it will pay the highest dividends.
Keep in mind, all the above affiliate networks are iddlemen,
they come between you and the merchant you're promoting. For affiliates with a proven track record, who have shown they can deliver the customers and sales, a private deal cutting out the middleman/fees can prove very beneficial for both parties. If you're fortunate enough to become known as a super affiliate, these private deals will become more common and more profitable.
Professional affiliate marketers use all of the above networks to create multiple income streams from their marketing efforts. In the process, they build a healthy monthly income for themselves and their families. There is no reason why you can't do the same.
The author is a full-time online marketer who has numerous websites, including two sites on Internet marketing. For the latest and most effective web marketing tools try: Internet Marketing Tools
preliminary explanations may prove helpful in your quest for becoming a part-time or full-time affiliate marketer.
What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is quite simple to explain: you promote and market a product or company in return for a commission if a sale or lead is made from your marketing efforts. With online affiliate marketing you simply place your affiliate ID embedded links on your web pages and if a customer clicks
your link and proceeds to that designated company's site and makes a purchase or signs up for a service, you earn a commission.
Affiliate marketing, if done right, can prove to be a very lucrative venture. Commissions can run anywhere from a few pennies to thousands of dollars for just one click or sale. Professional marketers develop affiliate relationships with hundreds of companies and build sites to promote these companies and products.
Needless to say, the advent of the Internet has been a golden opportunity for affiliate marketers to really expand their promotions and marketing. As more as more customers choose to buy online, advertising and purchases keep increasing at a maddening pace.
To accommodate all this online ecommerce we have seen the birth of large affiliate networks, operated by large corporations. Make no mistake, affiliate marketing is big business, accounting for billions in sales and commissions.
What is an Affiliate Network?
An affiliate network is a third party facilitator which brings affiliates and companies together. It connects Advertisers (companies with products or services to sell) together with Publishers (those who display and promote these products or services) so they can do business. The affiliate network does all the tracking, accounting and payment of commissions.
The following Top 10 list of the best Affiliate Networks is compiled by an actual full-time affiliate marketer who has worked these programs for over five years. This list is subjective and based on first-hand experience. It should be seen in this light and every marketer probably will have a different list or have these in a different picking order depending on the type and nature of their marketing.
But this list of the 10 Best Affiliate Networks will give you a general rundown on these affiliate networks and how they operate.
1. Commission Junction (www.cj.com)
Now owned by ValueClick, Commission Junction was one of the first affiliate networks. It is also one of the most important with many of the Top Fortune 500 companies listed here.
CJ is an international network with excellent stats and tracking (some of the best you will find), along with regular monthly payments makes this the obvious first choice for anyone wishing to try affiliate marketing.
For those new or old at affiliate marketing, CJ also holds regular seminars and training sessions.
Most merchants offer pay-per-lead or pay-per-sale, one of the best features is the performance bonuses and incentives. As most experienced marketers will know, selling 50k to 100k each month for merchants will bring in the big incentives or bonuses.
Commissions run as high as 50% but most are in 3% to 15% range. You have the option of direct deposit for your payments. One major plus, CJ will tell you which merchants
and ads are earning the most revenue for affiliates so you can easily choose which merchants are worth promoting.
2. ClickBank (www.clickbank.com)
ClickBank is another professional affiliate network with
excellent stats and tracking. Easy to use and pays every two weeks.
ClickBank is slightly different from the other networks in that it deals mainly with digital download products. The commissions from ClickBank are usually much higher than the other networks, around 40% to 50% or more.
ClickBank has over 10,000 products but keep in mind, info-marketing products will have stiff competition from all the savvy and well established Internet marketers promoting these same products. Consider youself warned!
The most successful marketing tactic here is to first dominate your targeted niche with your blogs and sites, then find affiliate products to match your content or niche subject matter, whether it be gardening equipment, gaming laptops or Mediterranean cruises!.
3. LinkShare (www.linkshare.com)
LinkShare is another excellent affiliate network. It is one of the oldest affiliate networks on the web. LinkShare was recently acquired by the Japanese Portal Rakuten, with a price tag of $425 million.
Very good stats and reporting with their Synergy Analytics system. Many Top Fortune 500 companies are presented here so you will no trouble finding products and services to romote.
