Video Interview with Brandon Rosen at LeadsCon

-

2012-03-13

26

I saw a post on WarriorForum in which someone claimed that he was going to open his own CPA Network, but needed help with knowing how to get offers. It totally blew my mind that this guy wanted to start a business with absolutely no idea what they were doing or any background in the business — minus reading WarriorForum. Yet it seems that with the ability for anyone to signup to some affiliate system and create their own “CPA Network” it that everyone is out to convince affiliates why they need to sign up for the newest, best new CPA network.

Yes, Jimmy is going to start a CPA Network out of Mom’s basement and attempt to convince you that they are a real company, with a real possibility of making it while he goes to school and spends all his profits on video games and online porn. He’s going to make you millions while at the same time playing World of Warcraft.

Here are four obvious lies that CPA Networks are telling you that you shouldn’t believe:

1) Run by Industry Veterans. Most of these claims are also matched with the fact that there is nothing about the person’s background on their website. At 19 years old, it’s unlikely there is that much experience in the industry. Instead of talking about what their experience really is, these networks like to use this phrase even though the owner miserably failed at being an affiliate before launching their “network.”

2) Exclusive Offers. How many networks have you signed up to and haven’t found any exclusive offers, despite in big red letters proclaiming that is what they are all about. There aren’t that many offers out there, and most new networks don’t have the resources to make their own offers.

3) Great Customer Service. Considering that this new CPA Affiliate network just started and is run by one guy trying to also learn the industry, the customer service is going to be less than stellar. It will be most likely the “owner” attempting to learn from you about what he should be doing.

4) Highest Guaranteed Payout. What does this even mean? If you don’t give me the highest payout, are you going to give me something in return? Not only is that an impossible claim for a new network, but its fraudulent since there is no way that since they are brokering from other networks, that they can even begin to guarantee it. This is purely a questionable technique to lie to affiliates.

5) Pay on Time. Simply put bullshit. A new network, unless funded by someone with money, can never pay on time. That’s the problem with opening any business, and time and time again, new CPA networks have proven that they cannot pay on time because they have absolutely no cash flow. Since some guy with less money than you is running most of these new CPA networks, you are basically giving them a loan they may never repay.

Is FourSquare Doomed for Failure?

By

-

2012-03-13

Despite the initial fascination with Location based check-in services, it seems that these services, especially FourSquare are having a great deal of trouble facing adoption. In fact, some studies and research show that people are just not checking-in to anything anymore, and have no interest in sharing all the time where they are.

Even FourSquare’s CEO told TechCrunch:

People are using the app, but they’re not checking in. I asked myself: did we break something? But in fact, it’s because people are using Foursquare to look for where their friends are, to find things, and as a recommendation service. It’s almost like it doesn’t occur to them to check in.

FourSquare faces a significant issue because frankly, everyone is already on Facebook that provides a simple service to add one’s location. Even Facebook bought Gowalla and then shut it down, three months later, seeming to understand that having a separate service was useless.

Let’s also be honest, with all the privacy concerns popping up, how many people really want long term an app that makes it easier for people to stalk you?

Either way, the idea of location based check-in and apps should interest marketers of all kinds, because it would allow better targeting and provide some sort of revenue opportunity for affiliates. Imagine having a program that would allow you to target those who are at a restaurant with possible after-dinner reservations? Whoever figures these mobile type ads and introduces them to the performance marketing environment will have a sure fire revenue stream. The only problem here is how to get people to adopt these services long term.

Yahoo Claims to Own Facebook

By

-

2012-03-12

9

As we predicted last month, Yahoo has decided to move forward and sue Facebook over claims that Facebook is infringing on a wide range of things from a news feed, messaging, social network, privacy technology and pretty much everything else.

This absolutely massive complaint basically claims “Facebook’s entire social network model, which allows users to create profile for and connect with, among other things, persons and businesses, is based on Yahoo’s patented social networking technology.” Basically, Yahoo basically owns the entire Facebook site technology, and Facebook needs to pay up immediately.

This comes at a horrible time for Facebook as they attempt to grow their advertising base as they plan going public. With this possible lawsuit, that says nothing short that Facebook’s entire business plan and technology is based on Yahoo patents, it means that Facebook would face a hard time going public or continuing to operate as long as they were facing this shadow. In fact in the lawsuit, they are asking for triple damages, which would mean tens of billions of dollars, or require Facebook to stop using their patents, effectively shutting the site down.

