I see affiliates as the clutch of Internet shopping. Without them, it would be a lot of grinding and stalling.

News is coming out of the e-tail (online virtual storefront) sector that may affect affiliates. Search engines, retailers and ad agencies are calling out for universal product decription for online advertisements.

The focus will be on SKUs.

I see this call to standardize as a step backwards for affiliates, who oftentimes use their skills for creating eye-catching, creative ad text in order to attract clicks.

Do we have any e-tail affiliates out there who want to share their thoughts on this issue? Please share your knowledge with the rest of us.

The online experience is much more pleasant when you know how to drive it—and affiliates are the shopping mall valets.

I just used the Keyword Playground tool over at Webconfs.com and I gotta say that I like it. Basically, you type in a main keyword, say health insurance, and the Keyword Playground tool will get related words and search volume from the Overture database (which you normally have to be a Yahoo customer to use.)

As we tell many affiliates, lists like this and the keyword lists generated by services like Wordtracker are great to use a starting point for your PPC keyword list.

What I mean by starting point is that all of the keywords on these free services are being targeted in PPC campaigns by hundreds of marketers. While they tend to have high lead volume, these large words tend to be expensive from a PPC standpoint.

So what should you do to leverage off of these expensive terms?

Read the rest of this entry »

I think it is important for us in Internet marketing to know the Whos Whos. After all, it is a young industry and we should educate ourselves as often as possible.

Therefore, how many of you know who Terry S. Semel is? Why not spend a few minutes reading up on the CEO and Chariman of Yahoo!?

I find it important to know more about the people who thrive in the arena I want to succeed. Please forward any info on a Whos Who you would like to share.

Learning together…its a beautiful thing.

In order to make your life a little easier, we have added new Affiliate Tools links on the lower section of the right hand navigation on the Affiliate Blog homepage. Check it out!

Listed are some of the tools that we use here at InsureMe to improve our performance and efficiency in SEO, PPC, and Web development. Hopefully you will find them useful as well.

We plan on adding to the list as we run across more tools, so if you have a tool that you use a lot, send me a note and let me know. If it is something that looks useful, we will add it to the list!

Enjoy, and have a great week!

So, CBS and Time Warner decided to merge their struggling, young TV channels (CBS owns UPN, and Time Warner owns WB) into one brand new channel, The CW.

I have a gut feeling that no one representing Internet marketing was sitting at the ol board table when the ink was drying on the contracts.

Why do I say this?

Welcome to TheCW.com! I know it shouldnt make me smile, but it kinda does.

Hope you have a great weekend!

I saw this post on ThreadWatch.org that said AdWords was down.

Seems to be fine now, but if you see a drop in your Google clicks for the day, that could be why.

Sounds like a rough day down at the Plex!

Have a great weekend!

A new tool from webconfs.com takes the “cloud” display concept and uses it to show you the keyword density of your Web page.

While the importance of keyword density is thought to be on the decline, or even considered “non-sense” by Dr. E Garcia, the tool does give you a way to quickly check and make sure that you have the right words emphasized in your copy.

If anything, the keyword density cloud is a new tweak on a done-to-death concept. And that I appreciate.

[BONUS LINK - Dr. E Garcias (the doctor who studies search engine rankings) report titled The Keyword Density of Non-Sense. If you think that search engines are ranking based on keyword density, you should read this paper!]

As a follow-up to this weeks post on the mindset of Yahoo!, the Yahoo! Search peeps have shouted back. A post on their blog yesterday had the VPs of Engineering and Product respectively proclaim that Yahoo! was fit for the fight.

“This commitment to being the best should be crystal clear from our investments in talented people, research, innovation and new products. Believe it or not, we are still in the early days of search. As all of us at Yahoo! agree, were in it for the long haul, and were in it to win”

Perhaps the Yahoo! CFO was upset about missing Q4 expectations when she made her comments last week.

Im glad to know the competitive landscape of search is scheduled to remain competitive. Time now to work on keeping the stories straight. Stay tuned….

For those of you who have not seen the superstar powers of Google Analytics, I have one thing to say: get your place in line now! InsureMes James has been working with Google Analytics for a few months now, and he raves about the data he has access to review: everything from how his site was found and used to a global map pinpointing geo-visits (James is loved in India).

