Sunday, October 07, 2007

Having Trouble with Click Fraud?

Click fraud is a huge issue that plagues the success of Adsense. If you participate in Adsense then be warned on both sides of the field.

Click fraud involves the process of intentionally clicking ads listed on your website for the purpose of earning money rather than intending to view the products of the advertiser. Adsense involves placing ads on your website for other businesses. The way your website makes money is determined by the number of clicks to the advertiser’s link. Most websites who participate in Adsense are honest. However, the issue of click fraud is happening more often on the internet as the owner’s of some websites have found it an enticing method of generating more money from the advertisers.

With the onset of click fraud, software has been designed to analyze data based on the traffic to a website. This information is used to determine the possibility of click fraud. If you advertise this way you should invest in click fraud software or you may pay more for advertising than you should be. This software costs from $99 to $299, so it is very cost effective. It is believed as much as 20% of the cost advertisers are paying out each month is due to click fraud. With 3.2 million dollars generated each year for this type of advertising, 20% is a very high dollar amount to be losing!

A common method of click fraud involves an online robot that clicks away at the advertisements listed on a particular website. This is the quickest method. Others either do it themselves, clicking away at the ads on their own website or they hirer others to perform the task for them at a price much less than what they receive in return from the advertisers. Sometimes click fraud is done not to make money but to sabotage competitors. This is done by finding websites that advertise for them and continually click the ads. This will then cost that competitor a great deal of money they have to pay out for advertising without any hopes of generating additional sales from that cost.

Those who participate in the act of click fraud should be very careful. There are strict guidelines in place by Google to protect the reputation of their Adsense operations. Anyone caught participating in click fraud will be banned from further advertisements on their website. Google has invested 2.7 million for their Fraud Squad. They feel this investment is worthwhile though as click fraud is a serious issue. It has the potential of destroying the entire advertising industry online as we know it.

There are legal issues involved as well. A California man was charged with obtaining more than $150,000 due to click fraud in 2004. He has been indited by a Grand Jury. However, there are no state or federal laws yet against click fraud. This particular man was only indited in his scam because he came clean about it with Google in a blackmail scheme. He was going to sell his secret of how he did it to Google for another $150,000. If they didn’t give it to him he threatened to keep on doing it. If we can get state and federal laws to see click fraud as a classification of fraud with the possibility of a felony charge and jail time it may deter the amount of click fraud that takes place.

As a provider of such advertising don’t be tempted to click on the ads yourself or with an automated system. The risk of getting caught is very high as are the financial and legal repercussions. As an advertiser pay close attention to high changes in advertising costs through Adsense. Take the time to question these increases. Is it click fraud or great increases in traffic? Have sales increased? It is a great idea to invest in click fraud software as well to protect your business as well as your advertising budget.


Advertise with Adsense

Adsense is a great opportunity for you to advertise your business while not spending a great deal of money on it. It is very effective because the internet is visiting by millions of consumers each and every day.

Adsense is a great marketing method that can be quite effective for your business. It involves advertisements for your business being posted on the websites of others. In a world where millions access the internet every day, this type of marketing is very effective. It has the potential of generating more traffic to your website. A percentage of that traffic will likely result in an increase of sales for your business.

It is less expensive that other types of marketing because you only pay when a consumer clicks your link from one of the websites you are advertising on. This is a great opportunity for new businesses, small businesses, those on a low marketing budget, and larger businesses that are looking at ways to market their products or services while cutting out unnecessary costs.

Take a moment to look at various websites on the internet. I am sure you will find several sites that offer advertisement links for other businesses. You will also notice they look professional and attractive. Are you ready to give advertising with Adsense through Google a try? The process is very simple. You will need to go to www.AdWords.com. Here you will complete a detailed application. It is important to use relevant keywords for your products or services as this is how matches will be made to relevant websites who will be posting your ads. Google Adsense offers great tutorials to help you select the right keywords for your business.

Google Adsense allows you to create your own ads just like you would for any other type of advertising campaign. They program allows you to format for specified languages and geographic locations. Once the ads are posted on various websites consumers can choose to click on the link and be directed to your website. This is the only time you will pay an advertisement host website. When you set up your ads, you will decide how much you are willing to pay per click on your advertisement. You will also have the opportunity to change and edit your advertisements any time you like. If the advertising is going well you might be able to increase the amount of sites you advertise on.

There is a five dollar activation fee for each new business to set up an account on Google Adsense. Most credit cards can by used for payment as can Paypal and Post-Pay. There is no minimum dollar amount you have to pay each month. Again, you only pay for when consumers click on your link from a website you are advertising on. If they access a webpage with your advertisement on it and read it but don’t click on it, then you pay nothing.

As with most other types of business, there are scammers out there waiting to take advantage. Click fraud is a problem with Adsense advertising. Click fraud involves setting up a system to click on advertisement links or doing it manually to earn more money from the business that is advertising. Another reason click fraud is done is to damage competitors by clicking on their ads, knowing they will have to pay out more money. If you participate in Google Adsense for your advertising needs, it is a good idea to purchase Click Fraud software for your own protection. Google also works very hard to monitor such fraudulent activities.

To get the most out of Adsense advertising with Google, make sure you purchase Click Fraud software to minimize your risk of being taken advantage of by those out to make money at your expense or competitors wanting to see you waste earnings on high marketing bills.