LinkShare pays commissions as they receive them from merchants - monthly checks.
4. Affiliate Window (www.affiliatewindow.com)
Affiliate Window is an UK based affiliate network which offers top brand companies and good commission rates. Pays once a month and has excellent stats.
Savvy affiliate marketers know promoting in other countries can be much easier than promoting in the American market place. Mainly because these other countries haven't become saturated with online marketers, little competition means more sales.
5. Amazon (www.amazon.com)
Amazon is another excellent affiliate network to join if you want to sell products from your site or blog. Amazon has excellent stats and the links are very easy to create and place on your web pages.
You also have the option of creating your own store with Amazon aStores. Amazon also now has context link ads and Widgets!
Commission rates are somewhat lower than the other networks but making sales thru Amazon is much, much easier. You will make more sales mainly because Amazon is a well known and trusted online company. Amazon now pays monthly.
6. Shareasale (www.shareasale.com)
Shareasale is yet another easy system to work with good stats and simple to create links. With 1,700+ merchants to choose from, Shareasale is another good affiliate network to promote.
The control panel is easy to use and the reporting is very good. Usually pays the month following your sales.
7. Google (www.google.com/adsense/)
Many won't think of Google as an Affiliate network but it does run affiliate products thru its Adsense program. Very few products but like everything from Google it is professionally run and top caliber all the way.
Please note, top marketers know affiliate links/products on their content pages will return 10 times what Google Adsense will give them. However, these marketers will also know using Google Adsense on less targeted pages throughout your sites or blogs will give you a healthy return.
Besides receiving that monthly check from a multi-billion dollar company like Google will put a smile on your face every time.
8. LinkConnector (www.linkconnector.com)
LinkConnector is a relatively new affiliate network which launched in 2004. It has Pay Per Click, Pay Per Sale and Pay Per Lead. Good stats and reporting. Worth checking out for their different types of new affiliate technology such as Direct Linking which passes pagerank along to the merchant's site.
9. CPA Empire (www.cpaempire.com)
Great CPA (Cost Per Action) network especially if you do a lot of email marketing and promotions. Geared towards acquiring leads and sign-ups but does offer other merchants as well. Good stats and reporting.
10. Independents
Individual affiliate deals with different companies which may or may not be listed with the major networks above. Your independent affiliate deals will be some of your most lucrative since you can sometimes work out separate private commission rates and bonuses. Aim for residual income here. Don't ignore this aspect of affiliate marketing as it will pay the highest dividends.
Keep in mind, all the above affiliate networks are iddlemen,
they come between you and the merchant you're promoting. For affiliates with a proven track record, who have shown they can deliver the customers and sales, a private deal cutting out the middleman/fees can prove very beneficial for both parties. If you're fortunate enough to become known as a super affiliate, these private deals will become more common and more profitable.
Professional affiliate marketers use all of the above networks to create multiple income streams from their marketing efforts. In the process, they build a healthy monthly income for themselves and their families. There is no reason why you can't do the same.
The author is a full-time online marketer who has numerous websites, including two sites on Internet marketing. For the latest and most effective web marketing tools try: Internet Marketing Tools
Pay Per Click Advertising
Pay per click is the effective way of bringing traffic to your website whether you are a newbie or a seasoned player. Search engine optimization forum membership and article submission are some of other ways to bring free traffic. But to get result from these methods takes a long time and you have to get some experience in the online field.
Pay per click is the best answer for your immediate expectation of bringing in more traffic to your website. As the name suggests you will pay for the actual click the visitors click on your advertisement. The visitor will be taken to your sales page or your affiliate marketing site upon clicking the ad. You will have a link with key words in your advertisement to the desired page.
Selection of profitable keyword
The key word is the most important component of your pay per click ad campaign. PPC is working on this principle of selecting a key word and getting link to your page through this key word. You have to bid for the key word and your ad will be placed in the order of the bid value. If your bid is higher your ad will be placed on top of all the ads for that particular key word. The worthiness of your ad campaign depends on the selection of the perfect key word pertaining to your niche. If your niche field is on 'soft toys', then select the appropriate key word the buyers would use to search
It is not that difficult to select a key word. Just step into the shoes of the buyer and think about deeply which key word you would use when you have decided to buy a soft toy online. The website word tracker will help you to chose the perfect key word you are looking for. Get details about the frequencies of search through the particular key words and the number of competing sites for that key words. Do not select the key word for which the competition is high, as it will be difficult to get into the top 10 positions. Select the key word for which the search frequency is high but the competition is low.
