April 26, 2009

Search Engine Optimisation, a Tool for Advertising

Filed under: SEO Tips + More — admin @ 11:18 pm

Having search engine optimisation Melbourne as a tool for advertising is a powerful weapon within the cyber world. Want to know what SEO means and how it works to help you boost your advertising and marketing capabilities? Here’s how. Let’s say you have all the things needed, great content, striking website, and good choice of keywords. Now, all you need to find are good links to other sites that are relevant to your website. As you would soon find out, the more links from your site or from the article or content you have written, the higher you go up on the search results of the search engine you chose. Picking the right the content and having non-mediocre website is a must if you want to win the war within the cyber world. Having an SEO or Search Engine Optimisation expert by your side, ready to teach you with everything you need to know, and you, as a content writer per se, work hand in hand with each other and the results will be terrific. I can assure you that. So, why wait, grab an expert search engine optimiser now and see your site gather visitors by the minute and soon, you’ll realize that it was all worth it.

Effective Keyword Bidding Strategies

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 7:13 am

When doing Pay Per Click Advertising you’ll often see “Bid Gaps” emerge among the cost per clicks of the keywords you’re bidding on. For example, the top three positions for the keyword “Mortgage” may be listed as:

Position # 1 $1.00
Position # 2 $.79
Position # 3 $.78

In this example the advertiser in the #1 position is overpaying for their traffic. They could lower their bid to $.80 and still maintain their #1 position, while saving $.20 on each click.

Why Bid Gaps Appear:

Often times advertisers in the top position want to put distance between themselves and their competition to avoid having to check each day to see if they’re still in the #1 position. Sometimes when companies upload keywords into their Pay Per Click Advertising program they set all their bids to the same amount, regardless of where their competitors have set their bids.

The most common reason why some PPC advertisers create “Bid Gaps” and overpay for their clicks is they’re not aware of the tools available from third party vendors, or the PPC Search Engines themselves to avoid these gaps.

Eliminating “Bid Gaps”:

Some Search Engines like Google automatically eliminate “Bid Gaps” by ranking ads using a combination of click through rate, and the maximum bid established by the advertiser. Google claims this allows them to offer advertisers the best ranking on the page at the lowest cost, while guaranteeing the ads they display are relevant to the keywords users are searching on. Google’s system involves some trust on the part of the advertiser, since it’s impossible to tell what you’re competitors are bidding. If your competitor has done a good job optimizing their ad copy to achieve a high click through rate, their ad could appear above yours, even if you’re paying a higher cost per click.

Other Pay Per Click Search Engines like FindWhat.Com offer an optional ‘AutoBid” feature. This feature allows you to specify the maximum you would be willing to pay per click for each keyword, and the system will automatically adjust your bid to $.01 more than the next highest bidder. If your competitor raises their bid the system will continue adjusting your bid until it reaches you maximum bid.

Example:

Current bid for the #1 position: $.50

Maximum bid that you specify using “AutoBid” $1.00

The amount the system will set your bid: $.51

It’s important to note that the cost per click may never reach your maximum bid. We highly recommend using automated bidding features whenever possible. These tools allow you to maintain premium positioning for your ads at the lowest possible costs while saving you time from having to check where your ad is ranked every day, and manually adjusting your bids.

In addition to the tools offered by the PPC Search Engines to eliminate “Bid Gaps”, there are several third party Bid Management applications that will do the trick. Atlas OnePoint offers a sophisticated Bid Management tool to effectively manage your bidding strategy across 40 different Pay Per Click Search Engines and shopping comparison sites. BidRank is another tool we recommend for optimizing keyword bids, and avoiding “Bid Gaps”.

How You Can Profit From “Bid Gaps”:

While creating “Bid Gaps” for your own keywords can be a costly mistake, you can often improve the metrics of your Pay Per Click Advertising program by taking advantage of gaps that appear in the bidding strategy of your competition.

Example:

Position # 1 $1.00

Position # 2 $ .79

Position # 3 $. 78

A “Bid Gap” has appeared between the #1 and the # 2 positions. You can either pay $1.01 to lock in the #1 position, or bid $.80 for the # 2 slot. Given these alternatives it may make more sense to opt for the # 2 position. The slight decline in traffic from slipping to the #2 spot may be more than compensated by the improved ROI due to the lower cost per click.

If you want to play hardball with your competitors by driving their cost per clicks higher, while locking in good positioning for your ads at a lower cost, you can manipulate the ‘Auto Bidding” tools to your advantage.

Example:

Position # 1 $1.00

Position # 2 $. 79

Position # 3 $. 78

In this example, if you used any of the “AutoBid” features offered by many of the Search Engines and set your maximum bid to $.99 ($.01 less than your competitor in the #1 position), the system would put you in the # 2 position at $.80 ($.01 more than the next highest bid), while your competitor would still have to pay $1.00 for the # 1 slot (since the system would consider your $.99 maximum bid to be the next highest bid, and adjust your competitor’s bid to be $.01 more). Software company Pay Per Click Management offers a “CompetitionBuster” feature specifically designed to take advantage of your competition’s “Bid Gaps”.

