SiteProNews |
- Affiliate Tracking Software: What to Watch Out For
- Building Brand Identity: How Wikipedia Defines Branding Success
- Using RSS Feeds to Increase Website Traffic – Guaranteed Results!
- Optimize Your Images On Search Engines
- Bad Ads: Who Should be Responsible for Fraudulent and Deceptive Advertising?
| Affiliate Tracking Software: What to Watch Out For Posted: 23 Aug 2010 05:00 AM PDT 
Affiliate tracking software is a unique program that is vital to the successful operation of an affiliate program. Without tracking software, you would be unable to determine whether or not one of your sales were generated with the assistance of an affiliate, let alone which affiliate it was. With affiliate tracking software, you can easily find out this important information. Therefore, this means that if you haven’t already purchased affiliate tracking software, you will need to do so right away. When it comes to purchasing affiliate tracking software, you are first advised to familiarize yourself with all of your available options. This can easily be done by performing a standard internet search. Your search results are likely to include a number of different software sellers. Your first impulse may be to purchase the first affiliate tracking software program you come across, but you are advised against doing this. That is because these software programs come in a wide variety of different styles. Each program is likely to have its own unique services and features. You are encouraged to examine each of those services and features before making a decision. If you are unfamiliar with affiliate marketing and affiliate tracking software, you may not know what you should be looking for. If this is the case, it may be easier to understand what you should watch out for. One of the many things that you should be concerned about is the software name or the name of the software seller. Unfortunately, there are a number of different software sellers that will scam internet users; however, not all of them will. Before purchasing a particular affiliate tracking software program, you may want to perform a standard internet search on that program and the individual or company selling it. If you come across any warnings, you may want to stop and start searching for another software program. It is also important to be on the lookout for affiliate tracking software that is being sold without information on the program. All legitimate software sellers should provide you with detailed information about their products, including affiliate tracking software. This information may include, but should not be limited to product descriptions, product services, and product features. Without this information, you will not know how an affiliate tracking software program works or how it can help you and your business. There are plenty of software sellers that will provide you with this information; you are encouraged to do business with them. You will also want to watch out for affiliate tracking software that costs too much money. It is true that the more services and features you are provided with, the more the program will cost. However, that does not mean that you should have to pay an outrageous price. For an average cost of affiliate tracking software, you are advised to examine and then compare a number of different prices. If anything seems out of the ordinary, you are advised to move on and find software that is more affordable. By knowing what to lookout for and avoid, you should be able to find an affiliate tracking software program that can give you exactly what you want and need. You should also be able to find that software at an affordable price. AffiliateDotCom gives you ready to use Affiliate Marketing secrets that you can put into place within your business to create more money and give you more time for the things you love to do! Just go to http://affiliatedotcom.info right now and grab it! To learn more about Omar Martin you can visit his blog at http://omar-martin.com Post from: SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources |
| Building Brand Identity: How Wikipedia Defines Branding Success Posted: 23 Aug 2010 05:00 AM PDT 
The world of branding success stories is one of the most fickle, given the rise of the web. Every day, there is more new information generated and discarded than has existed for most of human history. Trends and fads come and go with ever-increasing speed, and things considered hilarious and exciting baffle people just a few months later. Then there are successes that fundamentally change the way the world sees things. They become so ingrained that everyone wonders where they’d been the whole time. Wikipedia There is not enough good in the world to say about the Wiki project. Those who would criticize it for lacking accuracy and scholarly rigor have totally missed the point. Wikipedia is the spirit of what the web is meant to be. It is cooperative, self-correcting, open to interpretation, controversial and dynamic. Ever changing and yet extremely distinct, it represents the purest expression of what the web can and is meant to do. People are talking about Web 2.0, but it’s honestly already here in the form of the Wiki. Wikipedia is a simple idea, one so straightforward that it could be imagined it shouldn’t work – an encyclopedia free of charge, open for anyone in the world to edit. It shouldn’t continue to exist, by all logic. The internet