Here is where I may burst your bubble: Google Analytics was such a phenom that it is full…not accepting anymore site submissions. However, dont let that stop you from signing up for it and claiming your spot in line while they increase the analytic capacity. You can do that here.

Here is where I hope to make you smile again: Google has partnered with Zaaz, an analytics firm, in an effort to ramp up its own analytic efforts. When will the doors of Googles magic analytical factory open back up? Only the Google-Loompas know for sure…but it could be everyones golden ticket.

Please share any Google Analytics stories, if you have them….

If you are in the search marketing biz, it is easy to question Googles infamous motto “Do No Evil.” Just a few hours of dealing with the mystical “algorithmic” aspects of the AdWords platform will make any person start questioning the dark soul that must reside somewhere in the AdWords servers within the mighty Googleplex.

Can you tell I have been working with AdWords lately?

The reality is that any company with the cash and influence Google has will undoubtedly be scrutinized to the point that some of their actions will look a bit self-serving, even “evil.” Whether or not that is fair is up for debate - I am sure Microsoft would have something to say about it.

Well, a new Web site is taking a constant poll on Googles “evilness” levels by allowing people to rate Google-related news from “Real Good” to “Real Evil.” For example, this is a graph of Googles “evilness” based on user ratings of Google news stories:

So if you are looking for an outlet for your Google-related frustration—or if you have the Google love—pop on over to www.EvilorNot.info and get out your emotions. It is like free therapy with a line graph.

[Bonus Link] I found out about this site on Matt Cutts blog, where he has an interesting post on “linkbaiting.” See it here.

Sometimes youve gotta love Google.

As some of you already know, Yahoo just shortened their pay-per-click ads to be more like Googles. The move was a bit controversial to say the least, since short ads tend to increase click throughs, but most likely will decrease overall conversion. (read: Yahoo makes more $ while you make less)

Anyway, Barry at Search Engine Roundtable just found an example of Google testing LONGER ADS! See the example here.

Word is that Google is running a limited test of allowing advertisers to use up to four lines of text on their ads.

While I doubt this will be anything more than a test, it is a great way for Google to make Yahoo look a bit silly - not that Yahoo isnt doing a good enough job on their own.

I saw the movie “Singles” last Friday night. Today, I was reminded of the scene where Matt Dillons character responded to a bad review of his band in the Seattle newspaper.

This only makes us stronger…We are loved in Belgium!

Why was I reminded of that scene today? Yahoos Chief Financial Officer was quoted today claiming that it is not Yahoos goal to be the best in search and it is not “reasonable” to think Yahoo! can catch Google. Interesting…I guess second place still gets silver, huh? Please take a few minutes to review the entire article here.

Another interesting take from this news is that the Yahoo! CFO discredited a recent global Internet search report because the stats did not include results from Asia. Said Susan Decker, Yahoo! CFO, “Yahoo! is exceptionally strong” in these Asian countries.

And Matt Dillons band is loved in Belgium.

For all of you that consider yourselves a part of the search marketing industry/community, I highly recommend reading the summary of Danny Sullivans keynote speech at Search Engine Strategies Conference in Chicago. The summary was written by Andrew Goodman and is split into two different parts:

Search Marketings About People and Principles, Not Just Algorithms, Part I
Search Marketings About People and Principles, Not Just Algorithms, Part II

The keynote address focuses on the growth of the search marketing community and the responsibilities search marketers have as the community grows and gains visibility.

If you have a spare 10 minutes, it is well worth a read.

Today there is a post on Search Engine Lowdown by Garrett French that does a great job of summarizing the recent Google versus US Government standoff on the privacy of Internet search.

The story began last week when Google ignored a federal subpoena. This issue of online privacy and “what does it mean?” may turn into one of the bigger stories of this new year. I foresee one thing happening: the national awareness of Internet search and search engines will skyrocket.

Garrett Frenchs summary of the events can be viewed here. Please share any new happenings, as I think we should all stay current on this…it is our workspace.

So, its Friday. You have been slaving away at your computer all week and you need a break. Let me introduce you to my good friend, Sitepal.