Yahoo sued Google similarly, before they went public, claiming Google was infringing on their patents. That results in Yahoo receiving almost $1.5B in stock from Google. The reason they are filing a lawsuit now, is pretty much hoping to have the same scenario applied to them, but probably 10 times more money.

The Full Complaint is Below

Pinterest Bigger Than Twitter When it Counts.

By

-

2012-03-11

12

It’s official, Pinterest is really taking over the world. Despite being less than two year old, Pinterest is becoming one of the top sources for referral traffic. Finding from Shareaholic show that Pinterest now has 1.05% of all referral traffic on the web, while Twitter Holds .82%, even though twitter is significantly bigger.

This conclusion comes from the analytics of over 200,000 publishers that reach 270 million unique visitors each month and recorded where they were getting traffic from when posting referral links.

What is also more interesting is that Pinterest creates more traffic for people than Google Plus, LinkedIn and YouTube Combined.

While Twitter is still trying to figure how they can effectively monetize all those users, Pinterest on the other hand is great increasing in size, according to Alexa.

What makes this Alexa chart really interesting is that while Pinterest has already outpaced Twitter in referrals, it’s only 1/5th the size of twitter on a good day. I can only imagine that when it grows larger, how much traffic it will create for those that can effectively use it. Of course, if Twitter set any example, as the more people get on a product, the ratio of junk to usable messaging vastly decreases.

InfoGraphic: Affiliate Marketing Goes Mobile

By

-

2012-03-11

1

The track-able folks at HasOffers have released this nifty graphic called “Affiliate Marketing Goes Mobile.” It of course is talking about how fast mobile affiliate marketing is growing and how much of the total share of the market is going to mobile. Android devices are about 50% of all the revenue and clicks, which is interesting indeed.

New Jersey Hates Affiliates

By

-

2012-03-11

13

New Jersey had decided to become part of a long line of States that will try to pass a law that will tax affiliates. It seems that State Senators Paul A. Sarlo (R) and Raymond J. Lesniak (D) have been watching Jersey Shore to get some of their economic ideas. The have introduced Senate Bill 1305 that will institute a new tax on those who are making a living as affiliates in the Garden State.

The idea behind these affiliate taxes is to impose a tax on online stores in a State, if the retailer has any affiliates in that State. The idea is that an affiliate suddenly becomes a representative of the company and establishes a physical presence in that State. The claim by those making the laws is that it helps the small “brick and motor” companies in those states. However, as I’ve written before, Walmart is behind the Affiliate Taxes

The fact is that for the few states that have passed these laws, the same things happens: companies “fire” all their affiliates in those States, and retailers start to refuse to work with an internet marketing companies on a cost-per-performance out of fear they will have to pay more taxes. Despite overwhelming support from Constitutional scholars that any internet-tax is unconstitutional, politicians who want big donations from Political Action Committees supported by Wal-Mart, introduce these laws even though most are doomed to fail.

Affiliate Taxes do one thing: Drive businesses out of a state, and cause online retailers to stop doing business in that State. There is absolutely no proof whatsoever that in any State that has passed these laws, that any significant taxes have been collected. That’s because all the retailers just cancel any affiliate contracts in those states effective immediately, and the State has nothing to collect.

On the other hand, if NJ would heavily taxes tanning lotion and hair extensions, the State would probably make millions.

3 Effective Ways to Infuse Life Into Your SEO Content

By

-

2012-03-11

Creating SEO friendly content is not rocket science. If you’ve always thought that it takes some special skill to write stuff that can help you get ranked well – think again. SEO friendly content is more about the people and less about the search engines. The content you create is going to be consumed by human readers, not the search engine bots.

Your focus should be on giving quality and relevancy to your visitors. The search engines don’t want you to write boring articles that don’t get read. They want your content to be informative and entertaining at the same time. You’ll end up killing your page if you over-optimize it. Where’s the fun in that?

Here are 3 effective ways to make your SEO content come alive:

1) Write to Educate, Not Rank – Search engines aim at giving the best value to their users. So technically speaking, the content you create should be targeted towards people. It’s easy to write an article that is stuffed with your keywords, but ask yourself, will it be a good read? Will your readers enjoy consuming the information you’re presenting?

If you want to create interesting content then you should aim at educating your visitors in the best possible way. People like being taught, instructed, led by hand – do that and you’ll win their trust along with more backlinks that ultimately lead to higher search engine rankings.

