Associate Programs Newsletter #129
When Joanna and I tell people that we run our Internet business from our “pole house” by the beach, some people ask if the house is made out of poles.
No. It’s just supported by 12 poles.
We designed the house that way so we can get a good view of what we like to call “our” bay.
I’ve added some new photos to our “About Us” page:
https://www.associateprograms.com/About-Us
CONTENTS:
1. How to get an “unfair advantage” in search engines
2. Dirtsmart publisher launches two-tier program
3. PlanetFeedback will forward your complaint
4. FirstPlace pays out – with interest
5. CJ acknowledges technical glitch
6. Massive variation in domain name appraisals
7. New shopping tool search box pays commissions
8. Allegiance Telecom buys Virtualis
9. GoTo.com top rankings more important now
10. Getting found, tracking, and Amazon partners
11. Thought for today: Concentrate on one word
__________________________________________SPONSOR__________
[Ad deleted at advertiser’s request.]___________________________________________________________
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1. How to get an “unfair advantage” in search engines
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Stephen Mahaney was a name I kept hearing at the Boulder Summit web marketing conference – and the name was always said with great respect.
If you’re keenly interested in getting ranked well in search engines, you probably know that Stephen is President of Planet Ocean Communications and author of the highly acclaimed “The Unfair Advantage Book on Winning the Search Engine Wars”.
It’s the most comprehensive, reliable source of tips and data on search engines available – and the information is updated every month.
Super affiliates and other web marketers have great respect for Stephen because they know that using his specific advice can dramatically boost your website traffic – and your sales.
That’s why this trustworthy source is a “must-have”.
You can sign up here:
https://www.associateprograms.com/planet
You can use the Quick SE Guidelines Reference Chart to pick up a few quick tips for a particular search engine, or happily spend several hours studying the solidly researched articles on the Planet Ocean site.
Here’s just a little taste of the huge array of tips and resources you can find in “The Unfair Advantage Book”, in the monthly “Search Engine News” and in the website archives:
In the latest newsletter, Stephen describes how Yahoo! is on a “power trip”. His verdict: “Don’t get mad, get listed!”. He describes a technique your company can use to achieve multiple listings on Yahoo! Do you have one site listed in Yahoo! and are planning to submit another? Be sure to read this surprising report first or you could make a serious mistake.
He also reports the results of tests which Planet Ocean conducted, placing “unique” keywords into a variety of different locations on various web pages indexed into the Inktomi search engine. Stephen reveals a technique which isn’t strictly correct HTML – but it works.
Be warned that you may render your web page “unfindable” by making some very common mistakes.
The fees and concerns of professional search engine optimizers. Taken from interviews with pros working in the search engine trenches, this article reveals from the inside what customers should know before contracting these services.
The focus is shifting more and more toward link popularity and you’ll see which major engine is making the shift this month. The newsletter also points you to where you must register to be found in the ever-growing popularity contest.
Google explains what happened in September that was cause for many alert website owners to scratch their heads in wonder.
Two more major search engines link up with the LookSmart directory.
How you can determine a fresh page, cloaked page, and why there are so many redirects in AltaVista.
Getting the GRKda – Keyword Density Analyzer – settings right.
Eudora Pro and Northern Light Team Up – and the change affects a million potential Net users.
An automated submission program for the Mac that gets high marks from a number of very reputable sources.
The Global Search Engine and Directory List is a handy quick reference to search sites around the world.
For people working on a limited budget, Stephen tells you how you should prioritize your search engine and directory spending.
While the obvious focus of “Search Engines News” is to keep you abreast of the month-to-month changes that take place in the major search engines and directories, Planet Ocean also provides marketing tools, tips, info, and resources that will help you increase your website’s effectiveness as a profit tool because, as Stephen says, “maximizing your company’s profitability is our ultimate objective”.
At the Boulder Summit, Joanna and I had lunch with Stephen and Jessie of Planet Ocean and they were very generous in sharing some thought-provoking marketing tips.
You may not be so lucky, but you CAN get the benefit of Stephen and his team’s expertise very simply – by subscribing to “The Unfair Advantage Book on Winning the Search Engine Wars”.
