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Guest Posting from http://www.learn-internet-marketing-free.com by Derrick Tan

Before we settled down on the Yahoo, Microsoft merger to rival Google, Google has put a big bombshell on their Adwords URL enforcement. From April 2008, display URLs for new ads will be required to match their destination/landing page URLs. What this means is that the URL that is displayed on your Google Adwords will need to be ‘relevant’ to your landing page URLs.

Below is an example from Google Adwords:-

For example, the following would be acceptable:

• Display URL: www.google.com/adwords
• Destination URL: www.trackingurl.com/google123
• Landing page URL: www.google.com

However, this example would be unacceptable:

• Display URL: www.google.com/adwords
• Destination URL: www.trackingurl.com/google123
• Landing page URL: www.trackingurl.com

Though the existing ads will not be affected by this new rule, it is recommended by Google to comply with it has Quality score may play a part in this. I supposed you know what that means.

To learn more, please visit https://adwords.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=91451&hl=en_US.

As for now, we have to live with the Google rules. God Bless!

(1 votes, average: 4 out of 5)

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If you’re reading this, you probably already know that affiliate programs are an effective and powerful way to earn money online. Like all business ventures, however, there are pitfalls. Fortunately, with some common sense and patience, those hurdles don’t have to get in your way.

Here are the three most common mistakes people make when working with affiliate marketing:

Mistake number 1:
Joining too many affiliate programs

Since affiliate programs are easy to join, you might be tempted to join multiple affiliate programs to maximize your earnings. True, this approach does have the potential to give you multiple income sources. But joining too many programs and attempting to promote them all at the same time could also prevent you from concentrating on each one. The result? The maximum potential of each affiliate program won’t be realized and the income probably won’t measure up to your expectations.

If you’re new to affiliate marketing, a safe and sane approach would be to join just one or two programs that pay at least 30 percent in commissions. Then promote your products enthusiastically. When you begin to make a reasonable profit, you can implement another affiliate program.

Mistake number 2:
Not buying the product or using the service

As an affiliate, your main purpose is to effectively and convincingly promote a product or service and to find customers. It’s difficult to do this if you’re not familiar with what you’re promoting. Try the product or service personally before you sign up as an affiliate. This will allow you to see if it’s really delivering what it promises. If it does, you can then convey your confidence in the product or service to your potential customers.

Mistake number 3:
Choosing the wrong affiliate

Many people want to earn from affiliate programs as fast as possible. In their rush to be part of a program, they tend to choose a “bandwagon” product without actually considering if the product appeals to them. Instead of jumping on the bandwagon, choose a product that truly interests you. Then do some research to see if it’s in demand. Promoting a product you’re passionate about is easier than promoting one for the sake of the earnings only.

Here are some additional suggestions for choosing the best affiliate programs:

• * Look for a program that is of high quality and is associated with experts in that particular industry.

• * Choose programs that cater to a growing target market. This will ensure there will be continuous demands for your referrals. Make inquiries by using forums, discussion groups and by talking to current affiliates.

• * If you can, find a program with a compensation plan that pays out residual income in addition to giving commissions of 30 percent or more. Don’t waste your time with programs that don’t reward substantially for your efforts.

• * Be aware of minimum quotas you have to fulfill or sales targets that are too hard to achieve. Some affiliate programs impose prerequisites before you can receive commissions. Be sure you’re going to be capable of meeting their requirements.

• * Select an affiliate program that has plenty of tools and resources to help you grow the business in the shortest possible time. Not all affiliate programs have these, so it’s important to ask what resources they offer.

• * See if the program has a proven system that can allow you to check your networks and compensation. Also check if they have this information available online for you to check anytime and from anywhere.

• * Check if the program offers strong incentives for members to renew their memberships. Affiliate programs that provide continuous help and upgrades for products tend to retain their members. These incentives can help ensure the growth of your network.

• * Be aware of what other members aren’t happy about with the program. As mentioned above, you can do your checking at discussion forums.

So there you have it. By paying attention to these common-sense guidelines when choosing affiliate programs, you can go a long way toward maximizing your income and minimizing your frustration.

By WordPlay

(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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Did you know that according to a study by Sharpe Partners, 89 percent of adult Internet users in the U.S. share content with others by email? That makes forwarding content a natural form of viral marketing, which is excellent news for those who want to use “word-of-mouse” email techniques to sell their products.

The study found that the content most often forwarded is that which contains humor. Here’s a list of all the topics they found have a tendency to go “viral,” in order of popularity:

• * Humor
• * News
• * Health articles and medical information
• * Religious and spiritual material
• * Games
• * Business and personal finance information
• * Sports/hobbies

It’s easy to see that humor is an important component for a viral email campaign. As a shining example of this, consider the way Disneyland married the first two types of information, a timely news topic and humor, to great effect: After making the rounds on the Internet, about 35 million people ultimately received an e-mail containing a picture of Donald Duck lying in front of Disneyland’s Cinderella’s castle. The title of the picture was “Bird Flu Has Hit Disneyland.” Disneyland used the edgy strategy of making light of something serious… and it worked.

Cartoons, jokes and funny video clips also can be added to an email to stimulate viral marketing. Depending on how much your friends like to forward emails, all you might have to do is open your email in-box to find jokes. As you probably know, you can find a wide selection of funny video clips on YouTube. And if you want to include a cartoon, this list of artists offers free cartoons. All these sources can provide great material for your next email marketing campaign.

Remember, people just naturally want to pass along something that makes them laugh. They’re a lot more likely to hit the forward button and send your email to their friends and relatives if it contains “advertainment” rather than an advertisement.

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