PPC Roller Coaster Ride!
By SonHouse | January 23, 2010
It’s been a while since my last post. I’ve been busy working on about half a dozen different internet marketing projects over the past year.
One of the most profitable ones lately has been a site that I have actually been working on for over 2 years with a business partner.
We have built a successful site that generates a fairly nice monthly income for the both of us. To give you an idea of the power of global ppc advertising, we were starting to average $500 to $1000 per day in pure profit. That can add up fast so we have been pretty excited lately. The traffic has been built through PPC and SEO practices with success in both areas.
Recently though, we have run into some issues with our freinds at the largest search engine on the planet, you know who they are. Seems they have decided to really put the squeeze on us hard working affiliates by reviewing sites that have been ppc advertising and given the boot to those that don’t cut the mustard.
While we have not been given the boot completely, our organic traffic is still very strong, we are in a bit of struggle to make sure our ppc ads are showing. We have been working round the clock to make sure our site is in full “compliance” with all the rules and I feel our site not only meets all their site standards but offers a more valuable and useful user experience than most sites that advertise in our niche.
This is of course what they are interested in most, a relevant, valuable useful experience for the end user. So, we have been talking with them and have been pleasantly surprised that we have corresponded with someone who has actually replied to our concerns and not with the typical canned email.
They are in the process of re-reviewing our site and we should find something out soon as to whether or not our ads will continue to run at full force. We’re crossing our fingers as if we can prove that our site meets their requirements and is of value to the end user, we’ll see our income grow substantially.
Not to worry though, we are working with other ppc platforms and networks and since our site converts well, we know if we can just get the targeted traffic there in big numbers, we will continue to make some good money.
I likened the ride we’re on to a Roller Coaster in the title of this post. You really have to be able to take the downs with the ups and hang on for dear life. This game is not for the faint at heart that is for sure!
I’ll keep you posted………..
Topics: Affiliate Marketing, Marketing | 4 Comments »
Projects, Projects, Projects
By SonHouse | May 6, 2009
One of the things I’ve learned over the years as a search engine marketer is to keep various projects in the works so that your income levels will be as strong as possible at the end of each month no matter what may happen to a particular project.
My friends and family are always curious to know how much money I am able to make online each month and I try and explain that in order to be truely successful online you need to have multiple streams of income coming in each month to make ends meet.
I am able to do that by developing my own products, both online and off, managing affiliate offers through ppc and seo, developing joint venture partnerships, consulting for both seo and ppc, and monetizing my various online activities with contextual advertising.
So, I am always looking for the next project or jv partnernship to add to the stable.
I’ve been able to piece together a nice monthly income from the various projects that I have working at any one time. The thinking there is that if one of the income streams dries up the others will be there to pick up the slack and hold me through until I get a new project or idea launched.
For the last 6 months or so, I’ve been fine tuning some of the projects I have and continue to brainstorm new ideas as well.
Some may argue that you need to focus and concentrate on one thing. The problem I have there is the internet changes so fast that if you’re not careful, you may get left behind while you are working on just that one idea or project.
I’ve had a lot going on recently, having traveled to my first affiiliate summit in Las Vegas in january, established some strong jv partners, built a small seo and ppc consulting company and continued to launch my own ppc and seo campaings in the affilaite space.
In addition to all of that, I still have my day job. Since the economy is what it is and my affiliate offers tend to be hot and cold, I figured it would be wise to continue with my day job for a bit longer until things settle down.
Keep those projects coming and don’t let your ideas fall by the wayside. Write them down, continue to do your research, read as much as you can, listen to as many podcasts as you can, and network as much as possible. The great thing about the internet is the sky is truely the limit. Work hard and learn as much as you can and you will soon be living the lifestyle you have always dreamed of…..
Topics: Affiliate Marketing | 2 Comments »
Google Uses ROI Tracking Info Against You
By SonHouse | August 24, 2008
One of the things a good ppc affiliate does, of course, is to track which keywords are returning your best ROI. This filters out those keywords that are non performers therfore lowering your adspend and raising your total ROI, Return On Investment.
You can do this a few different ways:
1. Using Network Sub Id’s
2. Using Google, Yahoo and MSN Tracking
3. Using 3rd Party Applications
I’ve used all 3 of these and have considered lately what is to stop google, yahoo and msn for that matter, from using the ROI information that you have in your account on each keyword from raising the min bids on those keywords to a point that they know you will still bid yet they will make the most money they can?
I’m not sure if this is the case but it makes sense to me that they would do this. Some really big super affiliates only use google to track roi yet I remain a little leary to do the same.
It’s very tempting, don’t get me wrong I do it on some of my campaigns. It’s easy to implement, the user interface is great and makes tracking ROI for thousands of keywords very easy. I just can’t help but think google is sitting behind the curtain laughing as their algorithm triggers my min bids to increase as my roi does.
If you have any take on this subject please leave some comments. I’d like to hear what all of you have to say on the matter.
Topics: Affiliate Marketing, Google | 1 Comment »