How to Improve Adsense Revenue

Google's AdSense is a superb revenue generating opportunity for small, medium and large web sites.

Some webmasters are designing brand new sites specifically for serving AdSense text ads. (It's against the AdSense rules to design a site purely for AdSense, so you'll want to include a few affiliate links or sell your own product, too.)

AdSense allows you to serve text-based Google AdWords on your web site and receive a share of the pay-per-click payment. AdSense ads are similar to the AdWords ads you see on the right-hand side at Google when you do a search there.

AdSense is having a huge impact on the affiliate marketing industry. It's often much easier to generate revenue from AdSense than from an affiliate program.

Weak affiliate merchants will die faster than ever.

If you're a merchant running a lousy affiliate program, now's the time to improve it FAST.


AdSense's advantages

AdSense is simple to join.

It's easy to paste a bit of code into your pages.

It's free to join.

You don't have to spend time finding advertisers.

Google provides well written, highly relevant ads - chosen to closely match the content on your pages.

You don't have to waste time choosing different ads for different pages.

You don't have to mess around with different code for various affiliate programs.

You're free to concentrate on providing good content and Google does the work of finding the best ads for your pages from 100,000 AdWords advertisers.

It's suitable for beginners or marketing veterans.

AdSense provides simple, easy-to-understand stats.

If you have affiliate links on your site, you ARE allowed to add AdSense ads. However, with your affiliate links, you must not mimic the look and feel of the Google ads.

You can filter up to 200 URLs, so you can block ads for sites that don't meet your standards. You can also block strong competitors.

Inevitably, AdSense is competing strongly for space on web sites with all other revenue sharing opportunities.

If you own a small web site you can plug a bit of AdSense code into your site and almost instantly relevant text ads that are likely to appeal to your visitors will appear on your pages.

If you own several sites, you need apply only once. This makes AdSense much simpler than joining a bunch of affiliate programs.

As you can see, I'm really keen on this revenue sharing service.


Disadvantages

One problem is inappropriate ads. You don't want spammy junk advertised on your site. Google's standards probably aren't as high as yours. You can filter out 200 URLs, but in some industries that won't be enough.

The stats Google supplies are inadequate. They're easy to understand at a glance. However, they don't tell you exactly which ads people are clicking on, or which keywords are involved. That's frustrating.

Also, I'd like to be able to identify and block ads that have very low payout rates, without doing a lot of sleuthing and messing around.

The ad panels say "Ads by Google" - free advertising for Google. You don't earn anything if someone clicks on that link.

The minimum payout is $100, which is regarded as too high by sites which don't receive much traffic. That won't worry experienced webmasters.

Also, sites that want to display AdSense ads may not include "other content-targeted and/or text-based ads on the pages displaying AdWords ads." However, human beings review the sites. Rejected sites have been able to appeal successfully.

Another disadvantage is that Google doesn't allow you to share your stats with other webmasters. The AdSense Terms and Conditions say:

"Confidentiality. You agree not to disclose Google Confidential Information without Google's prior written consent. 'Google Confidential Information' includes without limitation: ... (b) click-through rates or other statistics relating to Site performance in the Program provided to you by Google..."

That's really weird. Web site owners need to be able to share such information and discuss successes and failures.

A big disadvantage of the service is that Google doesn't say how much its AdSense partners will receive. You'll just receive an unknown share of the revenue.

Only a company with the goodwill and respect Google has earned could get away with such a cheeky offer.

Google says:

"How much will I earn through this program? The AdWords ads you are able to display on your content pages are cost-per-click (CPC) ads. This means that advertisers pay only when users click on ads. You'll receive a portion of the amount paid for clicks on AdWords ads on your website. Although we don't disclose the exact revenue share, our goal is to enable publishers to make as much or more than they could with other advertising networks."

So the only way to know how much you'll earn is to try it and see. If you want to bail out, all you have to do is remove the code from your site.

Don't put all your eggs in the AdSense basket. If Google discovers fraudulent clicks on ads appearing on your pages, it can dump your site from the service, and refuse to pay you all revenue owed. Some webmasters who claim total innocence have had this happen to them.