Zero in on the some what frequently searched key words for which there is less competition. Don't waste money on less frequently searched keywords. It is not possible to select the most profitable key word in your first attempt itself. It is an trial and error process. Chose a key word which you think is most appropriate and will be profitable and start your campaign immediately. Track your campaign and slowly zero in on the most profitable key word.
Take into consideration the 'Law Of Average' rule
Low of average is applied to all sales whether it is online or offline. The law of average varies from product to product. It is nothing but the real conversion of sales. It denotes the actual buyers from among the visitors of your website. For a particular the conversion may be 5 among 100 visitors and for some other product it may be 10 among 100 visitors. The niche field you have selected, the demand for the product, the quality of the product and the company, all play a vital role in judging the conversion rate. After approximately deciding the law of average for your product you can calculate the profit per sale and then decide on the bid value for your key word.
Pay per click service providers
There are so many pay per click service providers. Google and yahoo are among the most prominent ones. Before choosing the service provider, take into consideration their marketing credibility and traffic rank. Some offer value added services like analyzing the market demand for your product or the niche markets to target your ad. Provide them the complete details of your product, the target area and what you are expecting. Select the suitable key word after going through the feed back provided by them. You can bid for as low as $0.05 to$1 and more. The pay per click service provider will track your ad campaign calculate the number of visitors clicked on your ad and deduct the amount according to your bid from your account.
Sales Page
Selecting the perfect key word will bring in more traffic. But using the huge traffic for more profitable conversions (sales) depends on your landing page or the sales page. The landing page is the page the visitors will finally see after clicking your pay per click ad. Display the full features of your product and give concession or bonus to attract more conversions. Place compulsive information and compelling action to be taken, so that your visitors will be induced to swipe their card immediately. Place action buttons like 'buy now' 'best price now' and 'last two days' etc.
Budgeting and planning your pay per click campaign is more important so that you would not burn your fingers before making any reasonable profit. The key word, the bid amount, the product and your sales page all together play a vital role in your pay per click campaign.
Author Information: It will be happy to get free traffic through search engine optimization, submitting to web directories and article submission. But these are all time consuming and PPC is the best immediate answer to get traffic to your web site. Start your pay per click campaign and simultaneously start your free marketing efforts.
copy from:
Pay per click is the best answer for your immediate expectation of bringing in more traffic to your website. As the name suggests you will pay for the actual click the visitors click on your advertisement. The visitor will be taken to your sales page or your affiliate marketing site upon clicking the ad. You will have a link with key words in your advertisement to the desired page.
Selection of profitable keyword
The key word is the most important component of your pay per click ad campaign. PPC is working on this principle of selecting a key word and getting link to your page through this key word. You have to bid for the key word and your ad will be placed in the order of the bid value. If your bid is higher your ad will be placed on top of all the ads for that particular key word. The worthiness of your ad campaign depends on the selection of the perfect key word pertaining to your niche. If your niche field is on 'soft toys', then select the appropriate key word the buyers would use to search
It is not that difficult to select a key word. Just step into the shoes of the buyer and think about deeply which key word you would use when you have decided to buy a soft toy online. The website word tracker will help you to chose the perfect key word you are looking for. Get details about the frequencies of search through the particular key words and the number of competing sites for that key words. Do not select the key word for which the competition is high, as it will be difficult to get into the top 10 positions. Select the key word for which the search frequency is high but the competition is low.
Zero in on the some what frequently searched key words for which there is less competition. Don't waste money on less frequently searched keywords. It is not possible to select the most profitable key word in your first attempt itself. It is an trial and error process. Chose a key word which you think is most appropriate and will be profitable and start your campaign immediately. Track your campaign and slowly zero in on the most profitable key word.