We don’t necessarily endorse this approach, but the Pay Per Click Advertising game isn’t for the faint of heart. You need to have a well thought out bidding strategy so you don’t overpay for your clicks, while still getting the traffic volume you need to reach your goals.

The Pros And Cons Of “Bid Gaps”
February 16, 2005

Stan Hauser is a leading expert on effective Pay Per Click Advertising strategies, and creator of http://www.pay-per-click-advertising-guide.com

ClickBank Refunds - Hope for the Best but Prepare for the Worst

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 5:18 am

When we launch a new product, we all hope it’s going to be a runaway bestseller. More than that, most of us aim to produce a product so remarkable that it generates rave reviews and achieves cult popularity. You may very well achieve all of these objectives with your product launches.

But, beware of a characteristic of the ClickBank system that may throw these aspirations into jeopardy - the 90-day refund rule.

Most merchants agree that ClickBank’s rock-solid refund policy adds a great deal of credibility to their sales pitches, enabling them to make sales to even the most wary of online shoppers. The hassle-free refund procedure is also the key factor behind ClickBank’s exceptionally low chargeback rate. ClickBank customers have no need to ask their banks for chargebacks, so ClickBank keeps its merchant account in good standing and we merchants all save money on chargeback penalties.

But, despite its attractions, the ClickBank refund rule is also a source of blatant abuse by a minority of dishonest buyers.

However good a product may be; however much your genuine buyers love it, there will always be a small percentage who ask for refunds. Don’t be disheartened. In most cases, this is not a reflection on your product or your competence as a merchant. It is simply an exploitation of the ClickBank refund system to get something for nothing.

Around 5% of my ClickBank sales result in refunds and, judging by my discussions with other merchants, this figure appears to be about average. I have numerous glowing testimonials from satisfied customers, but there is still the occasional buyer who is, seemingly, impossible to please. Ironically, I have never yet issued a refund to a buyer who has offered a reason for being dissatisfied. Is this normal? It suggests to me that the problem lies not with the product, but with the morals of the buyer.

With the purchase of a digital product you can, if you choose, keep the product and get your money back. Online theft just doesn’t get any easier than this.

ClickBank’s merchant community has suggested various ways to tackle this problem. The most popular idea seems to be that ClickBank should introduce a rogue customer list, identifying serial refunders by their prior purchasing activity. Of course, the list would be confidential - merchants would simply need the option to specify whether they accept purchases by buyers in this category. This solution is not without its own problems, especially the challenge of accurately identifying buyers from one purchase to the next. With multiple credit cards and multiple email addresses, it is relatively easy to bypass the banned list, simply by creating a new online persona. But, at least this initiative offers hope of a solution to the problem.

So far, ClickBank has not announced on any plans to update its refund policy or introduce controls to protect its merchants from this type of fraud. Until something changes, merchants need to adopt a pragmatic attitude to the dilemma of sham refunds. As frustrating as it may be to see our profits willingly handed over to fraudsters, we should remember that the reassurance offered by the refund system probably pays us dividends many times greater, in the form of increased sales.

About The Author

Copyright © Tim Coulter. All rights reserved.

Tim Coulter is a consultant and software developer who helps netpreneurs to harness marketing technologies.

He is also the author of “ClickBank - The Definitive Guide” The Ultimate ClickBank Tutorial & Reference Manual.

http://www.clickbankrevealed.com/

All the Info College Students Should Know Concerning Medical Insurance

Filed under: Best Health, Insurance Management, Schools + Schooling — admin @ 4:34 am

Health insurance often isn’t top priority when planning a college education. More Often Than Not, health insurance is the last thing on a student’s mind. As a student in your 20’s you will believe that you are immortal and of course you will not become ill.

However, this is rarely the case no matter how healthy an individual might be. A student medical insurance policy isn’t for the wealthy, it’s an absolute necessity.

Students who are included in their parent’s policy are in general included up until they’re twenty-three. For individuals who don’t currently have health coverage under their family plan, looking into an appropriate student health insurance plan has to be apart of preparing for school.

So what is essential in a policy designed specifically for college students? What’s a deductible? A deductible is an annual sum you have to pay before any health benefits commencing, comparable to an auto deductible. For example, if the deductible is $500, 500 dollars must be paid before receiving any payment connected with the plan.

So what is a co-pay? When your deductible is paid, nearly all plans require that you contribute a portion of the cost for every doctor’s visit, medicinal drug or operation. This is termed a co-pay.

What should your insurance policy include? Numerous plans are HMO or Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA). This may mean certain doctors might not be included in your list of health professionals or not be included under a medical insurance plan. Nearly all programs should include a detailed listing of participating professionals, so be sure to look at that when you pick out a medical insurance policy.

What does the phrase catastrophic insurance coverage imply? There may be a limit on health insurance plans for college students in particular as far as terminal illness, the cover offered in most student medical insurance is by and large less than a regular policy.

Restrictions: Limitations are frequent in a lot of college student medical insurance plans. Study your policy to learn the extent of your cover.

Carry all your health insurance cards on your person everywhere. It’s not just not possible to anticipate an accident or an illness, they are also liable to occur when not expected. Ensure you are familiar with your policy, whether through your parent’s policy or with your own choice of insurance.