Saturday, October 06, 2007

Info On Ad Blocks

Ad Blockers are a great way to eliminate the amount of ads you receive on your computer. This will make your computer work faster as well as protect your privacy more.

Are you tired of the continuous stream of ads coming your way every time you search the internet for something? If so, then you may be interested in learning more about the various Ad Blocks that will prevent this from happening. Your computer will also run faster without all of those ads and you will have more privacy regarding where you go on the internet. Most Ad Blocks work by blocking out the host files. Others work by using a list of host names. You can choose to ad new names to the list and take others off. You would continue to get ads from hosts that are not on your blocked list.

There are many types of Ad Blocks to choose from. The one that is right for you depends on why you want to block them and if you want the option of letting some through from a particular host or not. The market is saturated with various spyware and pop up ad software that block these ads out. Make sure the product you use has automatic updates as things change and is compatible with the other software you operate on your computer.

SuperAdBlocker is considered to be the most reliable product out there. It is able to remove more than 100,000 adware and spyware components. This means regardless of the method the advertiser is using your software will likely prevent it from getting through to your computer. You will also be able to block banners in the area of instant messaging. This software comes with free updates as well as excellent customer support that is available 24/7 at no charge. SuperAdBlocker is available for only $29.95.

Mozilla is a type of Ad Blocker that allows you to make the choice of the advertisements you are exposed to as you go. It has a built in command called “block images from this server”. It is very simple to use. When you run across an ad you want blocked from your computer simply right click. Double click the “block images from this server” option ad the ad will disappear.

Those who advertise with AdSense aren’t happy about these various ad blockers as they feel they will make their effective marketing tool a waste of time. Those who advertise for Adsense are worried to because they don’t know how those blocked ads will make their website appear to the user. They can rest easy because all the user will see is a blank spot where the ad would have been.

Will Ad Blocks affect the vitality and economy of the internet? I guess it depends on who you ask. Some researchers believe Ad Blocks simply give the consumer some choice over what they are exposed to just like any other mode of advertising. We all have the right to turn the TV channel if we don’t like what is on just the same with the radio station. Other researchers believe that Ad Blocks will hurt the internet and cost consumers more in the long run. This is because the advertisers will have to find new methods of reaching the consumer but it will cost them more. That additional cost will be passed on to the consumers. However the world of advertising and consumers continues to evolve and there are always new ideas being introduced. It will be interesting to see what happens next.

You can choose from various types of programs and software to block such ads. Some will block all of the advertisements while others allow you to block them from particular hosts. Others allow you to click on particular ads and remove them from your computer. Ad Blocks give you a choice in how advertising online affects you and your computer.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Three Traffic Triggers

A squeeze page can take only a few minutes to set up, but you may be reaping the benefits for years to come.

Have you heard of a squeeze page before? If you are like many other internet users, you haven’t. If you are trying to make money, through selling an affiliate product or service, you are advised to examine squeeze pages. After giving it a close examination, you will see that there are a number of different ways that squeeze pages can help you.

When it comes to squeeze pages, you will find that they have a number of different definitions. In fact, it is sometimes difficult to pin down the exact meaning of a squeeze page. Although there are some variations, all squeeze pages, no matter how they are defined, have the same goal. That goal it to help you get the names and email address of internet users; internet users that you can then send emails or newsletters to. If properly executed, a squeeze page, which allows you to create an email list, will not only increase the amount of traffic that your website sees, but it may also increase the amount of affiliate sales you make.

As it was stated above, there are a number of different definitions for a squeeze page. There are many professional who believe that squeeze pages are simply a page where you have a small form that your visitors can fill out. Many times, the only information asked for is a first name and an email address. Once an internet user provides you with that information, you can then send regular emails or newsletters, whichever you prefer.

While many squeeze pages have nothing on them, there are many professionals who feel that you should provide a little bit of information. This is fine to do, but you want to be carefully with providing too much information or making your information appears as if it spam. For instance, if you are running a website that is centered on caring for your pets and the affiliate products that you are selling are pet related, you may want to write a little bit of information on pet care. However, when doing so, you do not want to promote your products now. Providing too much information may not only make it so your visitors don’t need to signup for your email alerts, but it may also discourage them from doing so.

There are also many professional who feel that you need to give visitors a reason to sign up for your newsletters or email alerts, like an incentive. The decision as to whether or not you want to offer an incentive is yours to make, but it is important to note that incentive have a positive track record. As an incentive, you may want to give you customers something free, such as en e-book. Keeping with example mentioned above, you may want to offer visitors are free e-book on pets, just for providing you with their name and email address. In most cases, this approach works wonders. It is a known fact that everyone loves free stuff, especially if it is something that they could use.

Now that you know exactly what squeeze pages are or what they can be considered, you may be wondering exactly why you should have one. As previously mentioned, internet users provide you with their names and email addresses on squeeze pages. Sending unsolicited emails can be considered spam and you may also be reprimanded by your web hosting company, your email provider, or even your affiliate programs. When an internet user actually provides you with their contact information, your email contact is no longer considered spam. In fact, you can send emails or newsletters to the individuals in question, as often as you would like. This is when you could then take the opportunity to promote the affiliate products that you are helping to sell.

Developing a squeeze page is relatively easy to do, especially if you have some web design experience. If you are unfamiliar with web design, you should still be able to create your own squeeze page, with assistance from a site building program or a professional web designer. If you would like to be able to promote your websites and your affiliate products as often as you would like, you are urged to create yourself a squeeze page today.