Google has made several changes to its AdSense FAQ, clarifying varying things. For example, it IS possible to apply for separate accounts for separate web sites. I've done so, and checked with Google that it's OK in my case. Read the rules - they look ambiguous to me. If in doubt, ask first!

Some time after the launch of AdSense, Google added "channels" which improve the tracking. I strongly recommend that you experiment with these.

Sites with "excessive advertising" are being rejected.

PLEASE read the rules and FAQ. When I looked, some advice in the rules contradicted advice in the FAQ. If in any doubt, ask their support staff. They're very helpful.

Tips & Tricks For Build Your Own PC

Building a games PC can be a stressful and confusing process. There are so many parts to choose from and sometimes the will to build it yourself can dim and you start to become tempted to buy one ready made from manufacturers or retailers such as Dell or PC World. While it is definitely the easiest option it is much more expensive to buy a ready made PC than it is to build one yourself.

By building a PC you'll understand just what is inside and how your machine works. It'll be easier to upgrade later and you'll be able to build a better machine for the same cost.

I've built several PCs for gaming and there are always several things that I look out for and consider to be most important. The main component of any gaming computer is the graphics card, and this is the area that you really cannot afford to cut back on. With the rate that games are increasing their demands on PCs you'll need to spend the money and buy the latest graphics card that you can afford. It is well worth stretching your budget as far as you can go for the GPU as it will make a world of difference when rendering the 3D environments that all modern games use. I would generally give 30-40 percent of my budget to the graphics card.

The next things to consider are what I feel are the real backbone of your PC, the motherboard and processor. If you search the Internet you can find some really great deals on motherboards and processors so make sure you shop around. A dual core processor is mandatory these days and make sure that your motherboard can support all the components that you intend to buy. For this reason the motherboard is often the last item that I choose when building a PC.

For most gaming I would say that 2GB of RAM is sufficient. There doesn't seem to be much need for any more yet and if you're running Windows XP you won't be able to make use of any more anyway. When choosing your power supply bear in mind that this is another area that you can't afford to cut back on. I've had three power supplies blow up in the same machines before finally deciding to spend the money on a decent one. Turned out it was money well spent and the expensive power supply lasted me for three years. Make sure you don't do the same mistake as a blown PSU could even fry your other components, ending in a very expensive accident.

Some people view peripherals with greater weight than others. I think they're definitely important as they're the parts that you actually spend time touching and using. Make sure you get a large flat screen monitor to save on desk space and enable to you run in nice large resolutions.

When choosing a keyboard I find that a regular keyboard is quite sufficient for everything I need, but make sure that the buttons are smooth and not too chunky to press. You'll want something that is really easy to use. A mouse is worth spending a little on, I'd recommend a five button infra red mouse.

As for sound a good set of headphones is superior to speakers and a lot cheaper so if your budget is stretched at this point I'd certainly endorse buying a good headset. Ensure you get a large hard drive as well, as you'll definitely want to store music and film on your computer, so the bigger the better. You can pick up 1TB drives for around a hundred pounds these days.

The final part is the case, and I think a lot of people spend too much time and thought on it. I would really cut back and get the cheapest case you possibly can and save the money to spend elsewhere. I have had the same old case for six years and it's served me just fine.

Building a PC is a difficult task and it can seem more effort that it's worth, but when you save so much money you'll be able to have a computer that lasts a much longer time that if you'd gone to a retailer. Good luck building your PC and hopefully you won't blow anything up, like I've done on too many occasions.

Earn Money From My Lot Site

My Lot is a reasonably new but very interesting and exciting website, which provides an excellent and fun way of earning money on the Internet.
The site contains content which is supplied by the website users, who can sign up for free and then log on to upload their own content. The users will then be rewarded for the quality and popularity of the content they just submitted, earning money for their contributions.

Currently there are just over 100,000 users on the My Lot website, the majority of users coming from America and India, with a lot of other users from various countries from all across the World. My Lot unites a lot of people and provides a platform for various people to communicate (in English) on the website, whilst being rewarded with money for doing so.