Sitepal is a company that designs animated characters you can put on your Web site to assist your visitors through the buying process. You can also use them to annoy visitors as well. Either way, fun for everyone!

Sitepal claims their talking character was able to increase sales for one of McAfees products by 10%. You can find the pdf version of the case study here.

So, moving away from the business implications of Sitepal, lets link you to the fun stuff, shall we?

One of the best parts about Sitepal is the fact that it can say just about anything you type into it. To try the talking Sitepal demo - click here. Just type in whatever you want the nice Sitepal lady to say. I have yet to find a word she cant say - and I have tried a lot of words (off the company clock of course :).

Also, if you want to see the wide range of characters Sitepal has to offer, click here. You can change anything from facial hair or clothing to height and weight.

Personally, Idig my rendition of Albert Einstein (below).

Kinda reminds me of Scooby-Doo animation….

All right, happy Friday…and have some fun this weekend.

Oh yeah - GO BRONCOS!

As a follow-up to James post on the importance of doing a press release, there is now a free ebook available to help you in this effort. Go ahead and revisit James info, check out the e-book and figure a way to apply it to your strategy.

The New Rules of PR is the latest resource created by David Meerman Scott. The 21-page book gives insight and advice into how to:

You can check out more of Davids relevant resources here. Enjoy…and share the knowledge!

You may have heard of the Web 2.0 concept, but Shawn Collins writes that there is a new concept in affiliate marketing which he calls Affiliate Marketing 2.0 (Hey, there is nothing wrong with jumping on the 2.0 bandwagon!)

The overall concept behind both Web 2.0 and Affiliate Marketing 2.0 is giving your target market (consumers or affiliates) the product or service they really need by interacting with them in a meaningful way.

So, after reading the article, I was wondering: if you are an affiliate, what is it you are really looking for in an affiliate program? Is it all about the dollars and cents, or is there something more that makes you stick with one company? What could an affiliate program do that would set it apart from its competitors?

Please leave a comment and let us know what you think.

Thanks!

As an update to my post last month about Yahoo! shortening the sponsored ad character limit, the move is expected to begin tomorrow.

What will happen?

There is an article here that further discusses the changes and what we can expect to see as a result. Keep an eye on your stats tomorrow, and let us know of any trends you see develop.

Good luck!

Google just announced that it has purchased dMarc Broadcasting, a company that works with advertisers by helping them get their ads on the radio. From the press release, it sounds like AdWords advertisers may eventually have the option to place radio ads through AdWords.

I am wondering about the logistics behind something like that. Will Google record a radio ad based off your ad text and then distribute it through radio stations? Will you have to record your own ads? Will this type of advertising be cost-effective for affiliates, or only for big companies who have “branding dollars”?

No matter what the end product looks like, this is a very interesting move. It seems that Google is loving the online advertising dollars so much they are trying to dominate traditional media forms as well. I have heard about Google creating a print ad product, now radio…next TV?

As an affiliate, would you be open to taking part in Google radio advertising? Do you think a company like Google could find a way to make radio advertising affordable enough for affiliates to take part?

As an update to my post on Google homepage advertisements last week, the Google Video Store link has been moved to the Google Service page…at least on my page-view here in Colorado.

I did take the time to try out the video service–and its pretty cool!

One of the available free videos is John Battelles talk at Google NYC in early December 2005. The video talk is just under one hour in length, and he discusses his book, “The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture.”

Heres hoping well see more affiliate marketing educational programs. Enjoy!

Dave Taylor, a corporate blogging expert and the guy who inspired this blog, has a great post on his belief that affiliates are the future of online sales.

The revelation comes from Daves recent trip to the Affiliate Summit in Las Vegas, where Marketing Sherpa released its report revealing that affiliate marketing was a $6.5 billion dollar business in 2005. That is a lot of bucks!

It is good to see online industry experts giving affiliate marketing some well-deserved visibility. Hopefully not too much though, since I know most affiliates like to keep a low profile

Have a great week!

The Google homepage has always been kind of the great “white” open; by that I mean there are no advertisements to shadow the bright simplicity of its white background. But have we seen the beginning of the end?