2) Do Smart Keyword Research – Good keyword phrases are the backbone of a successful SEO campaign. While it’s important to write content that people like, it’s also equally important that you write about what is in demand. There has to be a balance between what you write and how you write it.

When you conduct keyword research intelligently, you’re not just looking at traffic. You’re also looking for keywords that are highly relevant to the theme of your website. If you select keyword phrases that are vague then it will most definitely affect the quality of your content. It’ll turn out to be mechanical instead of being lively.

3) Evolve with Your Market – It’s a known fact that markets are ever changing. If you want to create great SEO content on a regular basis, you will have to keep up with the latest trends. By evolving with your market, you’ll be able to keep your content fresh and happening.

People don’t like stale information, they want something they can use today. Search engines know this, which is why they give high preference to sites that are regularly updated. Content that is current and informative almost always wins. It not only manages to impress the search engines, but also creates a win-win situation for you and your visitors.

One way to keep tab on your market is to be an avid reader, by tapping into various news sources and subscribing to relevant blogs within your industry. This keeps you ahead of your competition and helps you come up with content ideas that people are hungry for.

4 Killer SEO Tips for Bing

By

-

2012-03-11

The past decade has seen a massive improvement in the way people search for information online. Search engines have indeed come a long way.

Until a few years ago, Google was leading the pack. The big G was a search engine that nobody could or wanted to mess with – not until Bing happened. Microsoft had tried flexing its muscles in the search area with its MSN search, but it couldn’t stand up to the evident monopoly. However, when they launched Bing, things changed and many people actually started looking beyond Google.

Today, Bing is rapidly growing and is winning hearts along with a share in the search market. What does this mean to you as an online marketer? An opportunity to grow your traffic by making Bing happy.

If your website isn’t optimized for Bing, you’re leaving some serious traffic on the table for your competitors to munch on. The following article talks about 4 SEO tips to help you get higher rankings in Bing.

1. Aim for a Better Click-through Rate

Bing is a search engine that is evolving intelligently, and is moving in the right direction. It’s obvious that the people working behind the curtains on this search engine want users to have the most relevant results. This is one of the reasons why Bing focuses on the interaction of people with the search results. Therefore, CTR or click-through rate plays a strong role in the Bing SEO game; its one of the factors that will help you gain an edge over the competition.

2. Create Worthy Content

If your website contains thin content, you’ll have to ramp it up. Bing, like every other search engine out there, lays strong emphasis on quality content. Effective SEO here is not about getting instant results, but it’s more about achieving long term growth and getting more stable with time. And that can only be done by producing top notch content and giving visitors a great user experience. The good thing is, when you put in the effort to provide value through your content, you not only get ranked better in Bing, but also in the other major search engines.

3. Use Schema.org

What’s Schema.org? It’s a protocol that is supported by Bing and the other two major players – Yahoo! and Google. Webmasters and bloggers can use this protocol to create special tags right in the HTML code. Using these tags, search engines are able to understand or comprehend the nature of your content better. By marking up your content this way, it becomes easier for you to show how different elements on your site semantically relate. Even though Schema.org isn’t proven to boost your rankings, it is fast gaining importance.

4. Get the Most Out of Bing’s Webmaster Center

Bing is clearly going out of its way to help webmasters achieve the best results. The Bing ‘Webmaster Center’ allows you to get hold on vital statistics about your site. You’ll be able to analyze and manage many different factors that ultimately contribute to your overall rankings. It’s a robust tool that not only helps you improve your SEO campaign but also shows you your mistakes.

7 Insider Tactics for Better Internal Linking

By

-

2012-03-10

7

Building a strong internal link structure is an important part of on-page SEO. While anybody can link one page of their site to another, doing it effectively matters. The way you do your internal linking determines the kind of success you will achieve with SEO in the long run.

It not only affects the search engine crawl rate, but also the distribution of pagerank. Besides that, having a weak internal link architecture can make your website’s navigation confusing and also bring down your conversion rate.

Given below are 7 insider tactics that will help you understand what it takes to create internal links the right way. Ready? Let’s get started!

1. Plan It Out on Paper

First things first, if you’re going to create a high end internal link architecture – plan it out. Don’t just start linking to relevant pages from whatever keywords you find. That’s not how it works. You need to have a reason to link one page to another and be crystal clear about everything. If you want to save time and do a better job with your internal linking then put your plan on paper. Once you’ve got the layout of your website in front of you, it’ll be much more easier to know what pages need to be linked and how.

