To the surprise (and delight) of many, 2004 has put the spotlight back onto e-commerce for the first time since the dot-bomb exploded in the spring of 2000. Web stocks rose over the first three quarters, while mainstream stocks were weighed down by geopolitics.Google went public with the kind of swagger that conjured up memories of the late '90s. Online spending continued its … [Read more...]
Search For Tomorrow
It was the summer of 1998 when GoTo.com launched its pay-per-click (PPC) program in a fairly straightforward way. Back then, there were few competitors and the bids were low. Often a top slot could be had for a penny a click, and the reporting was bare bones.It was morning in paid search country.Six years later, the paid search landscape has gotten a lot more crowded. According … [Read more...]
The Overstock Obsession
Every so often, there's a company, a person or a philosophy that attracts such a rabid following it can be only be described as a phenomenon.In music, the Beatles and Elvis come to mind. It's hard to think of either without envisioning ecstatic throngs of screaming, teary-eyed fanatics who would do anything for a souvenir to link them forever to their idol.In technology, Apple … [Read more...]
Land Rush
Suddenly, Joe Speiser's phone rings more often than it used to.The calls are coming from venture investors and executives at some "very familiar companies" who've taken a sudden interest in buying all or part of AzoogleAds.com, the performance marketing company that Speiser co-founded four years ago."It just kind of started," he says, somewhat stunned by all the attention. "A … [Read more...]
Five Who Drive
It takes a special something to be among the best in your field, especially when the field is as competitive as affiliate marketing. We all know it takes more than commission checks and banner ads to rise above the crowd.Revenue decided to take a look at five strong programs and the people who run them. Of course, convincing program managers to talk about their success is … [Read more...]
The Craze Of Holidaze
Amin Mirza is nervous about the holidays."I'm not going anywhere," says Mirza, an affiliate who started PhatDeal.com in his home this May. "I plan to stick by my computer."Mirza hasn't experienced the holiday rush before, because this is his first year as a fledgling affiliate. Last year his family journeyed to California. But this year he wants to keep an eye on his business … [Read more...]
Coupon Hoopla
You've been there. You're at the grocery store to buy one single item. You have your groceries on the counter, your cash in your hand. But the person in front of you has a never-ending stash of coupons. The cashier enters in code after code. You start looking for an open clerk, cursing the customer ahead of you.Well, coupons aren't nearly as annoying online. Frugal shoppers can … [Read more...]
Affiliates Wanted
With 8.2 million Americans looking for jobs, Jeff Testerman isn't worried about losing his. He's co-founder of brokerhunter.com, a job site for the insurance and securities industries that features affiliate links to everything from resume writing to trade journals. "Hiring started to pick back up in the last quarter. " Hiring is definitely in the forefront now and in the … [Read more...]
Killer Content Brings in Money
There are three main factors that determine the success of your Web site: Effective site optimization; Site popularity; and Great content.Site optimization is the process of placing your keywords in the right places and making sure your Web site is accessible to search engine spiders so that they can find you and index your content more easily.Site popularity can be achieved … [Read more...]
A Show-Stopping Performance
In times when change comes quickly, many things can keep online marketing managers up at night. The question is: What should keep them up?Some grapple with balancing their own search marketing efforts against affiliates' or understanding which marketing strategy delivers a better yield in terms of marketing cost as percentage of sales (CAPS). Others struggle with an increasing … [Read more...]
Keeping Design Simple
When building a Web site to convert sales, one must make the visitor very comfortable and try to avoid the frustrating pitfalls that commonly plague online merchants.It's important to remember that keeping visitors on a Web site and guiding them through the sales process is just as important as getting them there in the first place. Here are several simple tips for attracting … [Read more...]
Four Ways to Make More Money
Have you ever wondered why big Web sites like AOL, Yahoo and MSN don't run many cost-per-action (CPA) deals in their ad spaces?It's simple: They don't have to. They make much more money selling ads based on impressions rather than the number of customers or leads generated. Who wouldn't prefer to get paid for just showing the ad instead of having to rely on it really … [Read more...]