Strangely enough, removing the AdSense ads has increased the per-click revenue on one of my other sites.

Smart pricing

I’m almost certain that the ads on MichaelHaislip.com were smart pricing me into a lower per-click revenue category. So, while my other site was getting plenty of click-throughs, MichaelHaislip.com’s poor conversion rate was depressing the revenue across my entire network.

Some simple math

Let’s say Site A has an awesome click-through rate (CTR) of 5%.

Site B = 1% CTR.

Site C = 0.25% CTR.

The average CTR for all 3 sites is just over 2%. Not terrible, but not that great either.

However, if we remove the AdSense on both Site B and Site C, the average jumps to 5%, which should garner significantly more per-click revenue.

Should you remove AdSense from poorly converting sites?

Assuming you have multiple sites using AdSense, I would say yes. It could be the difference between $0.02 per click and $0.25 per click. From my own experience, it has made a big difference.

OK, that’s the last cosmology reference I’ll use today. Honest.

Moving on, there are a lot of sites out there on the wild Web that compare credit cards for you, but let me introduce you to a good site that you may not know about: YourCreditNetwork.com.

Some of the good points about YourCreditNetwork.com:

1. Potential credit applicants can sort each card by certain categories, such as interest rate, rewards, annual fees, and multiple other features. If you’re addicated to cards with reward programs, then this is for you.

2. The site urges people to use their credit wisely, and to not go on a crazy buying spree once they get a card. This is a pleasant difference that gives the site some credibility.

3. Each card listing comes with a detailed description of the features, rates, and all of the other important details. A potential card applicant would be able to get all the important information before applying for the card.

Check out YourCreditNetwork for your credit card needs.

1. Always carry duct tape

Duct tape is the fix-all material. From taping broken pipes to restraining terrorists, duct tape is a crucial part of MacGyver’s arsenal. An entrepreneur should have a similar resource, whether it be an indispensable employee, or a good relationship with outside contractors.

2. Know your Swiss Army Knife

MacGyver used his his Swiss Army Knife as an all-purpose tool, from cutting ropes to drilling holes. However, had he mistakenly used the corkscrew when he really needed the tiny scissors, he would have died. An entrepreneur’s Swiss Army Knife is that one tool that is useful if the knowledge is there, but deadly if mistakenly used. Know the pros and cons of your tools and methods, lest you die a premature a business death.

3. Brute force is often overcome by ingenuity and mobility

MacGyver took on scores of armed men with little more than his brain and some random material. He found ways to work around the bad guys’ strengths. A business competing against a larger opponent should practice this type of guerilla action. This is why niche marketing is one of the most successful business models on the Web.

4. A jack-of-all-trades is always in demand

Most people, when asked what they do for a living, have a specific answer. Some will be teachers, some will be electricians, and so on. MacGyver could never be classified, and this was his strength. Everyone knows that one guy that knows something about everything. Stay on good terms with him. He may not be able to tell you everything about a subject, but he can at least set you on the right course.

Why Target Rookies?

A passionate rookie in any field devours information like I devour cheap booze. The rookie doesn’t yet know enough to sort out the useful information from the worthless, so they tend to absorb all the information they can find. It’s the source of the John Chow clone effect.

The rookie is more likely follow the advice of those that have come before him. Whether or not this advice is good doesn’t matter. A passionate rookie is so enthralled that anyone could pitch him anything, and he’d take it all with a smile. In short, the rookie is willing to spend money. He wants to be sold and upsold.

Methods of Targeting Rookies

1. Create content that promises to impart wisdom

Use page titles that promise to teach the rookie something. Entice him with “secret systems” and “surefire techniques.” Offer e-books that show him “How to (insert goal here) in 30 Days.”

2. Build credibility

A rookie burned by bad advice is likely to drop out completely. For example, look at all of the “make money online” blogs that have popped up and then vanished before a year passes. With their heads filled with unrealistic expectations of easy money by some unscrupulous A-list bloggers, they quickly become disillusioned. There goes another potential customer or potential reader.

3. Be transparent, be open, be communicative

Rookies want the real dirt. They want to see the truth so they can feed that passion. This passionate phase in their interest is invaluable for hooking them on you. If a rookie starts suspecting that someone is holding back vital information, don’t expect to see him back.

Conclusion

My former insurance sales manager said, “If they’re in a buying mood, then keep on selling.” Target those niches which have the most passionate rookies to maximize profits. They’re always in a buying mood, no matter what you’re selling.

I have written a Shakespearean sonnet in her honor.

Ode to Enom Girl

Enom Girl smiles at me from parked domain,
My stock photo angel in pink lipstick.
Plunging neckline, black strap, my heart in pain,
Why must you tempt on each domain I pick?

Cornsilk hair, that shy smile, hide a dark soul.
Profit pursuits be thy master and king.
For money, ’tis the reason, ’tis the goal,
Yet, still, sweet rose, my love for thee I sing.

A sweet heaven’s blessing ’tis your backpack,
Hours and days I spend lost in your eyes.
Strange how you seem to know, you have a knack,
Parking domains that I desire to buy.

Come on, baby, let’s give this thing a whirl.
Love me, my dear fair angel, Enom Girl.

Another idea:

When I sold insurance, many carriers had co-op advertising deals. In short, the agent and the company would split the cost of advertising. It got the agent exposure, and it let the carrier promote its brand.

Perhaps affiliates and their sponsors could work out a co-op deal to promote both interests.

Again, just some thoughts. Perhaps someone will find inspiration in them.