2. Keep It Relevant

Creating a strong internal linking structure does not mean you go ‘trigger happy’. Be smart about what pages you’re linking to so that you’re relevant in your approach. If the page you’re linking to is not related then the link won’t serve the purpose that you’re aiming for.

3. Say No to Duplicate Content

Your pagerank is valuable and you obviously don’t want it to flow to the wrong pages. By eliminating duplicate content on your site, you avoid having this problem. If you’ve got duplicate content on a page or even broken links, it will make your link building efforts weak.

4. Link to At least One Other Page

The purpose of linking pages internally is to offer better navigation to your visitors and help search engines crawl faster. This is why you should make sure that each page of your site is linked to at least one other page. A page that does not link to any other page on the site is called an orphan page.

5. Have a Balanced Percent of Anchor Text

When you’re linking to a page, it’s okay to use different anchor text. You don’t have to, nor should you use only one version of your anchor text – vary it. The goal is to be natural with your link building efforts, internal and external, both.

6. Cross-Link Pages that Matter

If you’re running a website, you are bound to have a few important pages. Cross-linking them is a good way to enhance the overall pagerank distribution. This will not only bring down the bounce rate, but will also help you boost the number of average page views.

7. Have Text Menus

While Flash and Javascript menus can be attractive options, you should use text menus instead because it’ll help you get better results with SEO. Besides that, having text menus is a great way to get more targeted sitelinks for your site.

Boost Your Rankings on SERPs using Guest Blogging

By

-

2012-03-09

5

Guest blogging is when you blog on another blog as a contributor. It’s one of the most effective ways to build a brand, get traffic and acquire quality backlinks.

When you create useful content for authority blogs within your niche, you not only get long term benefits, but also get to build relationships with popular bloggers. These influencers are constantly looking for great content to add to their blogs. If you can provide them that, they’ll be more than happy to publish your article and give you a backlink.

The Rules Have Changed

The link building game is no longer what it used to be. Today, it’s very important that you gain backlinks from websites that Google and other search engines trust. (Read About the Panda Google Update) And guest blogging helps you do that, which automatically gives you a better hold on your site’s off page SEO. Here are the main advantages of guest blogging as far as SEO is concerned:

You get backlinks from relevant sites, which means that you’re not linking to a spammy sites or a link farms – your motives are clear.
You generate contextual backlinks since your links are wrapped up in quality content that’s relevant. What’s more, if your guest post acquires a pagerank overtime, it’ll boost the quality of your backlink.
Your outbound link gets more importance and authority because the backlink you’re getting through your guest post will be on a dedicated page on the blog. What does this mean? Your link won’t get lost in a between other links on the page, and your pagerank won’t get distributed.

Now that we know how guest blogging can be beneficial, let’s find out how you can get the most out of your guest posts in terms of SEO:

1. Give Exceptional Value – If you want to have your guest post published on an authority blog then you will have to over-deliver. This not only increases your chances of getting it accepted, but also helps you generate more backlinks to it. After a while your guest post may acquire a good pagerank, which obviously gets passed on to your own site.

2. Write for Top Blogs – If you want your guest post to count then focus on a handful of blogs that are reputed, because quality matters. There’s a common misconception that guest posting for well known blogs is difficult. However, the truth is, if you do your groundwork well and actually build a relationship with the blogger over a period of time, you can very well get published on any blog of your choice – no matter how big.

3. Leverage Editorial Backlinks – While getting your site’s link in your guest post’s author bio is great for driving traffic, you shouldn’t solely depend on it for your SEO. Why? Because of one of the most efficient ways to get a backlink is to link from within the body of your article. Remember, editorial links make you look credible in the eyes of search engines, so don’t ignore them.

InfoGraphic: Rebirth of Display Advertising

By

-

2012-03-09

You’ve come a long way in a pretty short time: As this infographic from Pretarget lays out, it’s actually only been eight years since the first online ad exchange, and since then the online ad industry has changed so quickly it’s demanded new processes for buying and selling ad inventory and targeting audiences (which has demanded new terminology, as well). Trading desks, DSPs, real-time bidding — those ideas have all solidified just in the last few years, and they’ve evolved to such an extent that in 2011, 16 percent of all online display inventory was available through RTB. In fact, as the infographic points out, in 2011, only two years after RTB became widely accepted across the exchanges, RTB was serving 12 billion impressions per day. Kind of appropriate that automation has made the market grow so quickly, right?

Rex Direct Net Selects Cake for Running Show

By