The most recent, October 1, revision of the entire book is now available for download.
It’s the most complete and tested search engine guide available – updated monthly.
I’m most impressed with it and highly recommend it.
https://www.associateprograms.com/planet
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2. Dirtsmart publisher launches two-tier program
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If you subscribe to Eldon Sarte’s “Dirtsmart Netpreneur Ezine”, you’ll know that he produces a very useful ezine which offers practical business tips and reviews of business and web marketing tools.
It’s a good ezine. I’ve carefully filed away many tips and links to useful resources which I’ve learned from Eldon, who is a publishing industry veteran skilled in web design, writing and marketing.
Eldon, Chief Technology Officer of Intellectua.com, has launched a two-tier affiliate program selling information products, including “3-Minute Tutors” – short, highly focused e-books.
“We’re not a one-product outfit,” Eldon says. “We’re developing an extensive line of titles for you to offer, a continuously expanding selection of original, highly marketable content.”
So far, the affiliate program pays commissions on the following new, 100% original e-books:
By CGI programmer extraordinaire, William Bontrager:
“How to Install CGI Programs”.
https://www.associateprograms.com/eldon01
“How to Hire a CGI Programmer”.
https://www.associateprograms.com/eldon02
By Eldon Sarte:
“.COMstruction: The Basics”
https://www.associateprograms.com/eldon03
By Michael Werner, founder of Inc 500 company InfoSource:
“Werner’s Links to Free Publicity on the Internet”.
https://www.associateprograms.com/eldon04
Eldon says the affiliate program is in its formative stages.
The affiliate agreement is fairly minimal and although he provides plenty of banners and graphics, most of the banners look designed more for building brand awareness than achieving a sale. Book cover graphics are also provided, and you can link to individual products.
The very reasonably priced e-books should be easy to sell. For example, “Werner’s Links to Free Publicity on the Internet” costs only $14.95 – a good price for an impulse purchase.
“We don’t pretend to have the highest commissions around; but we do offer substantial payouts on a growing product line that sells!” Eldon says.
There’s a very high likelihood that you and your affiliates will have multiple sales, he says.
Eldon’s program still has a few rough spots (I couldn’t find any description of the tracking method used, for example) but over all it looks good to me.
It’s a two-tier program paying 20% and 10%.
https://www.associateprograms.com/eldon
[UPDATE: This affiliate program has closed.]
__________________________________________SPONSOR__________
Commission Junction, the leading affiliate marketing solutions
provider, has transformed sophisticated affiliate marketing
software into an affordable and easy-to-use Web-based service
that provides a turn-key solution for managing revenue-sharing
relationships. As an application services provider (ASP),
Commission Junction provides a network of more than 1,300
merchants and 300,000 content sites with a comprehensive suite
of affiliate marketing services.
cj.com/Custom/teamcj.pl?457891 [UPDATE: This link is obsolete.]___________________________________________________________
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3. PlanetFeedback will forward your complaint
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Want to complain about – or praise – a company?
Want to complain about an affiliate merchant?
Here’s a site which aims to help you – and it also pays $2 per lead.
PlanetFeedback is a free site where you can send letters directly to thousands of companies over the Net.
“It’s quick and easy with our online letter generator and you can copy your friends to let them know about your experience,” the site says. “Let your voice be heard!”
Rob Bunting of PlanetFeedback says the site is designed for consumers in the US and Canada to send feedback (in the form of complaints, compliments, questions and suggestions) using a letter generator template (or folks can write their own letter) to over 15,000 companies.
The free service makes it easy for you to tell companies how you feel and to send a copy to your friends, keep your correspondence in one place, read letters to companies by other consumers in the shared letters section and keep informed of hot consumer topics.
“Companies benefit by getting more customer feedback, which gives them a chance to keep a valuable customer and improve customer service,” Rob says. “We do not accept advertising on our site and will generate revenue by generating weekly letter data reports for companies to track their performance on a much more timely basis then other research methods.”
He says that since the site was launched on February 17, “we’ve worked with companies to make sure we are sending them the feedback to the place and way in which they want it, so we don’t anger them or get accused of spam”.