Take into consideration the 'Law Of Average' rule
Low of average is applied to all sales whether it is online or offline. The law of average varies from product to product. It is nothing but the real conversion of sales. It denotes the actual buyers from among the visitors of your website. For a particular the conversion may be 5 among 100 visitors and for some other product it may be 10 among 100 visitors. The niche field you have selected, the demand for the product, the quality of the product and the company, all play a vital role in judging the conversion rate. After approximately deciding the law of average for your product you can calculate the profit per sale and then decide on the bid value for your key word.
Pay per click service providers
There are so many pay per click service providers. Google and yahoo are among the most prominent ones. Before choosing the service provider, take into consideration their marketing credibility and traffic rank. Some offer value added services like analyzing the market demand for your product or the niche markets to target your ad. Provide them the complete details of your product, the target area and what you are expecting. Select the suitable key word after going through the feed back provided by them. You can bid for as low as $0.05 to$1 and more. The pay per click service provider will track your ad campaign calculate the number of visitors clicked on your ad and deduct the amount according to your bid from your account.
Sales Page
Selecting the perfect key word will bring in more traffic. But using the huge traffic for more profitable conversions (sales) depends on your landing page or the sales page. The landing page is the page the visitors will finally see after clicking your pay per click ad. Display the full features of your product and give concession or bonus to attract more conversions. Place compulsive information and compelling action to be taken, so that your visitors will be induced to swipe their card immediately. Place action buttons like 'buy now' 'best price now' and 'last two days' etc.
Budgeting and planning your pay per click campaign is more important so that you would not burn your fingers before making any reasonable profit. The key word, the bid amount, the product and your sales page all together play a vital role in your pay per click campaign.
Author Information: It will be happy to get free traffic through search engine optimization, submitting to web directories and article submission. But these are all time consuming and PPC is the best immediate answer to get traffic to your web site. Start your pay per click campaign and simultaneously start your free marketing efforts.
copy from:
Text-Link Advertising Dollars
Reading through a text-link advertising forum recently, I noticed a number of negative posts. One post in particular stuck in my mind and I want to answer it here.
The poster had been frustrated with his results from a text-link ad campaign. He mentioned that he was new to text-link advertising and he wasn't getting any results.
My short answer to him would be, "Your text-link ads can get results, but you have to use the right text links and the right ads."
My long answer follows, in the form of five key tips for any text-link advertising campaign:
1-First, make sure you have a product that's good. In this case, your product is your website. Make sure it's designed well, easy to navigate, with content people are interested in. Nothing is worse for a bad website than a good text-link ad campaign--you drive people to it once and then they never come back.
While you're at it, be sure your website is designed to encourage visitors to do what you want them to do (i.e. click on CPC ads, buy your or your affiliate program's products, etc.), ETHICALLY, of course.
2-Second, what's your ad campaign objective? Before you spend a penny on text-link advertising, you need to decide what you want your ads to do for you. Do you just want more traffic to your site? Or do you want people to take some action once they get to your site (i.e., buy a product, sign up for a newsletter, etc.). Make sure you're clear on what you want for your text-link ad dollars first.
3-Related to step 2, take advantage of any special features offered by the website you've placed your text-link ads on--especially if they offer conversion tracking. "Conversion," for the uninitiated, means CONVERTING a visitor into either a customer (they buy a product), a subscriber (they sign up for your newsletter) or whatever other action you want to CONVERT your visitors into taking. Conversion tracking will help you figure out which of your text-link ads are getting you the kind of visitors you want.
4-Test, test, test. The beauty of most text-link advertising is that it's not prohibitively expensive to advertise or test your ads (as long as you watch your spending limits). If you can, run a few different text-link ad variations.
Something to consider when creating your text-link ad: put yourself in your visitors' shoes as much as possible. When you're just surfing the web casually or looking for information in a broad sense, your searches tend to be broad, don't they? But when you're ready to buy, or take some other action, your searches are more narrow and your search terms are more specific to what you want.
For example, if you're casually interested in bicycles, you might search just using that as your keyword, "bicycle." But once you've decided to buy a bike, you'll probably have something more specific in mind: "red ten-speed bikes" or "Mike's Bike Shop."
If you want your visitors to do something specific at your website, then your text-link ad should be as specific as possible.