I asked myself a question last week. “How many potential readers am I losing by only writing in English?” When I first asked the question, I didn’t think much about it. But since then, I’ve become more convinced that English-only sites are losing a potentially huge audience.

My Reasoning

The general assumption seems to be that everyone who uses the Internet also speaks English. However, there is no empirical data to verify that. So, after a bit of research, I discovered the stone-cold facts. I found a chart that breaks down the languages spoken on the Internet along with a bit of statistical data. It seemed that I was onto something.

While many Internet users are bilingual, I reason that most aren’t. If 30 percent of users are primarily English speakers, that means 70 percent of users aren’t. That’s a huge potential readership being lost to the language barrier.

Think Like a Non-English Speaker

Most people would suggest using one of the existing translation services, such as Babel Fish or Google Translate. This is bad for several reasons:

1. Why would a non-English speaker find your English-only site when he’s using non-English search queries?
2. Assuming he somehow finds your site, how long would he hang around trying to read a foreign language? A user who can’t find immediate value is more apt to click the back button rather than a “Translate This” button.
3. Even if he manages to translate the page, it does you, the webmaster, little good. As far as I know, neither Google nor Babel Fish cache translated pages. Foreign language users would be forced through this arduous process every time.

In short, we can’t expect foreign language speakers to visit English-only sites. A webmaster needs to generate foreign language versions of his site. Unfortunately, most of us don’t speak 12 languages. What to do?

The Solution

After some research, I found very little help. For WordPress users, there are multiple plug-ins that seem like the answer, but still present the same problem; the user must initiate the translation process, and that translated page vanishes once the user leaves. What we need is a way to create permanent foreign language pages.

There’s 2 ways to do this:

1. Manually translate the pages and create a separate site (easy for static sites, not so easy for frequently updated sites or blogs)
2. Create a program that automatically does this for you

Unfortunately, I know of no program that performs such a function. I guess this means I get to do some programming.

More on this as I come up with something.

Not So Easy Any More

Not too long ago, figuring the value of a site visitor was simple: revenue divided by unique visitors. A site making $5000 with 100,000 uniques meant each unique was worth $0.05. A webmaster would then know how much he could spend to acquire visitors while still making a profit.

The current state of the web has changed that somewhat. How do we define a “unique visitor?” Think of all the ways someone can access web content:

• Traditional browsing
• RSS feeds
• RSS-to-e-mail
• Mobile devices
• and probably more than I can think of

Is an RSS subscriber a visitor? He’s reading your content, but he’s not on your site, nor is he seeing ad impressions unless it’s a monetized feed.

What about the person reading your site on his cell phone? How do you monetize for that? Are you even sure what your site looks like on a cell phone browser?

Questions that Need to Be Answered

1. How much is a single RSS subscriber worth? Is it worth it to convert visitors into subscribers?
2. Are new visitors more profitable than repeat visitors?
3. What’s the conversion rate for repeat visitors vs. new visitors?
4. How do we even define a visitor?

Anyway, those were just some random thoughts I had in the shower. Does anyone care to weigh in on the subject?

Here’s your term of the day: scope creep.

Scope creep, as defined by Wikipedia, means:

“[the] uncontrolled changes in a project’s scope. This phenomenon can occur when the scope of a project is not properly defined, documented, or controlled. It is generally considered a negative occurrence to be avoided.”

In business, this happens when owners don’t have a proper, written business plan. On the web, it happens when a site starts creeping out of its niche into more generalized territory.

The Depressing Story of Crazy Bob

We’ve all seen blogs that start out with a singular focus. For example, let’s look at a fictional blog. We’ll call it “Make Insane Money Online with Crazy Bob.” Crazy Bob intends to make insane amounts of money by showing people how to do the same. Also, he’s trying to pay for his psychiatric medications, but that’s another story.

The project starts out well. Crazy Bob writes some intriguing articles. He works all the social bookmarking angles. He makes enough to cover his medication with enough left over to buy food for his 17 cats. Everything is going just as planned.

One day, Crazy Bob realizes that he’s out of ideas, and begins repeating the same trite advice from every other “make money online” site out there.

Unfortunately, Crazy Bob is so bored by this that he begins posting pictures of his cats. Then more details of his personal life creep in: what he ate for breakfast, whether he’s getting enough fiber in his diet, what he tells his dates when they ask about the pervasive odor of cat urine in his apartment. That kind of stuff.

At this point, scope creep has set in. The site should accurately be called “Make Insane Money Online with Crazy Bob and Please Look at My Funny Cat Pictures while You’re at It.”

Damn cats.

What to Do about It

1. Stop publishing pictures of your cats. No one cares.
2. Look at the original theme of your site. Has the site drifted away?
3. Determine if it’s best to re-brand your site around its current, expanded theme, or whether it’s better to spin off the extraneous content into a separate site.

Scope creep kills. You have been warned.

I recently came across a service called Smorty. Though I’m not really sure what the name means, they do promise that a blogger can get paid for blogging.

A little research into the company revealed that they are a blog advertising firm, which means companies pay them for reviews and links. In turn, the bloggers get paid to blog about the companies. It’s a nifty system.

The blogger makes money by accepting offers, which are basically requests from advertisers about how to format the review. Also, each offer is assigned a pre-set price, so it’s known up front what will be paid.

The offers are based on several factors, including a blog’s Google PageRank and its Alexa ranking. Smorty also uses an in-house rating system called “Smorty Score,” which increases as more offers are completed.

Smorty appears to be a good bet for bloggers who want to make some extra cash.