Chris Rudolph's Internet Marketing Blog

What does the future hold for online advertising?

admin — Sat, 09 May 2009 18:46:10 +0000

I’ve been looking at various marketing advertising opportunities recently for some of my sites. One thing that I’ve noticed is that online advertising is becoming even more targeted, which should deliver a better return on investment.

Google’s recent introduction of “interest-based” advertising is a case in point. The ads Google serve associate categories of interest — say gardening, cars, pets, internet marketing, etc — with your web browser, based on the types of sites you regularly visit and the pages you view on them. Google will then use those categories to show you more relevant text and display ads. This should benefit both advertiser and reader in the long run, but has caused some concern from online privacy groups who are worried about a potential invasion of privacy.

Contextual ads have been around for a long time now and will continue to be popular. CPA networks are also doing well at the moment.

Online Ad Exchanges are beginning to develop. They let advertisers buy online ads directly, like at a marketplace, so direct online media buying at hundreds of websites at once is possible, at lower fees and being less labour intensive.

Online advertising will continue to develop - I look forward to trying out some of the newer possibilities. Google interest based advertising internet marketing online advertising

Listed at My Blog Directory

admin — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:19:22 +0000

I just added this blog to My blog directory - it’s an interesting site listing all sorts of blogs. The great thing is that the more traffic you send to the site, the more chance you have of appearing on the front page of the site, which should result in a traffic boost.

Please check out my page at My Blog Directory.

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Looking for hosting information?

admin — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:07:49 +0000

I’m always on the lookout for web hosting options and like to keep an eye on the marketplace in order to ensure I am getting the best deal.

I like to maintain my sites with various different hosts in order to spread them and reduce risk. In order to speed up the process, I keep track of hosting comparison sites like Web Hosting Geeks which provides detailed reviews of many different hosts. I particularly like the way they split the reviews into different categories like best budget hosting, best blog hosting, best forum hosting, etc.

An added bonus is their web hosting blog which provides some great hints, tips and advice on hosting.

Another interesting part of the site are the user reviews - I like to read what others have to say, rather than just the site owner - it gives a more balanced picture, which is great.

Overall, Web Hosting Geeks is a good resource if you want a quick comparison of current hosting deals.

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Google Annihilation Review - Don’t Buy

admin — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 21:15:42 +0000

It’s been a while since I posted on this blog - I’ve been bust developing my niche blog network. One of the ways I have been promoting them is by getting inbound links, so I was interested to read about Rob Benwell’s latest product, Google Annihilation. I sign up but have been very disappointed.

Here’s what I wrote on the Warrior Forum:

Thought I’d throw my thoughts in having joined GA - I agree with most of what has been said already and I’ll be seeking a refund.

I’m a member of a number of 3-way links services and have had some good success with them in ranking for specific keywords, so I was interested in GA as for many of my sites I have the maximum number of links possible in the other services. I was surprised to see that the script is almost exactly the same as Jon Ledger’s 3WL - it may even be that Rob Benwell has purchased rights to it from Jon, which makes a nonsense of Benwell’s claims that he has spent months developing the software! (Apologies to Jon if this is not the case)

As I have had success with 3WL, I thought I’d load up some of my sites. First thing to say is that the instructions are virtually non existent and for newbies I imagine it’s very difficult to work out what is going on. After setting my sites up, I have been back in a couple of times to check my links but the admin area shows nothing! Checking the links pages on my site, I see many links there, but they don’t use anchor keywords, just the url, which completely defeats the purpose of the service! I subsequently emailed support to point this out but have had no response.

Overall, very disappointing.

If you want to try this sort of service, go for Neurolinker, 3WL or Dave Wooding’s Linktator2.

There you have it - don’t go anywhere near it.

Affiliate Marketing internet marketing Resources SEO

Conversion Tracking - a key to online success

admin — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 13:48:30 +0000

It’s been a while since I posted on this blog. I’ve been away on holiday and have also been busy on other projects.

One of the things that internet marketers often neglect is tracking converstions on their site or sites. Done properly, it really can make a massive difference to your bottom line.

Do you know if that Adwords campaign is paying dividends?

Is that ad you placed making you money?

Is your newsletter generating a return?

If not, how do you know what is working? You may be pouring money down the drain.

I’ve just come across a simple to use conversion tracking tool at conversionstats.com which handles all of your tracking needs for you.

The site offers a range of benefits:

It compares multiple websites
With ConversionStats you can analyze all data from website(s) at once, getting the necessary stats like best traffic sources, visitors’ location and best performing keywords. This will save you time, because you will no longer have to switch from once analytic account to another to see website traffic data for each site you own. The system allows you to classify all information according to specific criteria, to monitor web pages and to see what call-to-action tactics work the best for your site.

ConversionStats gives you and your clients the total access to all marketing data.
With this tool you can track from different domains, in real time and on a 24/7 basis.