John Battelle has asked for feedback from across the globe as to who can view the Google Video advertisement on the Google homepage. Many of his readers do see the ad, which charges viewers for certain features of the new Google Video.

There is a related article here that discusses Googles viewpoint concerning commercial advertisements on this same homepage. Since Google generates the bulk of its revenue via sponsored ad listings, are we seeing Google diversify by running its own revenue-generating ads on the homepage?

Share your thoughts….

The future…full of potential and possibility. Cell phones…everywhere I look theyre being used. The future of cell phones? It could be developing right before our eyes.

VoIP, Voice over Internet Protocol, has been called the next logical path for cellular phone progress. Using the Internet for mobile phone usage would make it, essentially, a WiFi portable device that can be used to make phone calls.

A Google patent that outlines a mobile phone-calling technology based upon a search or query has been made public. Rather than displaying an advertisement on the phone display, the phone would offer a calling option to the mobile phone user.

Where will this lead? Where do affiliates play into this idea? Will we need to create custom phone numbers to replace a tracking link? How realistic would that be?

Share your thoughts with me. Lets start working on the future!

It has been a pretty well-known fact in the search engine optimization community that the advanced algorithm Google uses to weed out Web page spam in the United States has not really translated into non-English versions of Google.

At this years Google Dance, I had a chat with the well-known Danish SEO, Mikkel deMib Svendsen, who told me how much easier it is to optimize sites for Google in Scandinavia, France, Germany, or any other non-English-speaking country.

It sounds like this might not be the case much longer.

Matt Cutts of Google fame has put out a warning on his blog to “spammy,” non-English sites to clean up their act–or face the consequences. The post has a great example of a spam page in German that, until quite recently, was working very well for optimization purposes.

Matt is not known for posting idle threats, so chances are there are some changes coming…and soon.

Like any good company, we figured it was only fair to put out a press release about this blog. You can see the release here.

For all of you affiliates out there who are launching a new site or have some interesting information to share, a press release is a good way to generate visitors and inbound links.

My top pick for Internet-related press releases for affiliates is PRWeb. On PRWeb, you can get your press release published for free, or you can pay any amount you want to pay. Basically, the more you pay, the greater your distribution.

The magic number when it comes to PRWeb releases is 200. That is because, at the $200 level, you are able to get links embedded into your press release, giving it much wider distribution. This means it will reach sites like Yahoo! News, for example.

Press releases can also be good for link and traffic generation…but dont overdo it. Keep your releases limited to news-worthy and truly informational subjects. There are already enough spammers out there; dont become one of them.

So next time you have something to announce, you gotta do a press release!

We have a couple posts about the current and projected levels of increased spending in online advertising; however, an interesting report made its way onto my screen today. The overall average cost of keywords are cheaper when comparing December 05 to December 04.

The info was gathered by Fatham Online, an SEM agency. The report shows that a few categories did show increased keyword cost, including the automotive and travel categories.

You can access the entire article here. What could be better than an increasing online shopping audience clicking on less expensive advertisements? 250 pounds of Silly Putty?

Let me know what you think….

Do you ever wonder what Google does with your pay-per-click dollars? Research and development? Most likely. Update and maintain the equipment? Hopefully. Order Silly Putty in bulk? Busted!

The official Google blog shows what happens when several Googlers get together and order some Silly Putty. The result is over 250 pounds of the stretchy, fun stuff being delivered en masse to the Googleplex.

I find enjoyment seeing these Googlers taking time to play. We are all in a creative space called Internet/affiliate marketing, one that began with no boundaries since it was a fresh idea. Sometimes, every once in a while, a small amount of playtime and imagination could help rediscover that creative space.

Enjoy your work!

There is an interesting discussion going on over at the Search Engine Watch forums that addresses the sometimes tumultuous relationship between Web designers and search engine optimizers. See the full thread here.

In the past I came across a lot of Web sites that seemed to excel in the optimization of Web pages at the expense of Web site design. Luckily, as time has passed it seems the most savvy affiliates understand there has to be a reasonable balance between optimization and design.

Think of balancing site design, usability and optimization as a way to maximize the potential profits from your Web site. If your site is not optimized, you are going to have to spend a ton of money to get people to your site. And if your site design leaves something to be desired, your conversions are going to be lower.