“One thing to keep in mind is that we are not just sending and posting complaints, but also compliments, questions and suggestions, so companies don’t feel like we’re trying to make them look bad, simply letting consumers relate their experiences and share their opinions.”
Only about 55% to 60% of the feedback are complaints.
Rob says the company, which has gone through two rounds of venture funding, has the capacity to handle hundreds or thousands of letters to a company or companies a day.
I asked Rob if PlanetFeedback would be an appropriate service for affiliates who want to complaint about a merchant.
“We may be a great outlet for folks to send feedback to online merchants, which is already one of the industries that generates the most letters,” he replied. “Amazon.com is one of our top 10 most written to companies and their new privacy policy was one of our recent Hot Topics.”
The PlanetFeedback affiliate program, launched at the beginning of August through Commission Junction, pays $2 for each new customer who writes their first letter to a company.
“So far, about 1 in 10 people who click write a letter . . . that works out to an average of 20 cents a click.”
Rob says his leading affiliates are making several hundred dollars a month. “We’re a free site, so we’ve done very well on freebie sites. We’re also doing well on shopping sites, travel sites and any site that writes a sentence or two explaining what we do or endorsing us. Since we’re a site for all consumers, we do well on lots of different sites.”
The program is open to all sites in the US or Canada that don’t feature nudity, violence or anything illegal.
In its first two months Planet Feedback has attracted 1,300 affiliates.
Here is what the top 5 affiliates earned in September:
1. $1,356
2. $500
3. $402
4. $144
5. $128
You can join the program at Commission Junction:
https://www.associateprograms.com/cj
__________________________________________SPONSOR__________
Earn up to 3X standard commission.Save up to 80% on
personal purchases. You MUST sign up before programs are
officially launched to qualify. 3 programs will launch in Nov.
Join the First Affiliates Club, and be the first to be notified
of NEW programs and EXCLUSIVE offers. Membership is FREE!
Send a blank e-mail for more information.
FirstAffiliatesClub AT 1015566.com
If you want to BE FIRST, you MUST join FIRST!
[UPDATE: This site no longer exists.]___________________________________________________________
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4. FirstPlace pays out – with interest
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I received an unexpected letter and check the other day from FirstPlace Software, the maker of WebPosition Gold software.
FirstPlace, whose popular software helps websites get good rankings in search engines, said that it had discovered a bug in its reporting system which affected the commissions of some affiliates over the past three years.
Only “a very small percentage” of transactions were affected.
Instead of hiding the error, the company brought it to the attention of affiliates and issued checks for the money owed – plus 8% interest.
I received $70.56.
Another happy affiliate who received an unexpected check was Robert Clough of https://www.SearchEngineGuide.com .
“This is an excellent example which shows there are companies which treat their affiliates in an honest manner and take affiliate interests seriously,” says Robert.
“It’s great news for those of us relying heavily on affiliate earnings for our revenue.”
You can learn more about whether WebPosition Gold is for you here:
https://www.associateprograms.com/webposition
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5. CJ acknowledges technical glitch
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Discussion has been lively on the Associate Programs Message Board about a technical glitch at Commission Junction.
Here’s the comment I received from Lex Sisney of CJ six days ago:
Hi Allan, thanks for contacting me regarding a perceived drop off in traffic and sales for CJ affiliates this week. On September 25th, the CJ reporting servers had a technical glitch for 4 hours that caused all reporting to backlog. Importantly, the CJ system (which includes tens of servers and millions of dollars in investment) has been designed so that tracking and reporting are handled on two separate and redundant systems. This means that all transactions were RECORDED but due to the glitch in the reporting servers, were not immediately reflected in the reporting interface. After a reporting crash, it can take several days for the reports to be updated. If any list participants are still seeing a drop off in transactions after tomorrow, please let me know. I apologize for the inconvenience we have caused any of our affiliates and merchants. We take the performance of our systems very seriously and continue to work hard and make investments in world-class systems and technology to avoid these problems in the future. – Lex Sisney.
Some affiliates aren’t at all happy with Lex’s response. The consensus seems to be that CJ may be the best affiliate network – but it still needs to improve.
