As Google AdWords and Google AdSense becomes more mainstream, the rate of fraud from self-clicking (commonly called Google-bation), and click-draining (clicking on competitors ads), will increase exponentially.The problem is that the electronic antichrist has an obvious conflict of interest in eliminating fraud. Like most web site owners running Google Adsense, you probably are tempted to just “test” ads to make sure all the html you have embedded on your site is working.In some markets these little “tests” can reward the web site owner over $20 per click. Drugs, bank loans and obesity cures pay pretty well I’m told.And if you only test one click per day, that’s $140 per week. You and Google share the booty and if the pain is spread across multiple AdWords advertisers. Who is to know? What are the chances of being caught?The super-paranoid defrauders who do their research will probably discover the joys of anonymous proxy servers. With these little beauties you can click on your ads all day long. An iPod by lunchtime, a new Xbox 360 by dinner – the money and the buzz of ripping off the electronic antichrist becomes addictive.And for the truly entrepreneurial why not hire some click-workers in a low-wage country?Some enterprising click-workers roam from Internet cafe to Internet cafe in large third world cities with lists of web sites in their hands. They may use up to 15 different cafes per day in an effort to show the Google database different IP addresses.Their full time job is to click on AdSense ads on specific web sites. They get 10 – 20 cents per click – substantial and pretty easy money for them. The AdSense publisher and Google get much more, and the poor old AdWords advertiser foots the bill.And on the flip-side if you want to drain away your competitors advertising budget the technology is just click away.It’s 8:30. You’ve just arrived at work. You unlock your PC and open your browser – Firefox of course.Taking your first slurp of coffee you go to Google and search on a keyword phrase for your industry. At top and right of page you see your competitor’s ads.You put your coffee down.Click, click, click, click (center-button tab browsing is the best thing since the web browser). There goes $120 of your competitors advertising budget. Google is $120 richer.You do this every day … $28,800 per year of your competitor’s advertising budget blown on your coffees.The phone rings. It’s that boring client from Sydney. While you listen to her tales of woe on the phone you search on a term that may be related to her business.Bingo! There they are. Click, refresh, click, refresh. That call just cost her $30.You see the Google business model doesn’t take into account human nature. Some people are greedy, rude, arrogant and nasty. Correction, a lot of people are greedy, rude, arrogant and nasty, especially if cash is involved.Google has got away with it for so long (2-3 years), because the same sort of people ain’t that tech-savvy. There were a few exceptions of course, but they were lost in the white noise.Not now. As Google AdWords and AdSense becomes mainstream the rates of Google-bation and click-draining will increase.This year watch out for the growth pay-per-action and pay-per-sale. The affiliate marketers have it right.
Archive for: February, 2023
Why The Google Adsense And Adword Business Model Will Eventually Fail
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Do You Have a Marketing Strategy and Plan for Your Business in 2018?
Do you have a marketing strategy and plan for your business?Without a marketing strategy and plan, you can’t attain your business goals. It’s 101 for a business.Whether you are a startup, entrepreneur, or business, preparing a strategy for the first time, or tweaking your existing plan, this is the first and most important piece of your roadmap to success.A smart marketing plan begins with a smart strategy.Your First Step – A Marketing Strategy:You need to be focused. You need a clear message. You need a process.A marketing strategy is the overarching, big picture plan, the high-level road map to help you attain your business goals. After all, you can’t get there if you don’t know where you’re going!The goal of a marketing strategy is to dive deeply into your business, your sales process, your target market, your message and current marketing to understand your successes and pinpoint your challenges.You need to clarify your goals and objectives that will deliver results.You should identify your niche markets, core messaging, elevator pitch and mission, values and vision statement. This is the foundation of your marketing plan and makes up the specific mix of marketing activities that will drive revenue.During your marketing strategy, you should assess the following:- Organization Overview & Mission
- Current Messaging, Elevator Pitch, Value and Vision Statement
- Products and/or Services
- Goals & Success Metrics
- Brand Positioning
- Target Markets & Ideal Customer
- Marketing Audit: Marketing Budget, Advertising (print/online), E-mail, Seasonal Promotions/other
- Social Media Marketing Audit: Content Strategy (images, videos), Social Media Channels, Blogging
- Website Review & Assessment
- Competitor Site Review
- Search Engine OptimizationYour Second Step – A Detailed Marketing Plan:You need to be seen. You need to be heard. You need to be found.The next step is a to put together a detailed marketing plan from the information you gathered from your marketing strategy.This is an in-depth marketing roadmap, infrastructure and plan that will be used for your marketing. It will include developing content, developing promotional offers, most effective social media channels to be active on, email marketing, building an email list, and budget for Facebook advertising.This detailed Marketing Plan will help your business or organization become more structured, and is something you can implement straightaway in order to see success and become more profitable.A marketing strategy and plan is the KEY to your success. Don’t procrastinate and start them today.
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The University Look is Back in Fashion
Watch fashion shows and you’ll see that the trend for more comfortable clothing is on the rise. Look at celebrities on their ordinary days without make-up. You’ll see that they’re mostly in hoodies and sweatpants. It’s the ultimate university look. Think back to those carefree times when you were in university. Back then, all you ever cared about was to have fun! Now, you can relive those days with the university look. Wear the most comfortable of clothes and never worry about going out of style. The university look is here to stay. People nowadays are more interested in how comfortable they are in their clothes. Gone are the days when women would gladly wear corsets even when they couldn’t breathe in it. The ultimate fashion trend today is style and comfort combined.When shopping for the university look, go for time-tested fabrics and cuts. The hoodie is a good way to start your university look. Though it had some bad rep in the past years, the changing weather patterns have made the hoodie a wardrobe staple. After all, who wouldn’t want to have a handy hood when the April showers come? Another worthy piece of university clothing for men is the sweatpants. The modern sweatpants now come in a cut that’s not too loose, but not tight-fitting, either. The safest colours for sweatpants are navy or grey. You can never go wrong in these colours. You also don’t want to look like a clown just escaped from a circus in sweatpants in neon colours.You might also want to grab yourself a few tee shirts in the most basic colours. This will be a great addition to your university look wardrobe. Tee shirts do not go out of style. They are here to stay because they combine fashion and comfort in just one piece of fabric. Besides, it’s easy to update the tee shirt by accessorizing. Sweatshirts or jumpers are also great for those days when it is warm enough to do away with the hoodie but it’s still too cold to only wear a tee shirt. Sweatshirts work great on any other sporty outfit. You can always wear a tee shirt inside when the sun shines too brightly and you begin to sweat.The best thing to achieve the university look is to go out and look at what university students wear. They most often come in several styles. However, the hoodie, the sweatpants, the sweatshirt, and the tee shirt are all worthy pieces to shop for if you’d like to go for the university look. If you’re worried on whether the university look will make you look a little sloppy, just look at the number of celebrities caught in hoodies and sweatpants. Trust me, if these people who spend their time in the lime light can get away with these pieces of clothing, then you can, too. It’s easy to rock the university look, especially when you pair it with the carefree attitude that you used to have when you were younger.
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