What Is On My Lot?

The My Lot website contains a wide variety of information,
articles of the latest world news, details about the weather, and various different subject categories where people can discuss any kind of topics ' gaming, medicine, movies, food, music, pets, etc.

The website also has a big emphasis on the social side of things, with community sections on the My Lot site where people can write their own blog, create their own profile pages where they can upload their own pictures, and the site also has the ability to communicate with other users from around the world.

Making Money On My Lot

Probably the most popular feature of the My Lot site is the ability to be able to make money directly on the website. Users are rewarded every time they start a discussion, post a reply or comment to another discussion, upload news items, post content to your own blog or refer new friends to My Lot ' these are just a few of the ways that you can make money from the My Lot website.

Although the My Lot website is quite new, there is still a high amount of activity on their website, no doubt due to the fact that people are earning money from using the My Lot site. The website is bound to get more and more popular, and is already doing quite well considering My Lot didn't actually promote their website through advertising ' they simply relied on the refer-a-friend function of their website to build up the reputation and member-base of the site. My Lot is a great and fun way of making money from the Internet, for all kinds of people.

Ciao Tutorial For You

After joining Ciao for free you can start answering paid surveys and writing online product reviews. This is quite simple as long as you follow the instructions below.

Activate The Paid Surveys

Log in to the Ciao website using your new username and password and click on the Surveys link at the top right-hand corner of the screen. You will be taken to the 'Basic Interests Profile'. Answer all the questions on the profile and then submit the page. Within a few days you should start getting sent e-mails to the address you signed up with. The Interests Profile is a way of building up a picture about you, so that they know which kind of surveys to send you. Obviously if you answer the interests profile saying that you are a young unemployed single man then it is probably quite unlikely that you will receive many surveys. Answer the profile stating that you are a middle aged IT manager with a wife and kids, and you will probably receive quite a few well-paid surveys.

Write Paid Product Reviews

Log in to the Ciao website again, you should be taken to the home page of the site (containing a list of the categories of products available on the Ciao website). Either find a product you would like to review by browsing through these categories, or if you have a specific product in mind just click on the search bar at the top of the page and type in the product. For example, type in 'The Matrix' and click search. Click on the second product from the search results (Matrix boxed set DVD). You will be taken to the product page for the Matrix DVD boxed set. Take note of the pound symbol and the text 'Write a Review'.


As you can see from the highlighted image at point number 1, there are 2 visible pound symbols. The pound symbols are used to show how much money you can make from reviewing a product. 1 pound symbol means that you will earn 0.5p per rating received. 2 pound symbols mean you will earn 1p per rating, and the best rating is 3 pound symbols; meaning that you will earn 2p per rating. At Ciao you earn money from the reviews every time another Ciao member reads and then rates one of your reviews. So if you were to review the Matrix DVD above (2 pound symbols) you will earn 1p per rating received. So if 100 members read and rate your review, you will earn '1. There are thousands of members at the Ciao website, so obviously there is plenty of money available to be earned from writing reviews.

To write a review you will need to click on the 'Write a Review' link, as highlighted above in point number 2. Follow this link and then fill in all the text fields on the website, then submit your review. Not all members will automatically read and rate your review, so you will need to put in some extra work in order to receive more ratings. The best way of doing this is by reading and rating other members reviews on the Ciao website. Click on 'Member Centre' on the top right hand corner of the Ciao website. Then scroll down and find the 'Latest member reviews' link. Read and rate plenty of these reviews, and hopefully they will return the favour and earn you some money.

The other way of making money from your reviews is from the 'Premium Fund Award'. The most popular reviews written during the month will be rewarded with part of the premium fund; usually around '10 per review. To win this prize fund you will need to write your reviews to a very high standard, and will need to get lots of members to nominate your reviews for a diamond (the more diamonds you receive, the higher the chance of winning part of the premium fund).