is full of trolls who will eagerly fax sheets of black paper to people they’re displeased with, over and over until the receiving machine runs out of ink and seizes up. What in the world is to stop them from vandalizing the heck out of every Wiki page they come across, a fate that many other Wikis indeed have succumbed to? The answer is that Wiki has taken its audience seriously, appealing to its sense of pride and self-interest. For every troll who hops onto a Wikipedia or Wikiquote article and scrawls quotes calling the moral and social behaviors of the editors into question, there is someone else who is incredibly well-informed about that page, backed up by both a number of authoritative sources and a deep pride in their work. Vandalism is steadily defeated through pride and reversion, and the sheer scale of people who want a good, quality resource. In allowing anyone to edit, and treating those edits as matters worth discussing on cooperative terms, the Wiki project has ignited a sense of pride in people. Now they want the articles to succeed; they want to see their hard work displayed on the front page as a featured article. Additionally, the Wiki project chose an iconic visual aesthetic for itself: White background, clean lines, plain text and simple images. Yes, anyone can edit a page as they like, but the project rewards pages that comply with its style guides and presentational standards. So whenever someone says “Wiki,” people imagine that little puzzle-globe logo, the way a page is set up and the little blue edit tabs in the corner. Of course, one of the best ways to judge the success of a project is to judge that of its emulators. So for comparison’s sake, let us consider a relative newcomer even to the open-source editing style: TV Tropes. TV Tropes A trope is a rhetorical device. The damsel in distress is a trope, as is the idea of having just one bullet left in the final sequence of an action film. They aren’t exactly clichés, though they can become so. Rather, they are patterns that people have learned to recognize in conversation, argument and entertainment that form the basis of all communication. TV Tropes is a website based on two ideas: First, tropes are awesome things that deserve discussion, admiration and study, and second, everyone has something to contribute. The site does not use the Wiki format, but does have an open policy on allowing people to comment and post about the tropes they find interesting. Pages on the TV Tropes site range from those discussing a specific trope to those showing a film or book and listing the tropes present in it. All are freely editable. The success of the TV Tropes project may not be measurable monetarily like Wikipedia’s or other more commercial ventures. However, the project has become intensely popular all the same. It has the same “well, I’ll click one more link” popularity that Wikipedia had cornered for itself, and the same “I can talk about what I like here and be taken seriously” appeal as all open source projects. People reference tropes in casual conversation on message boards, and it’s creating a communal language. That really is the key behind these two projects – brain extension. They’ve taken a good idea and brought it into the common discourse, allowing people to communicate with each other. People can discuss differing myths from literature, and realize they’re talking about the same trope, even if it’s not the same story. People automatically click to Wiki for information if they need some quick discussion material. For those who want to take a lesson from the Wiki style of success, remember that it emphasizes not the product, but the way the audience is using and sharing words, language and information. Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the “voice” of our client’s brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to www.BrandSplat.com or visit our blog at www.iBrandCasting.com. Post from: SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources |
| Using RSS Feeds to Increase Website Traffic – Guaranteed Results! Posted: 23 Aug 2010 05:00 AM PDT 
Visitors who find a site or blog useful and entertaining could easily subscribe to the RSS feed and receive notification and have and easy access to any future site updates. This adds to an advantage of being able to keep in touch with past visitors, and in this way, would increase repeat business for a site. There are a couple other reasons why businesses are now embracing the use of RSS feeds: 1.Feeds increase your chances of others linking to your content, mentioning your site, and spreading your business around by word of mouth. 2. Having an RSS feed to your site aids in your ranking with search engines. 3. With RSS feeds, you could be able to get your content indexed with search engines much faster. 