ConversionStats allows you to track users by location.
Targeting customers is critical for your business growth: to convert random visitors into enthusiastic buyers, you should know their needs. Actually, studying your prospects is a never-ending process, and here ConversionStats can be very helpful, classifying your customers by country, state and city.

ConversionStats is compatible with all kinds of shopping carts.
It can easily track conversions from any merchant. Whatever shopping cart you have – it can be integrated with the universal ConversionStats system.

It has SEO Campaign Tracking feature.
ConversionStats will show you which of your link-building campaigns are the most efficient. By tracking incoming links, the tool enables you to improve ranking and to get more visitors.

It helps define the right keywords.
Using the best keywords for your niche you can attract your target audience and hence create sure-fire content for your landing pages. Thus, along with its ability to determine the best link-building campaigns and generate traffic, ConversionStats can be also useful for on-page optimization of your website.

ConversionStats offers heat map tracking.
This stats program will help you better understand your prospects and easily convert them into customers. By analyzing users’ click views, you can see how to build your web pages so that they start making money. The Heat Map Tracking feature from ConversionStats will show you where to place your call-to-action or affiliate links.

ConversionStats comes with a customer-specified access system.
That means that, once you have signed up, you become a super user and have unlimited access to all ConversionStats features, taking advantage of the latest innovations we have developed just for you. Besides, the super user status lets you add as many sub users as you want and give them access to website data. If you are working in a hosting, web design or consulting company or running any other online business, you may need this feature to help your clients with website monitoring. With ConversionStats you will be able to offer your clients more than you actually do – SEO, design, site promotion etc, – you will provide them with an effective and completely secure website analytic service. Now you can track website stats and share it with your clients – for extra payment or on a freebie. Thus, ConversionStats ensures that you increase customers’ loyalty, making them choose you among hundreds of competitors.

ConversionStats has a branding feature.
Thus, you can wrap your website around this analytic software, making it look like yours. After super users have logged in, the branding option can be selected on the menu and, when users click on it, they are allowed to point to a header and footer file on their website. To enhance the branding, ConversionStats can create free templates and add slight changes to the menu background and text – a remarkable benefit available for ConversionStats super users only.

It saves marketing dollars.
ConversionStats provides you with converting keywords and top converting sources. Using this data you can improve your return on investment and spend less marketing dollars on failed campaigns. With ConversionStats no campaign will fail.

ConversionStats is easy!
Despite its advanced features, this tracking tool is user-friendly and equally handy for skilled webmasters and newbie’s. ConversionStats is proud of its simple interface ensuring users to discover everything about their website as soon as they need it. Moreover, to make the offer even sweeter, ConversionStats provides a detailed description of each feature supported by a customized demo.

I’m very impressed with what I have seen and tested at conversionstats.com. In particular, the simplicity of the site and how easy it is to set up. I’ve tried other systems in the past which have been very complicated to implement - that’s not the case with ConversionStats.

So, if you are looking for a simple to use, free conversion tracker, give conversionstats.com a try. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!

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Mini Site Profits launches

admin — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:01:28 +0000

I hope you enjoyed my detailed reviews of Michael Rasmussen’s new Mini Sites video course. If you missed any, you can read them here:

Part 1 - Videos 1-3
Part 2 - Videos 4-6
Part 3 - Videos 7-9
Part 4 - Videos 10-12

I pleased to say that the course is now available for free access. Head on over to:

http://www.chris-rudolph.com/Recommends/MiniSites

to pick up all of the videos for free. Mini Site Profits Exposed comes with 12 videos, and has more content than most $300 home study courses.

If you decide that you want to continue your education, and get the biggest possible advantage, you can also upgrade to the deluxe course for a small fee. The deluxe course contains four full-length videos that each cover one advanced topic in great detail. I recommend you check out the free videos first and then make a decision about upgrading. Here’s the link again:

http://www.chris-rudolph.com/Recommends/MiniSites

I hope you enjoy the videos. Please leave a comment below to let me know what you think of them. Free stuff Gurus? internet marketing Resources

Profiting from Mini Sites Part 4

admin — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 20:08:05 +0000

If you’ve missed my previous posts in this series, you can read them here:

Part 1 - Videos 1-3
Part 2 - Videos 4-6
Part 3 - Videos 7-9

I’m looking at videos 10-12 in Michael Rasmussen’s free Mini Sites video course today. Here’s what I’ve found:

VIDEO 10 - SECRETS OF CREATING A PRODUCT FUNNEL

This video will walk you through the process of designing a product line that will make you a TON of money. There’s a lot more to it than you’d think, which is why this important concept (which was taken from direct marketing) gets it’s own video.

After watching this video, you’ll understand why you can’t just have a single front end product, and you’ll know exactly what to do in order to get your customer to keep buying more and more expensive products from you… completely on autopilot!

This video is a MUST for any serious marketer who wants to make a lot of money from their online business.