Affiliate Marketing Programs

First of all, let's clear one thing up right now....affiliate marketing programs can absolutely be a real online money maker....but, they are not a quick and easy free ride to unimaginable riches. Sorry. I know you wanted to hear otherwise, but only an inheritance or a lottery win can provide unimaginable riches with no effort. And if you don't have any rich, doddering old relatives tucked away somewhere, forget the inheritance. As for the lottery.....well, we all know that while it can happen, the odds are against you, and worse....you have no control over any of it!

So although you do have to exert effort, dust off and use your imagination, and even learn some new skills (gasp!), you can use affiliate marketing programs to make cash online and maximize your earning potential. While it is not necessarily quick or free, affiliate marketing is one of the simplest and most effective ways to make easy money online today.

Just to clarify in case you don't already know, affiliate marketing is an agreement between a merchant (retailer) and a website owner (you). The website owner (affiliate) uses their website to promote the merchant's products by linking to the merchant's website. The merchant pays a commission to the affiliate on all sales generated by the affiliate. So whenever a visitor clicks on that link on the affiliate website and makes a purchase, the affiliate is paid a commission.

Affiliate marketing programs are a win-win situation for both the merchant and the affiliate, because the merchant is exposed to a wider market in which to advertise his product or service by the affiliate's efforts, and the affiliate does not have to warehouse or create his own products. The merchant can have an army of affiliates promoting his products at no cost to him, so literally thousands of merchants representing every imaginable type of product are more than willing to participate in such affiliate marketing programs.

Ok, ok....I know....how can this be my online money maker? What's in it for me? There are actually some quite compelling benefits to online money making opportunities such as affiliate marketing programs for those with the right entrepreneurial spirit, so let's outline what those are:

- Work From Home

I can think of many reasons this would be appealing. You hate your job. Your boss hates you. Everybody at your company is probably going to be laid off. You can barely pay your bills and need to make some extra income. You want to be fabulously wealthy. You have always wanted to be self-employed. You want to raise your children yourself, rather than let a babysitter or daycare worker witness their first word, first step.....you get the picture. You are retired and your social security and/or pension payments just aren't cutting it....plus you are now bored just sitting in your rocking chair all day. Or, most important of all, you_______ (fill in the blank). Your own reasons are the best ones of all.

- No Sales Experience Necessary

That's right, there is absolutely no sales experience necessary because you aren't selling anything. You are merely directing buyers to the merchant's website, where they make the sale....and then pay you. Since your responsibility is simply to find prospects for the merchant; you don't have to worry about inventory, order processing, product shipping, customer service support, returns, blah, blah, blah. These are all the duties of the merchant. Yes!! And....most affiliate marketing programs offer excellent support, free marketing materials, and even training.

- Make Cash Online

Perhaps the best benefit of promoting affiliate marketing programs is the opportunity to increase your income. You can be an affiliate marketer even if it is only a sideline business; but with your own affiliate marketing business, you can easily earn either extra income or expand your efforts to make it into a full-time income if you wish.

- Minimal Start-Up Costs

Since you are selling other people's products, there are no warehousing or production costs for any products you sell. Your only costs will be for an internet connection, domain name and a website. Some say that you don't even need a website, but it is probably easier and more professional looking if you do spring for that expense. And affiliate marketing programs are almost always free to join.

- Minimal Risk

Another benefit of promoting affiliate marketing programs is the minimal risk involved. If the product you decide to promote doesn't turn into an online money maker, you aren't obligated to a losing proposition. There are no long-term binding contracts tying you to any products, so you can easily stop your promotion of a product that isn't working for you and select another program.

- Own Your Own Global Business

Because of the global reach of the internet, you can easily find thousands of prospects worldwide who are interested in the products you promote. By having such an enormous market base, you can attract more prospects, and thus maximize your potential to make easy money online.

- It Is FUN

Why not create your own online money making opportunities by promoting the hobbies or interests you already love? There are thousands of products and services you can choose from to promote, so why not make money online by promoting products in which you already have an interest? You can find affiliate marketing programs for virtually every product under the sun, so surely there's a product or service out there that is relevant to your interests.