The discussion is continuing on the message board:
https://www.associateprograms.com/discus/index.php
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6. Massive variation in domain name appraisals
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When SitePoint.com conducted an experiment comparing the accuracy of domain name appraisal services, the results were surprising.
Lee Hodgson submitted the domain name LiquidTrading.com to 15 domain name appraisal services.
The highest valuation for the domain name was $160,000. The lowest said the name was worth only $200.
The full write-up and comparison chart are online at:
eCommerceBase.com/article.php3?aid=266
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7. New shopping tool search box pays commissions
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AffiliateRocket.com offers a new shopping comparison tool which pays commissions.
So far AffiliateRocket search boxes cover books, music and DVDs. They’ll soon introduce toy, software and movie searches. There’s also a Super Engine which incorporates all the searches. You can earn commissions ranging from 2% to 20%, depending on the affiliate program of the store your customer chooses to purchase from.
The developers describe themselves as “a consortium of e-commerce experts, affiliate program gurus and web developers.”
Click on their list of merchants to see many big name stores are participating, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, 1bookstreet, Borders, buy.com, CD World and CD Now.
AffiliateRocket.com intends to add more merchant stores as participation grows. It would be great if they could manage the sign-ups so there was only one form. You have to sign up individually with each merchant on the AffiliateRocket list.
AffiliateRocket says it intends to release an affiliate program before the end of this year.
A search box costs $19.95 a year and a Super Engine $49.95.
The name “AffiliateRocket” – which is emblazoned boldly on every search box – seems a bad choice to me. It emphasizes to the customer that the website is earning a commission.
Having to pay an annual fee will also discourage many affiliates.
[UPDATE: The product died.]====================================
8. Allegiance Telecom buys Virtualis
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High quality web host Virtualis, which has a popular affiliate program, has been bought by Allegiance Telecom (Nasdaq: ALGX).
Virtualis General Manager Chris Lyman says Virtualis will retain its servers, affiliate program and affiliate support staff.
Affiliates, who like Virtualis because it pays monthly residual commissions, can expect more resources to be poured into the program and more products to sell.
I recommend keeping an eye on this one.
[UPDATE: Virtualis merged with Adgrafix and then became Hosting.com.]===========================================
9. GoTo.com top rankings more important now
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Pay-per-click search engine GoTo.com recently arranged deals with AOL and Netscape Search which will give GoTo.com search results more prominence.
The arrangement pleases Shane Pearce of Amall.cx.
Shane is ranked #1 in GoTo.com for the search term “earn money”. Now anyone who goes to https://search.netscape.com/ and types in “earn money” (quotation marks are not necessary) will see Shane’s site in the number one spot at Netscape Search.
The first two GoTo.com results appear right at the top under the heading “Partner Search Results”.
You may not want to try to beat Shane’s bid of 82 cents per click for a general term such as “earn money”, but there’s another way you can acquire a top spot.
It’s not a very impressive trick, but here it is…
Bid for really obscure phrases which no one else wants. For example, I have top spot at GoTo.com and Netscape Search for the phrase “insanely rich”, which links to an article by Linda Cox.
If you’re patient enough to bid for hundreds of obscure phrases – which must also be used on your web pages – you can still buy click-throughs cheaply.
I have no competition whatsoever for “insanely rich”, so all I had to bid was 1 cent. Now all I have to do is find someone who is searching for “insanely rich”…
[UPDATE: GoTo.com is now Yahoo! Search Marketing.]================================================
10. Getting found, tracking, and Amazon partners
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Getting found by metasearch engines
clickz.com/search/opt/article.php/830141
Tracking prospects beyond the ad click
clickz.com/ebiz/small_biz/article.php/829931
Amazon partners hitting the skids
zdnet.com/intweek/stories/news/0,4164,2635268,00.html
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11. Thought for today: Concentrate on one word
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“A company can become incredibly successful if it can find a way to own a word in the mind of the prospect. Not a complicated word. Not an invented word. The simple words are best, words taken right out of the dictionary.”
(For example, Volvo and “safety.”)
– Al Ries and Jack Trout
“The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing”
All the best
Allan Gardyne
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