Once you set up your text-link ad campaign, give it some time to see what ads work, say at least a week or preferably a couple of weeks. Be aware of the season, or if a holiday weekend falls during your testing, as those factors will affect your text-link ads' results.
5-And last but not least, don't be afraid to make changes to your text-link ad campaign. Just make sure they're incremental, and give each change some time to see if it works.
For example, pick the text-link ad that gives you the best conversion rate and tweak it, while you drop the others. Change the times and days of the week it appears (if you can) to find out when to schedule them. Or try another text-link ad variation.
Just make sure you make these changes to your text-link ads one at a time and keep track of them (enter your text-link ad changes into a diary or journal, for example) so you can easily measure their effect. A tweak as minor as changing a word or two in your text-link ad could increase your conversion rate significantly. Or it might not. So keep track of what works (and what doesn't so you don't repeat it).
Don't make the mistake that poster made, throwing money at his text-link advertising and then cutting it off in frustration when it didn't work. Make sure to set up your text-link ads properly and then tinker with them until you get the results you want.
By Frank Calderon, http://www.onedollarwords.com/
Copyright © 2006 curioZities, LLC. All rights reserved.Top 10 Tips to Guaranteed Targeted Traffic
ncreasing targeted traffic to your website is one of the easiest ways to boost your online productivity. Here are the top 10 effective strategies that will help you accomplish that:
1. Optimize Your Website
While SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a full-time career option, you can either hire an expert to do this or follow the suggestions below and get the ball rolling yourself -
a) Select Your Keywords Wisely - Keywords are the phrases people use to search and come to your website, thereafter, hire your services or buy your products. The trick is to find keywords that are highly relevant to what you offer and popular enough that your target audience will use in search engines, but not so competitive that you can't rank well using them. (Tip: GoodKeywords.com provides a free keyword tool to help you get started. Find your ‘magic’ keywords and use them to build your website content!)
b) Create Your Meta Tags - One of the methods search engines use to evaluate and read your website is known as 'Meta tags.' Make sure you include your keywords, website title and description in meta tags in the source code of each of your web pages.
c) Create an SEO Friendly Website - Avoid bandwidth-hogging flash animations, fancy graphics or "alt" tags in HTML for pictures. Not only will this slow down your website's loading speed, search engines bots will also find it difficult to read, index, and rank your web pages.
d) Get Links to Your Sites - Create a ‘Links’ or ‘Resources’ page and add links to good, relevant websites. This makes search engines think that your site provides valuable information and it should, therefore, appear high in search engine results.
2. Submit Your Website to Search Engines
Don’t wait for search engine robots or spiders to find you. Instead, go ahead and submit your website to major search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN, Dmoz etc. and remember to do this regularly!
3. Use PPC Advertising
The best PPC (Pay-Per-Click) programs are offered by Google and Yahoo respectively, called Adwords and Overture. It’s usually pretty tough getting top rankings in the search engines in a short period of time, but it can be very easy to get on the first page of results quickly enough, with a PPC campaign. A PPC campaign can be started with a very small investment and you retain full control over your budget. You only pay when someone clicks on your ad that takes them to your website.
4. Swap Ads with other Ezines
It's a good idea to swap ads or links with other ezine publishers in your niche. These can be real ads, testimonials about your niche, or recommendations within the content of an ezine itself. Also, consider buying some ad space in ezine publications in your niche that have a large circulation. Always run an ad for at least 3 consecutive issues in order to get the best results.
5. Give Away Freebies
Everyone loves freebies and people will even come to your site just to check what you are giving away. So keep in mind to include a free eBook, a time bound discount coupon, a prize for every X-th visitor, etc. on your website. You can also partner with other JV (Joint Venture) sites where you can offer free products and get people to your own website. Make sure you capture your visitor’s name and email address using opt-in form so that you could easily follow up with them later. Remember, 'the money is in the size of your list.'
6. Become a Guru
Other than freebies, people love free advice! So find sites where you're allowed to answer questions, and then take some time off to provide detailed answers to each one of them. Become an expert in your niche, and with every answer you give or every solution you provide, don’t forget to add your website URL at the end.