4. It is possible to attract traffic to your site which does not come from the search engines results pages, if you have RSS feeds installed on your site 5. Since your content is distributed to all subscribers, there are chances of your content catching on and “going viral” as it spreads from one person to another. When you have RSS feeds operating with multiple sites, you could essentially get free marketing and traffic for your business! Some websites which operate RSS feed directories receive thousands upon thousands of visits every single day.So, you are listed with them, you get to benefit from this tremendous business exposure. The result is a constant flow of traffic which you do not have to pay for! Most people do not realize how powerful RSS feeds can be, and are not using this tool to its greatest ability. They use it to some minor extent, but they do not understand or know how to get the back links that they should be receiving from the usage of RSS feeds. Most, as well, do not understand that RSS feeds can improve their page ranking. All in all, if you could grasp the concept and understand the application of RSS feeds, you could take a huge leap ahead of all your competition! If you want to see substantial increases of traffic to your site and watch your business explode, you really can’t afford to pass up on RSS feeds. Louis Ng is a home-based Internet Business Specialist. If you are looking to start a successful online business and earn that extra income, you would want to start by downloading an exclusive free ebook created just for you. Please note that the free ebook is available for download for a time limited period only. So head down to >> www.homebizpassivewealth.com Post from: SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources |
| Optimize Your Images On Search Engines Posted: 23 Aug 2010 05:00 AM PDT 
For some companies, they get their edge from targeted advertising from high-traffic websites. For others, it is through social media marketing. But one relatively easy way to drive relevant traffic to your website without too much effort is to optimize your images for search engines. Think of it as a tiny webpage within the website structure. It is recommended for you to include an anchor text, descriptive tagging, and URL structure to maximize results. Search for the Right Image Successful bloggers, writers, and website owners know the value of using the right image for their text content. It adds another dimension to articles and enables readers to appreciate their webpage even more. However, many fail to use images for search engine optimization purposes. It is in fact a good way to drive backlinks and visitors. There’s no need to upload your own pictures. A lot of stock photos are available from free from sites like Flickr and iStockPhoto among others. It is also a good idea to use Google Search to find good photos. Make sure that you are not violating any copyright if you do this (look for Creative Commons licensing). Make Proper Use of Keywords Keywords are an integral part of any search engine optimization effort. It is used to optimize all kinds of digital assets from videos to podcasts. You will really benefit if you use keywords wisely for your images. Rename the image because having “012345RR.jpg” as the file name isn’t going to help. It is a very simple step and can go a long way in helping your website rank better. Use Descriptive Text It is important to use descriptive tags, file names, and alt text for your images. This is because search engines cannot read images and would use its surrounding text as reference. Make use of this feature by adding keywords on the descriptive text, anchor text, and any other tags (related to the image). Bear in mind that anchor text is one of the most important elements to optimize your image effectively so take advantage of it. As you can see, image SEO is a straight-forward process that provides tenfold benefit from your efforts. Follow the guidelines outlined above and you’ll see your more traffic coming in from image search soon. Pilar Torres – Access our Free Jargon Free Web Marketing Strategy videos aimed at beginners at www.pickaweb.co.uk. You can also visit our Professional Website Hosting Services website for more services. We also offer Reseller Hosting and other services such as Online Website Builder, Dedicated Servers, Domain Names, Data Backup, Web Design, Web Design Templates, Email Marketing, 0800 Numbers and VPS Hosting. Post from: SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources |
| Bad Ads: Who Should be Responsible for Fraudulent and Deceptive Advertising? Posted: 22 Aug 2010 10:00 PM PDT 
The relationship between the advertiser and the publication in all areas requires that the publisher be independent of any decisions regarding the claims and content of the advertising. Publishers, while they can obviously ask for changes based on esthetics, principles and general guidelines generally do not comment or ask for changes based on the legitimacy of the product. If an advertiser claims that “this product will guarantee to make you lose 50 lbs a week,” it is never the responsibility of the publisher, to check this claim and ensure the legitimacy of it. The publication, whether it is print, internet or mobile is just taking the content and placing it within the publication. As Bennet G. Kelley of the Internet Law Center explained to in a brief conversation about this topic, once a publisher gets more involved “there is a potential for greater liability. The greater role one takes the greater risk they take.” When the dynamic changes, therein lies the problem. Advertising networks on the internet, for example, are sometimes becoming more and more involved with the creative process and the actual selling of the product. For example, there is more than one major display network that also makes creatives for their clients and changes them so that they perform better. In doing this, the display network is no longer just “placing ads” but is actually becoming part of the creation process. Often