VIDEO 11 - OUTSOURCING SECRETS FOR WORKING LESS, AND MAKING MORE

The title of this video says it all. You’ll learn all of Michael’s secrets for getting top notch freelancers to help you create your mini site empire in record time.

Let’s face it, you can’t be an expert at everything that mini sites require. For example, it’s really tough to be a top notch graphic designer, while also mastering HTML, and then becoming a killer copywriter, on top of also creating the product itself.

And the list goes on and on. If you want to be efficient, and begin making money as fast as possible, outsourcing is the secret to making it happen. This video will show you exactly what to do, as well as some common (and very expensive) pitfalls to avoid.

VIDEO 12 - HOW TO GET TONS OF TRAFFIC FOR YOUR MINI SITE

Let’s face it… it doesn’t matter how great your mini site is if you don’t get any traffic coming to it. Getting traffic can be one of the most confusing and mysterious parts of making money online if you don’t get the proper education.

Thankfully, Michael really dives in, and gives you a lightning fast education in this area. Specifically, you’ll learn:

* How to use Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising to get targeted traffic fast.
* 3 ways to get targeted traffic without spending a dime.
* 2 ways to leverage the experience and contacts of other people to explode your traffic.
* 3 traffic strategies to avoid like the plague!

By the time you’re done with this video, you’ll know what to do right away to begin driving targeted visitors to your mini site.

I’ll reveal the link to Michael’s site on Monday. To be sure to find out where you can access these great free videos, please sign up for my newsletter or subscribe to my RSS feed.

Free stuff Gurus? internet marketing Resources

Profiting from Mini Sites Part 3

admin — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 09:50:34 +0000

This is the third part of my review of Michael Rasmussen’s free video course on mini sites. Read the previous posts here:

Part 1 - Videos 1-3
Part 2 - Videos 4-6

Today I’m reviewing videos 7-9:

VIDEO 7 - HOW TO “GROW” YOUR SALE

This video is guaranteed to be an eye opener for almost everyone who watches it, even the experienced marketers. Michael dives into some of the most effective ‘upselling’ techniques that I’ve ever seen.

You’ll learn:

* The psychology of ‘upselling’, and how to use it make your customer spend even more money with you. The best part? He’ll think it was his idea!
* The absolute best time to upsell your customer. This one will surprise you when you realize how much money you’ve been leaving on the table by skipping this step.
* 5 simple techniques to increase your profit by up to 100%.

If you’ve already got a mini site that’s up and running, this video will make a big difference for you right away. Use any of these ‘plug and profit’ strategies to increase your income literally overnight!

VIDEO 8 - CREATING AN AFFILIATE SALES FORCE

If there’s one thing I’ve noticed that all successful marketers have in common, it’s that they have a great affiliate program. They create a program that allows other people to make good money by promoting their products, and they get to just sit back and relax, while everyone else is doing the hard work of promoting for them.

If you’ve ever dreamed of having an army of motivated sales people working hard to make you money, then you’re going to love this video. Michael will teach you:

* What an affiliate program is, and how to set one up very quickly.
* Exactly what tools you need to give your affiliates (most people miss the mark here, so pay extra attention to this part).
* Why merely having an affiliate program is NOT enough to convince people to sign up, and what you can do instead to have people eagerly trying to become one of your affiliates.
* How to motivate affiliates to sell for you.

VIDEO 9 - MINI SITE MISTAKES TO AVOID

Let’s face it… it’s not enough to explain what you should do. You also need to know what mistakes you should avoid. Michael has already made these costly mistakes, but you don’t have to. You’ll learn:

* Why people do judge a book by its cover… and how to capitalize on that for your mini-site
* The single biggest reason people don’t buy from a mini site, and how you can apply this ‘instant fix’.
* The single biggest thing that will kill your mini-site (it’s not what you think, and making this mistake is a surefire way to drain money from your bank account FAST!)
* Two list building mistakes that’ll cripple your long-term profits.

In my next post, I’ll look at videos 1-12. In the meantime, if you haven’t already, please sign up for my newsletter or subscribe to my RSS feed to ensure you receive notification when the next reviews are published.

Free stuff Gurus? internet marketing Resources

Free article writing software

admin — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 21:17:13 +0000

I’ve been using a nice piece of software to create articles over the last few days and thought I’d share it with my readers. The software is called 8-Minute Article Writer and the great part is that it’s free, so you can download it now:

http://www.chris-rudolph.com/ArticleWritingSoftware.zip

The software helps you write and structure articles properly and quickly - 8 minutes in fact!

If you a looking for a way to speed up your article writing, then give 8-Minute Article Writer a try.

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Free 7 day Wordtracker access now available

admin — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:36:58 +0000

I was doing a bit of keyword research for a new site and discovered that Wordtracker are currently offering 7 days free access to the full tool for new subscribers.

To take advantage, head on over to the Wordtracker site:

http://www.chris-rudolph.com/Recommends/WordtrackerTrial

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