7. Participate in Discussion Forums
Participating in forums, blogs, and discussion groups is yet another fantastic idea to drive targeted traffic to your site. Check to see if you can offer any advice or make valuable suggestions in forum threads. Always remember to provide your website URL at the bottom of each post you make. Each forum may have its own set of rules about promoting your website, so make sure you carefully read and follow their terms and conditions to avoid being accused of spamming.
8. Submit Articles
This is actually the most genuine and effective technique to getting targeted traffic to your website. Write articles that come under your niche, embed your website link within, and submit the articles to online article directories. Articles with quality content and information tempt readers to click-thru to your site, in the hope of getting more advice or tips. Once prospects reach your website, they're also exposed to the products and services you offer - which can sometimes result in many sales for you!
9. Write A Press Release
Write a press release about your business and circulate it in the local media, online news sites and RSS. Be careful not to make it sound like an advertisement, though. For more information about press releases promotion, check out http://www.prweb.com/pressreleasetips.php
10. Online Networks
There are many sites today where you can network online. These networks usually have groups which you can belong to and post articles and comments. Some good examples would be adlandpro.com, ryze.com, ecademy.com, directmatches.com and linkedin.com to name a few. They work pretty much the same as discussion forums where you can post your articles, and comments, or discuss general issues with others. Many online networking sites offer you an individual page on the network where you can advertise what you have to offer and include a link to your website.
To conclude, these 10 tips of driving targeted traffic are tried-and-tested, meaning they do work. So put in some hard work and give it time... then watch your traffic grow by leaps and bounds!
Copyright (c) 2007 Lewis Low
Lewis Low is the founding editor of OnlineBizPromo.com. For more Practical Online Business Ideas and Work-From-Home Opportunities, visit his Work-At-Home directory at http://www.onlinebizpromo.com
1. Optimize Your Website
While SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a full-time career option, you can either hire an expert to do this or follow the suggestions below and get the ball rolling yourself -
a) Select Your Keywords Wisely - Keywords are the phrases people use to search and come to your website, thereafter, hire your services or buy your products. The trick is to find keywords that are highly relevant to what you offer and popular enough that your target audience will use in search engines, but not so competitive that you can't rank well using them. (Tip: GoodKeywords.com provides a free keyword tool to help you get started. Find your ‘magic’ keywords and use them to build your website content!)
b) Create Your Meta Tags - One of the methods search engines use to evaluate and read your website is known as 'Meta tags.' Make sure you include your keywords, website title and description in meta tags in the source code of each of your web pages.
c) Create an SEO Friendly Website - Avoid bandwidth-hogging flash animations, fancy graphics or "alt" tags in HTML for pictures. Not only will this slow down your website's loading speed, search engines bots will also find it difficult to read, index, and rank your web pages.
d) Get Links to Your Sites - Create a ‘Links’ or ‘Resources’ page and add links to good, relevant websites. This makes search engines think that your site provides valuable information and it should, therefore, appear high in search engine results.
2. Submit Your Website to Search Engines
Don’t wait for search engine robots or spiders to find you. Instead, go ahead and submit your website to major search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN, Dmoz etc. and remember to do this regularly!
3. Use PPC Advertising
The best PPC (Pay-Per-Click) programs are offered by Google and Yahoo respectively, called Adwords and Overture. It’s usually pretty tough getting top rankings in the search engines in a short period of time, but it can be very easy to get on the first page of results quickly enough, with a PPC campaign. A PPC campaign can be started with a very small investment and you retain full control over your budget. You only pay when someone clicks on your ad that takes them to your website.
4. Swap Ads with other Ezines
It's a good idea to swap ads or links with other ezine publishers in your niche. These can be real ads, testimonials about your niche, or recommendations within the content of an ezine itself. Also, consider buying some ad space in ezine publications in your niche that have a large circulation. Always run an ad for at least 3 consecutive issues in order to get the best results.
5. Give Away Freebies
Everyone loves freebies and people will even come to your site just to check what you are giving away. So keep in mind to include a free eBook, a time bound discount coupon, a prize for every X-th visitor, etc. on your website. You can also partner with other JV (Joint Venture) sites where you can offer free products and get people to your own website. Make sure you capture your visitor’s name and email address using opt-in form so that you could easily follow up with them later. Remember, 'the money is in the size of your list.'