the reason to be involved is simple: the advertising pays based on a click or conversion and, if there is a better advertisement, the network will be paid more. An advertisement that once claimed that “you can lose weight” on this product, might have been changed by the network to “you can lose weight while watching TV”. The actual claim is being made by the advertising network since they made the advertisement. “It is the difference between being passive,” says Kelley “and being an active participant in the process. Once you get involved in the decision making of what the advertisement says you open yourself up to liability.” Kelley mentions an example where a housing website has been sued for violation of fair housing laws because they created the website in a way that one could in the process of creating the ad for listing, include screening of people based on race. They at that point opened themselves to liability. Similarly, there should be a real concern about any company that receives money based on a commission, cost per lead, cost per action. Affiliate networks have already learned that they are not immune from the bad actions of their affiliates and many of them embroiled in the ACAI and other fraud suits know too well that they can be sued based on the actions of their client. An “Affiliate” or “CPA network” is no longer an advertising network that just places advertising. Most of them are involved from the ground up with almost every aspect of how the market is created and have little or no defense to the bad-actions and claims of the advertisers anymore. Even without this, there is now a relationship based on commission, based on the performance of the advertisement that goes beyond a simple placing of an advertisement. The affiliate network makes money only if the advertising makes money and there is a real argument that they are no longer acting as a publisher, but as an independent sales person pushing a product. This should concern publishers who are involved with these programs as well. As the FTC starts to examine the practices of advertisers and their actions, they are going to start examining the relationship of the publishers to those advertisers. If you getting paid on a Cost-Per-Performance model, your liability is suddenly much greater. Putting a link in your blog that reads “This product can do this” suddenly goes beyond a recommendation or advertisement. You are in fact yourself making that claim and getting paid based on the result of that claim. No longer are you just a publisher with an advertiser, but you’ve become an agent, a salesperson, a product pitcher that could be responsible for your statements and actions. Kelley mentioned that the FTC is closely examining everyone in the chain and what their role is. Michael H. Sproule, of the firm Akabas and Sproule, explained that in order to determine liability there is often a two prong process. “Endorsement required two things: First the publisher received an economic benefit from the advertisement and secondly a reader would think the publisher was recommending the product. Both prongs must be met.” He says that any website that recommends a product based on a CPA needs to be careful. “Here both prongs are present: payment to the reviewer, plus a recommendation. On its face, this traditional test could apply to Cost per Sale (Affiliate) advertising without any difference. If the commission was seen merely as analogous to a traditional payment for placement, then there is no difference. The first prong, economic benefit to the publisher is met, but there would be no liability unless placement made the ad appear to be a recommendation.” Thus a link to a product without a review or recommendation might be okay, but as soon as you recommend the product, or make claims, there lies the liability. What can be learned from this? If you are engaged in any product marketing where you are doing anything besides just putting an advertisement up for a set cost, you need to examine what you are selling. If a product makes a claim and you are expressing that same claim in anything you do, whether it be posts in your blog or your own personally created banner you need to do some research about those claims. Ask the person involved what studies have been done to show them, ask what proof they have. Perhaps it’s also time to retain an attorney, if you don’t already have one, to look over these relationships. I know it’s hard for publishers to spend the money in this economy, but the possibility of getting sued for millions based on one poorly worded banner or recommendation might be enough to scare you into doing it. In perhaps the fastest growing industry ever, one person has made a name for himself as a leader and innovator. Pace Lattin, the publisher of the top newsletters in new media and online advertising, is one of the inventors of many of the technologies and methods that have become standards in the industry. He has been called many things, including a rabble-rouser, a guru, an innovator and a watchdog — but one thing stays the same: he is one of the most interesting leaders and commentators in the online advertising industry. Marketing Sherpa, a leading marketing research publication called him the most influential journalist in online media for a reason. IndustryPace.com Post from: SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources |
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