Auction Ads

Just came across this, and signed up. Earned almost immediately (well within 1 day which is a record for me!)

Auction Ads is a program in which I find myself totally surprised.

I don't really have any luck with affiliate ads regardless of how many you see scattered through his blog. I sign up mostly to see how these things work more than 'monetizing' my blog as it's become known.

I started bringing in revenue on the first day! In fact, most days I earn something, even if it's a few cents.

It's pretty simple actually, as are most of these programs.

Install a wee bit of code onto your blog's sidebar to show items up for auction (you can choose how big and how many ads).

When someone clicks and bids on eBay after clicking thru from your site, you earn a percentage/commission.

It's not huge money but every little bit adds up!

Found this little tid-bit from moneymechanics blog called Money Mechanics Blog

http://moneymechanics.blogspot.com/

5 Things Google Don't Want You to Know

Google Adwords, the beginner internet marketer's best friend! But is it really?

Google can make you or break you and according to their own data, 7 out of 10 are broken. This isn't because Google doesn't work - it does. You'd better believe it, but like anything else, you have to know how the game is played FIRST, not last. There are 5 things Google really doesn't want you to know about Adsense. By reading on you'll be among the elite 30% who play Google all the way to the bank.

First let me share some background which may be the biggest Adsense myth of all...consider it a bonus.

Unlike Yahoo!, Google Adsense Ads are NOT ranked in accordance with the amount bid. Its kind of like the airline industry. You paid a certain price for your seat. The person next to paid less, yet their seat is the same as yours.

Google ranks using two major criteria...

1) Language in the ad and landing page which determines relevancy (quality)
2) How many times the ad is clicked and impressions shown

So for example, if your ad is shown from a search (quality) 1000 times and is clicked through only 5 times (CTR) which is .5% then you're in trouble. However, if your ad is clicked on 10-20 times which is 1-2%, then you're in business. Google will then start raising your position and lowering your cost. Sound crazy? Read on...

Here are the 5 things Google really doesn't want you to know:

1. All accounts are defaulted to the content network

Google ships ads out to other search engines and content networks. Content network is the default setting for Google Adwords. Being in the Content network of Google is like the kiss of death for any marketer and their wallet. Ads shown here get killed in the click through rate (CTR) because the user isn't looking to click ads, they are interested in the website's content- not your ad. Besides this, on the rare occasion they do click your ad, conversions are miniscule. This is also where fraud occurs. Adsense based sites get their ads from the Content network. Ever heard of click robots?

2. Keywords are too general

Let's say someone is in the mortgage industry... they shouldn't use the general word 'mortgage' if they are selling reverse mortgages or second mortgages. Some people figure the word 'mortgage' will cover their bases, but it only drains their bank account.

3. Use quotes and brackets around your keywords

If a marketer is using the keywords 'making money on the internet' and doesn't use quotes or brackets, then ANY search that has ANY of those 5 words in it will trigger an impression and drive your CTR down dramatically.

The quotes and brackets specify the keyword phrase you want to focus on. With quotes, your search phrase stays intact using those words in the exact order YOU put them in. With brackets all the owrds you included need to be searched but other words may appear with the search.

4. Put the keyword in the title or body of your ad

About 80% of marketers don't use the keyword in their ads at all. I put in the words 'training my dog' and only one ad was an exact match. It's true that people search based on what they want to achieve. Training my dog was my goal. Another example would be 'buy tires'. If 'buy tires' were in the title or body of the ad this would add to the quality score.

5. There's a way to cut a deal with other search engines and bypass the content network

There are 3 places Google shows ads:
a. Home page
b. Content network
c. Other search engines

It's not uncommon to have 40% of your ads shipped out to other search engines. Once you track this activity you can cut a deal with them and pay half the price per click.

People who have a bad CTR and poor quality score end up paying more per click for minimal results. Google makes a fortune on desperate advertisers who are often novices in the business opportunity industry.

The average click through price for an inexperienced marketer in this arena is $2.00-$4.00/click. Experienced marketers only pay $.75-$1.00/click.

Google will alternate quality ads and poor ads on the home page in order to satisfy both revenue and users search queries. However, the poor expensive ads are usually getting low conversion therefore draining your account. Is it any wonder the stock price was north of $500 a share earlier this year?

Can small resorts advertise on Google?

Simple answer is YES. Serious answer: you would be a fool not to!

Google offers two advertising programs: Google AdWords for advertisers and Google AdSense for Web publishers. Mostly small resorts are both... They advertise their products and then they have AdSense ads on their blogs and news pages.

The AdWords program reaches people actively looking for information related to the product or services offered by your tourism plant, and sends targeted visitors directly to your Web site.

AdWords uses pay-per-click pricing, which means you pay only when people click on your ad. There is a nominal, one-time activation fee for Google AdWords. After that you pay only for clicks on the AdWords ads, which you control by telling Google how much you are willing to pay per click and per day.

With AdWords, ads for your resort or dive op appear alongside or above results on Google search results pages for Google Web search, Google Groups, and the Google Directory. Ads can also appear on the search and content sites and products in the Google Network, which is an extensive online advertising network. Google's global search network includes: America Online, Netscape, CompuServe, AT&T Worldnet, AskJeeves, The New York Times, Earthlink, and Shopping.com. Google's content network of consumer and industry-specific Web sites includes: USNews.com, ABC.com, TheStreet.com, What You Need to Know About.com, Economist.com, Thomson, Lowestfare.com, Lycos, InfoSpace, National Geographic, Viacom, Forbes, FoxSports, LinuxWorld.com, and Macworld.

The AdSense program allows resorts and ive ops and tour operators to earn revenue from their Web sites. AdSense delivers ads targeted to content pages, and when Google WebSearch is added to the site, AdSense also delivers targeted ads to search results pages. The AdSense program allows your business to make money when visitors click on ads associated with your website.

It enhances visitors' experiences by including ads that are relevant to what they see on your pages. You can even add a Google search box to your Web site. It is easy to manage your AdSense account and track earnings online with easy-to-use tools.

You will fast discover though that you also have to be careful to add negative websites to your listing as well. otherwise you will very quickly see your competition popping up on your pages!

For more information about AdWords and AdSense, go to their respective Web sites.