6. Become a Guru
Other than freebies, people love free advice! So find sites where you're allowed to answer questions, and then take some time off to provide detailed answers to each one of them. Become an expert in your niche, and with every answer you give or every solution you provide, don’t forget to add your website URL at the end.
7. Participate in Discussion Forums
Participating in forums, blogs, and discussion groups is yet another fantastic idea to drive targeted traffic to your site. Check to see if you can offer any advice or make valuable suggestions in forum threads. Always remember to provide your website URL at the bottom of each post you make. Each forum may have its own set of rules about promoting your website, so make sure you carefully read and follow their terms and conditions to avoid being accused of spamming.
8. Submit Articles
This is actually the most genuine and effective technique to getting targeted traffic to your website. Write articles that come under your niche, embed your website link within, and submit the articles to online article directories. Articles with quality content and information tempt readers to click-thru to your site, in the hope of getting more advice or tips. Once prospects reach your website, they're also exposed to the products and services you offer - which can sometimes result in many sales for you!
9. Write A Press Release
Write a press release about your business and circulate it in the local media, online news sites and RSS. Be careful not to make it sound like an advertisement, though. For more information about press releases promotion, check out http://www.prweb.com/pressreleasetips.php
10. Online Networks
There are many sites today where you can network online. These networks usually have groups which you can belong to and post articles and comments. Some good examples would be adlandpro.com, ryze.com, ecademy.com, directmatches.com and linkedin.com to name a few. They work pretty much the same as discussion forums where you can post your articles, and comments, or discuss general issues with others. Many online networking sites offer you an individual page on the network where you can advertise what you have to offer and include a link to your website.
To conclude, these 10 tips of driving targeted traffic are tried-and-tested, meaning they do work. So put in some hard work and give it time... then watch your traffic grow by leaps and bounds!
Copyright (c) 2007 Lewis Low
Lewis Low is the founding editor of OnlineBizPromo.com. For more Practical Online Business Ideas and Work-From-Home Opportunities, visit his Work-At-Home directory at http://www.onlinebizpromo.com
5 Reasons Many Adsense Sites Don't Make Money
While there are many success stories (they are true) of sites that have generated good income from Adsense, there are still some sites that couldn’t grasp the real way of making an earning from Adsense.
This is because many people have failed to generate the needed factors to create a successful site that compliments the features Adsense provides. Many webmasters just put up or create mediocre sites and place Adsense on their site and just sits back and waits for the cash to roll in.
If that is the mentality of a site owner, then he won't earn from Adsense. Remember, a mediocre site will also get mediocre earnings.
To finally realize the Adsense dream, a webmaster must produce a site that has the factors and characteristics needed to generate the traffic and clicks it needs to be profitable. There are many things a webmaster needs to do to achieve this and be one of the millions of sites who have successfully done so. But there are so much more things a site owner has failed to do to make their site more Adsense friendly.
Here are five reasons why many Adsense sites don’t make money.
1) There are no good keywords on the site.
Many sites have failed to do the very essence of search engine optimization, Good Keywords. The internet has many websites competing for the attention of the “netizens†and many sites contain the same or almost the same subjects, topics or niches. To date, Google is searching at over three billion sites; good keywords can get you a good lead above all the other sites.
It is essential that you research well on finding the good keywords your site can use to generate the traffic and get a high ranking on the search engines results. If many internet users are directed to your site, you get a huge opportunity to get great traffic. With traffic comes the profit.
In making money you must spend some. Invest in a good program that searches good and proper keywords for your site. These keywords that people are looking for changes and varies, a good keyword searcher is an investment that just keeps on giving.
2) The site doesn’t provide a good niche.
To get the attention of the people, you must provide a site that can perk up the interest of the people. Adsense works well if you maintain a good number of traffic, you have to keep the people’s interest on your site and have a group of people to keep coming back to your site and have them recommend it.
You must also find a niche wherein these groups of people are interested in. Find the right niche and you’ll find the right group of people that are willing to spend some money.
3) The site owner doesn’t maintain or update their site.