A couple of my favorite quotes from the thread are:

Read the rest of this entry »

Twin bed or queen-sized? Smoking or non-smoking? What about free Yahoo! Internet access?

Yahoo! and Sheraton hotels have partnered to offer hotel visitors free Internet use within the hotel lobby, as well as free wi-fi connection to the hotel rooms.

The joint project between Yahoo! and Sheraton will begin in just two markets, NYC and Stamford, CT.

While hotel Internet offers are not new, Sheraton and Yahoo! say they are the first to offer a co-branded product.

Where will this lead? Id be very surprised to see a continental breakfast sponsored by Google, or a pillow mint by MSN. However, as the “big three” of Google, Yahoo! and MSN compete for more ground, dont be surprised to see more partnerships develop.

There are a lot of things in your Web sites source code that cannot be read by search engine spiders like Googles Googlebot or Yahoos Slurp. If you are curious to know how these spiders “see” your Web page, the Search Engine Spider Simulator is a great tool for you.

Simply enter a URL, and the Spider Simulator will show you what a spider can read on the Web page.

If you are new to search engine optimization, this is a great way to check your Web pages to make sure all the content and links you want indexed are indexable. For those of you who are well versed in “the way of the spider,” the tool is also a good way to view the “real” content behind cloaked Web pages.

Enjoy!

Brushing on up some basic, 101-type info is never a bad idea. So, even if you are secure in your SEM-ness, I want to offer you this opportunity to visit one place and brush up on the basics.

Pandia Search Engine Marketing 101 has gathered together and organized the following topics:

Hey, even million-dollar athletes need to go through spring training every year to get back in shape.

Enjoy the knowledge!

Google and its $7.6 billion in cash are looking for more markets to dominate…and it looks like online job posting may be the next frontier.

CNN reports that Google may consider purchasing Monster.com in order to make an even bigger impact on the classified advertisement market than Google Base, which is set to officially roll out soon.

Google Base supposedly will allow users to post jobs for free, a-la craigslist, so it will be interesting to see what happens to Monsters pricing model if it is acquired by Google.

Monster.com might have more than one suitor, as Yahoo! is reported to have some interest in purchasing Monster.com as well.

Here in Colorado, we can see the clouds roll in from miles away. I can never tell what type of clouds they are: cirrus, cumulus, stratus…they sound more like car models than clouds to me!

However, there is a new cloud in town. The Newzingo news cloud has drifted onto my desktop. It lets me see all the current news topics in one organized view…and I can get the entire worlds headlines from one “cloud.”

What is the news cloud and how does it work?

Think of how this concept could help our current projects: what if you had a retail site that could display products in bold that were in stock or had a coupon offer? Or a financial site that would display the hottest plans in bold based upon live data?

We are getting into some Jetsons-type stuff–and I like it…!

It looks like the days of Google ambushing search marketers with algorithm rollouts might actually be over.

In a very surprising move, Matt Cutts, Googles search front man, is giving away (or so it seems) the IP address of Googles next algorithms test data center!

Dubbed “Bigdaddy,” the data center is believed to show, more or less, what will be the next Google algorithm iteration in February or March of this year.

The IP address to check it out is 66.249.93.104.

To make sure you have gotten Bigdaddy, do a search for “sf giants.” If you get giants.mlb.com as your #1 result, you are on Bigdaddy.

For more information on Bigdaddy and the issues this update is supposed to resolve, go to this great post from Danny Sullivan at Search Engine Watch, check out Matt Cutts blog–and follow along.

$14 billion….

It is nice to see the the financial world giving Internet marketing a second and third look these days. $14 billion will do that! Growth is expected to reach the $33 billion mark by 2010, with Google anticipating collecting the majority of this revenue.

What does this mean for affiliate marketers? You are in a good place, my friends! You are also in a place becoming more and more crowded, as larger Fortune 500 companies begin to understand the value of money spent on the Internet.

Seize along with us the opportunity to help grow your own future. Lets educate ourselves to become players in this billion dollar industry.

Enjoy the complete article here detailing the financial predictions of Internet growth.