You can only maintain the interest of a person for a short period of time. Many websites have failed to keep up the traffic they generate for their failure to keep their site updated. Immerse yourself in your niche and try to find out what’s new and what’s hot.
You have to serve something new to the people or if not, try to keep abreast with the developments of your niche or maybe add some sub-niches on your site that still pertains to your niche to get new traffic and keep the attention of your clients in your site.
4) Some website owners don’t provide the full attention to their Adsense sites.
Many people just see their sites as a way to earn some extra money. You have to treat Adsense sites as a full size business to make it big. With the heavy competition you have, a good webmaster should treat their site as if it is their main source of income but still maintain a good schedule of their time.
5) Many webmasters have failed to devout time and research to their Adsense site.
Many elements are needed to build a successful Adsense site. Good keywords and the right niches can roll in the dough, but this takes time and effort. It is imperative to devout a certain amount of time in looking for ways to develop your Adsense site.
The internet is abound of sites that could help your own site. A little time, money and hard work can spell the huge difference between a successful Adsense site and a mediocre one.
About The Author:
Kevin Anderson has been marketing online since 2002. He is the owner of http://www.onlinegoldfinder.com a program designed to help people find profitable niches to market to online.
This is because many people have failed to generate the needed factors to create a successful site that compliments the features Adsense provides. Many webmasters just put up or create mediocre sites and place Adsense on their site and just sits back and waits for the cash to roll in.
If that is the mentality of a site owner, then he won't earn from Adsense. Remember, a mediocre site will also get mediocre earnings.
To finally realize the Adsense dream, a webmaster must produce a site that has the factors and characteristics needed to generate the traffic and clicks it needs to be profitable. There are many things a webmaster needs to do to achieve this and be one of the millions of sites who have successfully done so. But there are so much more things a site owner has failed to do to make their site more Adsense friendly.
Here are five reasons why many Adsense sites don’t make money.
1) There are no good keywords on the site.
Many sites have failed to do the very essence of search engine optimization, Good Keywords. The internet has many websites competing for the attention of the “netizens†and many sites contain the same or almost the same subjects, topics or niches. To date, Google is searching at over three billion sites; good keywords can get you a good lead above all the other sites.
It is essential that you research well on finding the good keywords your site can use to generate the traffic and get a high ranking on the search engines results. If many internet users are directed to your site, you get a huge opportunity to get great traffic. With traffic comes the profit.
In making money you must spend some. Invest in a good program that searches good and proper keywords for your site. These keywords that people are looking for changes and varies, a good keyword searcher is an investment that just keeps on giving.
2) The site doesn’t provide a good niche.
To get the attention of the people, you must provide a site that can perk up the interest of the people. Adsense works well if you maintain a good number of traffic, you have to keep the people’s interest on your site and have a group of people to keep coming back to your site and have them recommend it.
You must also find a niche wherein these groups of people are interested in. Find the right niche and you’ll find the right group of people that are willing to spend some money.
3) The site owner doesn’t maintain or update their site.
You can only maintain the interest of a person for a short period of time. Many websites have failed to keep up the traffic they generate for their failure to keep their site updated. Immerse yourself in your niche and try to find out what’s new and what’s hot.
You have to serve something new to the people or if not, try to keep abreast with the developments of your niche or maybe add some sub-niches on your site that still pertains to your niche to get new traffic and keep the attention of your clients in your site.
4) Some website owners don’t provide the full attention to their Adsense sites.
Many people just see their sites as a way to earn some extra money. You have to treat Adsense sites as a full size business to make it big. With the heavy competition you have, a good webmaster should treat their site as if it is their main source of income but still maintain a good schedule of their time.
5) Many webmasters have failed to devout time and research to their Adsense site.
Many elements are needed to build a successful Adsense site. Good keywords and the right niches can roll in the dough, but this takes time and effort. It is imperative to devout a certain amount of time in looking for ways to develop your Adsense site.
The internet is abound of sites that could help your own site. A little time, money and hard work can spell the huge difference between a successful Adsense site and a mediocre one.
About The Author:
Kevin Anderson has been marketing online since 2002. He is the owner of http://www.onlinegoldfinder.com a program designed to help people find profitable niches to market to online.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
